Days out with the kids in Penrith & Ullswater

Lowther Castle is why most families drive to Penrith. The Lost Castle playground in the grounds of the ruin is turrets, tunnels, drop slides and zip wires, at £16 an adult and £10 a child plus parking, so treat it as the whole day. Rheged, just west of town, is the wet-day answer, with indoor play at £5 a child and free parking, and the leisure centre has Jungle Jacks soft play and a pool.

Ullswater is the other half of this page. The Ullswater Steamers sail from Pooley Bridge and Glenridding on almost every day of the year, and Aira Force is a mile there and back through National Trust woodland to a 65 foot waterfall above the lake. Neither is in Penrith itself, which is why the page covers both.

Places in Penrith & Ullswater

Aira Force and Gowbarrow Park

Penrith & Ullswater~2 hr 15 min

★★★★★4.7(1,659)

A 65ft waterfall in National Trust woodland above Ullswater, about a mile there and back from the car park. Tea room, toilets and a picnic area. Parking is £7 for two hours and free for members.

Parking £7 for 2 hours, NT members freeAges 3-11

Penrith Castle Park

Penrith & Ullswater~2 hr 20 min

★★★★☆4.3(435)

A free park opposite Penrith station with a genuine castle ruin in it, plus a play area, tennis, bowls, a putting green and an obstacle golf course at a pound or two an hour. Toilets on site, and a kiosk in the summer months.

Free; putting from £1.20Obstacle golf and putting April to SeptemberAges 1-12

Penrith Leisure Centre and Jungle Jacks

Penrith & Ullswater~1 hr 30 min

★★★★☆4.0(178)

Penrith's leisure centre does the full rainy-day stack under one roof: Jungle Jacks soft play, a 25m pool and learner pool, a climbing wall and a Saturday inflatable. Not glamorous, very useful.

Soft play £5.70, under 2s £3.50IndoorsAges 1-10

Rheged

Penrith & Ullswater~1 hr 30 min

★★★★☆4.3(4,902)

Two minutes off the M6 at Penrith: a big indoor play area at £5 a child, a giant-screen cinema, a cafe and free parking. The motorway stop that is worth the stop.

Indoor play £5 a child, parking freeIndoorsAges 1-8

Lowther Castle & Gardens

Penrith & Ullswater~1 hr 50

★★★★★4.6(4,654)

Come for the playground. The Lost Castle is turrets, tunnels, drop slides and zip wires, built in the grounds of a vast roofless ruin near Penrith and billed as one of the UK's largest adventure playgrounds.

Adults £16, kids £10, family £48, plus £2 parkingAges 3-11

Ullswater 'Steamers'

Penrith & Ullswater~1 hr 45

★★★★★4.7(2,533)

Heritage boats on Ullswater between Glenridding, Howtown and Pooley Bridge, running 363 days a year. A full lap is dear for a family; a single leg plus the lakeshore walk back is the better deal.

Round the lake £26 adult, £16 childAges 0-11

What’s on in Penrith & Ullswater

13 dated events coming up.

Also worth the drive

Not in Penrith & Ullswater, but close enough for a day out.

Windermere Lake Cruises

Windermere & Bowness~1 hr 30

★★★★★4.6(1,657)

England's biggest lake from the deck of a proper boat, on colour-coded routes from the 45-minute Islands cruise out of Bowness to the Yellow run down to Lakeside. Combo tickets pair it with the aquarium, the steam railway or the motor museum.

Family boat faresAges 4-11

Brockhole on Windermere

Windermere & Bowness~1 hr 35

★★★★★4.6(4,197)

The old national park visitor centre on the Windermere shore, now run by BeWILDerwood and still mid-makeover. The grounds are free to wander; Minty Land indoor play, Zip World's treetop courses, Wild Bounce and the lake cruises are the paid extras.

Free grounds, paid parking and activitiesAges 4-11

The World of Beatrix Potter

Windermere & Bowness~1 hr 30

★★★★★4.5(6,202)

Peter Rabbit's world recreated in walk-through scenes, ending in the garden with Mr McGregor's vegetables. Squarely for the under-8s; it is small, sweet and unashamed of it.

Adults £12.60, kids £7.80, family £38IndoorsClosed 11 to 31 January 2027 for maintenanceAges 4-7

Lakes Aquarium

Newby Bridge~1 hr 20

★★★★☆4.2(4,618)

A small, well-done aquarium at the quiet end of Windermere with an underwater tunnel walk beneath the lake's own fish, plus otters and rays. Pairs naturally with the steam railway next door.

Attraction ticketsIndoorsAges 4-9

Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway

Newby Bridge~1 hr 20

★★★★★4.6(5,800)

A short, perfectly-formed steam line through the Leven valley that connects with the Windermere boats at Lakeside. Do train plus cruise and you have built the classic Lakes day without a single car park argument.

Family faresAges 4-11

Lakeland Motor Museum

Newby Bridge~1 hr 20

★★★★★4.7(5,828)

Thousands of vehicles and period pieces packed into a riverside mill, with the Campbell Bluebird story told properly in its own gallery. One for kids who like machines; a surprisingly good wet-weather card.

Adults £13.25, kids £7.90, family £36IndoorsAges 6-11

Whinlatter Forest

Keswick~1 hr 50

★★★★★4.8(2,987)

England's only true mountain forest: the Room on the Broom trail, Gruffalo orienteering, the WildPlay trail, red squirrels if you are lucky, and Go Ape for older kids. Views over Derwentwater thrown in.

Free entry, paid parkingAges 4-11

The Puzzling Place

Keswick~1 hr 50

★★★★☆4.4(2,039)

An anti-gravity room where water appears to run uphill, a hologram gallery and a room that shrinks the grown-ups. Cheap, indoor, and exactly the right length for the age group.

Attraction ticketsIndoorsAges 5-11