Walby Farm Park
Cumbria's big family farm park: animal handling, giant jumping pillows, pedal go-karts and an indoor play barn big enough to lose a wet afternoon in. The far-north option when you are up that way.
Rickerby Park
Carlisle, Cumbria
Rickerby is the big open park on the north bank of the Eden, reached on foot from town or by car to the small car park off Brampton Road. Cumberland describe it as a natural park with footpaths and a riverside walk, and that is genuinely the whole of it: no playground, no cafe, no listed toilets.
What it does have is the river, a suspension footbridge and the Hadrian's Wall National Trail running straight through. It also has cattle and sheep grazing loose, which is either the highlight of the afternoon for a five year old or the reason everybody stays on the path. Pair it with Bitts Park across the water if you need a slide and a toilet in the same trip.
Know before you go
- Livestock roam free here and Cumberland ask that dogs are kept under control. Worth a word with the children about not walking between a cow and its calf before you head out across the grass.
Worth knowing: No play equipment, and livestock graze loose, so come for the walk and the river.
Looking for more parks & outdoors near Carlisle?
Also in Carlisle
Carlisle Castle
A working border fortress for 900 years, not a fairytale castle: a squat red keep full of prisoners' carvings, ramparts to walk and a military museum inside the walls. English Heritage, so members go free and everyone else should book online for the discount.
Tullie
Carlisle's museum, plain Tullie since the rebrand, mid-transformation and all the better for it: under-18s go free, the adult ticket is £8.50, and £16 buys an annual pass. New galleries opened in 2025, though some of the old favourites are shut for the next phase.
Bitts Park
Carlisle's big riverside park, right under the castle walls: a large play area for all ages, a free splash park in the warmer months, skate park and acres of grass where the Eden and Caldew meet. The obvious free half of a Carlisle day.
Solway Aviation Museum
A genuine Avro Vulcan and a line of Cold War aircraft parked on the apron at Carlisle Airport, with volunteers who open them up and let children climb inside. Canberra, Sea Prince and Trident stay open all year.
Hammond's Pond
Carlisle's south side park, with free parking on two sides, play zones, a brand new concrete skatepark, a games court and a seasonal cafe. A miniature railway runs Sunday afternoons from Easter to October.