Whinlatter Forest
England's only true mountain forest: Gruffalo sculptures on the trail, the WildPlay adventure area, red squirrels if you are lucky, and Go Ape for older kids. Views over Derwentwater thrown in.
Castlerigg Stone Circle
Keswick, Cumbria
Castlerigg is a ring of 38 standing stones, put up around 4,500 years ago, in a field just outside Keswick with Helvellyn and High Seat as the backdrop. It is free, cared for by English Heritage and open at any reasonable time in daylight.
It is a short stop: count the stones, run the circle, look at the view, go. Parking is limited, so arrive early in summer, or walk up from town in about half an hour. Keswick Climbing Wall and its outdoor play area are on the same postcode, if the stones need following with something louder.
What it costs: Free. Limited roadside parking at the site.
Know before you go
- Parking at the stones is limited. It is about a 30 minute walk from the centre of Keswick if the children have the legs for it.
- The field is grazed by sheep and gets very muddy round the stones, so wellies rather than trainers.
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The Puzzling Place
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.
Honister Slate Mine
A working slate mine at the top of Honister Pass with guided tours deep into the mountain, and via ferrata routes up the crag for the brave. Tours take all ages; the climbing starts at ten.
Lake District Wildlife Park
A proper zoo day near Bassenthwaite: birds of prey flying displays, meerkats, animal feed for a pound, and indoor soft play for when the Lakes weather does its thing. No booking needed.
Derwent Pencil Museum
Keswick made the world's first pencils and the museum sits on the works. About an hour indoors: secret wartime pencils with maps hidden inside, and a coloured pencil close to eight metres long.
Go Ape Whinlatter
Two courses strung through England's only genuine mountain forest, above Keswick. Height is the gate here, not age: one metre for Treetop Adventure, 1.2m and a sixth birthday for Plus, which finishes on a 130 metre zip wire.
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