This is the little fell that made Alfred Wainwright fall for the Lake District in 1930, and it is still the best first summit for a family: 3.5km there and back from Windermere village, 120 metres of up, and a 360-degree view from the top that feels stolen for the effort. Start on the lane beside the Windermere Hotel, almost opposite the station.
The gravel Miles without Stiles path, opened as the national park's 50th accessible route, zigzags up through Elleray Wood on a restored Victorian carriageway, so a pushchair can now get to the actual summit. Be honest about the effort though: the opening section hits 1 in 4, and whoever is pushing earns their cafe stop. Benches are spaced out for regrouping, and small kids on foot manage it in under an hour with snack bribery.
There are no facilities on the hill itself. Toilets and cafes are in the village at the bottom, which is the right order anyway: climb first, cake after.
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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.
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.
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.
Ten acres of fellside garden looking down over Windermere, run by the Lakeland Horticultural Society: terraces, a walled garden, glasshouses and children's trails. No fixed entry price and children go free.
Lakeland Arts keeps Windermere's historic boats floating under cover in a wet dock on the Bowness lakeshore, so children see them in water and not propped on stands.
A new woodland-themed adventure golf course at Troutbeck Bridge, just outside Windermere, with little animal characters to spot round the holes and a golf-and-swim family deal with the health club pool next door.
One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.