Zip World took the woods at Brockhole on Windermere and strung them with nets. Treetop Nets is the main event for families: two hours bouncing across netted platforms, roller slides, tunnels and walkways, split over two levels joined by a climbing chute, with zones of giant inflatable balls. It was reimagined for 2026. Children from 3 can go on, and for 5 to 17 year olds the adult only has to spectate, though joining in is allowed and is half the point.
The little ones get their own version. Treetot Nets is a one-hour session for children aged 5 and under, from £5, with slides, treetop huts and net walkways, and an adult on the nets with them: one adult per two 1 and 2 year olds, one per three 3 to 5 year olds. Older children can move up to the Mini Trek high ropes from age 5, from £29, or the Full Trek from £45.
Costs add up quickly. Treetop Nets starts at £25 plus a £5 booking fee, Brockhole's car park is charged, and the site is cashless. It is open all year except Christmas Day and Boxing Day, with fewer days off-peak, so check the booking calendar before setting off. Food is at Brockhole itself, or bring a picnic for the picnic tables, which at these prices is the sensible move.
What it costs: From prices on the Zip World site: Treetop Nets from £25 plus a £5 booking fee for two hours, Treetot Nets from £5, Mini Trek from £29, Full Trek from £45, Treetop Drop from £15, Climb & Zip from £25. Booking more than 30, 60 or 90 days ahead takes 5%, 10% or 15% off single tickets. Parking at Brockhole is charged separately.
Worth knowing: Treetot Nets is for 5 and under; Treks from age 5.
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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.
The classic first family fell: a short climb from Windermere village to a proper summit with the whole lake and the high fells laid out below. A surfaced accessible path now runs all the way up, though it is still a real 120-metre climb, not a stroll.
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.
One email a week: what is on this weekend within a sensible drive, and the places worth booking before they go.