Photo: User:Diliff (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do in Lake District
Wondering what to do in Lake District? This guide lists the area's attractions — zoos, museums, theme parks and more — with distances, so you can plan every day of your trip.
Showing museums, aquariums and attractions with indoor areas — the ones that work whatever the forecast.
🎟️ This weekend near Lake District
Events from
Skiddle
Aquariums
13.7 mi from Lake District
Lakes Aquarium
Lakes Aquarium sits in Colton, in the Lake District, and is open daily from 10am. You can catch the Otter Talk and Feed, held daily, and explore exhibits covering conservation, cre...
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24.2 mi from Lake District
Lake District Coast Aquarium
The Lake District Coast Aquarium sits on the harbourside in Maryport, Cumbria, with over 75 displays of local and marine species, a SeaLab lobster hatchery and seahorses, plus dail...
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Museums & Galleries
3 mi from Lake District
Dove Cottage
Dove Cottage was the Lake District home of William Wordsworth, a humble cottage with whitewashed walls and Lakeland slate floors, where he wrote some of the most famous poetry in t...
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5.4 mi from Lake District
The Armitt Museum & Library
The Armitt Museum & Library is a museum, gallery, and library full of interesting and unusual objects telling the history and heritage of Ambleside, its people, and the surrounding...
6.2 mi from Lake District
The Ruskin Museum
The Ruskin Museum sits in the heart of Coniston village and tells the 'Story of Coniston', from Stone Age fell-walkers to Donald Campbell's record-breaking Bluebird K7, now on disp...
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7 mi from Lake District
Hawkshead Grammar School
Hawkshead Grammar School in Hawkshead, Cumbria, England was founded in 1585 by Archbishop Edwin Sandys, the incumbent Archbishop of York, whose family came from the Hawkshead area.... — Wikipedia
7.5 mi from Lake District
Brantwood
Brantwood is the historic lakeside home of John Ruskin, now a museum set across a 250-acre estate on the eastern shore of Coniston Water. You can explore the seven rooms Ruskin liv...
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8.4 mi from Lake District
Eskdale Mill
Eskdale Mill is a Grade II* listed watermill in the village of Boot, and it's the last remaining working water-powered corn mill in the Lake District National Park. Dating back to...
9.2 mi from Lake District
Windermere Jetty
Windermere Jetty Museum sits on the lakeshore just outside Bowness, telling over 200 years of Windermere's boating story through historic vessels, interactive galleries and a worki...
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9.4 mi from Lake District
From Auschwitz to Ambleside
This small exhibition tells the story of 300 child Holocaust survivors who arrived in Windermere in 1945 to recuperate, including artefacts, images and an award-winning video docum...
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10 mi from Lake District
Puzzling Place
Puzzling Place is an indoor attraction in Keswick, in the heart of the Lake District, dedicated entirely to optical illusion. Inside you'll find the Anti-gravity Room, the Ames Roo...
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10 mi from Lake District
Keswick Museum & Art Gallery
Keswick Museum sits on the edge of Fitz Park, just five minutes' walk from the town centre, and has been part of Keswick's community since 1873. Inside, you'll find exhibitions exp...
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10.1 mi from Lake District
The Retro Zone
The Retro Zone is a small, independently run museum in Keswick showcasing a personal collection of 1970s and 1980s toys, bikes, early home computers and vintage gadgets, including...
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10.2 mi from Lake District
Derwent Pencil Museum
The Derwent Pencil Museum is a museum dedicated to the manufacturing and history of pencils, located in Keswick, in the north-west of England. — Wikipedia
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10.6 mi from Lake District
Threlkeld Quarry & Mining Museum
Threlkeld Quarry & Mining Museum sits in a working quarry near Keswick in the Lake District, where you can ride a narrow gauge railway into the old workings, explore a mining and g...
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13 mi from Lake District
Stott Park Bobbin Mill
19th-century bobbin mill museum; at Newby Bridge, Cumbria, England.
14.5 mi from Lake District
Lakeland Motor Museum
Lakeland Motor Museum, in Haverthwaite, Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, is housed in a converted mill and brings together around 30,000 exhibits tracing twentieth-century road tr...
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14.7 mi from Lake District
Ravenglass Railway Museum
Ravenglass Railway Museum tells the story of the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway, known locally as the 'Ratty', through a collection of artefacts ranging from steam locomotives and ca...
16.6 mi from Lake District
Kendal Museum
Kendal Museum brings together natural history and regional heritage under one roof. In the Kendal & Westmorland Gallery you can trace the area's story from the Neolithic Age throug...
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16.8 mi from Lake District
Museum of Lakeland Life & Industry
Lakeland Museum, formerly known as the Museum of Lakeland Life and Industry, explores centuries of Lakeland life and how the landscape has shaped local communities and industry thr...
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Water Parks
21.3 mi from Lake District
Subtropical Swimming Paradise
The Subtropical Swimming Paradise is a heated indoor-outdoor water park, kept at 29.5°C all year round and filled with tropical plants and trees. You'll find wave pools, lazy river...
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Zoos & Wildlife
22.9 mi from Lake District
Lakeland Wildlife Oasis
Lakeland Wildlife Oasis is a small 3-acre licensed zoo near Beetham, Cumbria, home to over 100 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates. It offers a...
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Where to stay near Lake District
Places to stay within easy reach of these days out.
More around Lake District
Itineraries
Haunted Britain
The Lake District rewards a bit of planning. Fells and water dominate, but there's far more indoors than people expect, and the museums here are unusually characterful — ironmongers, mills, railway sheds and boat collections rather than rows of glass cases. With 198 places to stay on BritStays across the region, it's an easy place to base yourself for a few days and work outwards.
Days out with children
If the forecast is kind, The Lakes Aqua Park is the obvious headline act — inflatable obstacles on open water, and the sort of thing children talk about for weeks. For a guaranteed-warm alternative, Tropical Cyclone in Kendal is an indoor water park that works whatever the sky is doing.
Beyond the water, Knox Wood Wildlife Centre in Keswick suits younger families and older walkers alike, while The World of Beatrix Potter Attraction in Windermere is the gentlest possible introduction to the region's most famous storytelling. Slightly older children often get more from The Retro Zone in Keswick, where the appeal cuts both ways — parents tend to linger longer than the kids.
Rainy-day options
Rain isn't a write-off here; it's a reason to change plan. A few reliable choices:
- Keswick Museum & Art Gallery — a solid, unhurried hour or two in the middle of town.
- West Cumberland Railway Museum and Ravenglass Railway Museum — two very different takes on the region's railway history.
- Lakeland Motor Museum near Windermere — broad enough to hold the interest of people who don't consider themselves car enthusiasts.
- Windermere Jetty — boats, workshops and lake history under cover.
- JB Banks Ironmongers — small, specific and genuinely memorable, which is often what a wet afternoon needs.
- Eskdale Mill — working machinery and water, best appreciated when it's already pouring.
If you're at the southern edge of a trip, Morecambe adds Judges' Lodgings Museum, Lancaster Maritime Museum, Sir John Barrow Cottage and the Laurel and Hardy Museum — four contrasting stops within easy reach of one another.
Outdoors and big views
Scafell Pike is the region's summit and the one most people have in mind. Treat it seriously: proper boots, layers, food, a map you can read without a phone signal, and an honest look at the forecast before you set off. It is a long day, not a morning stroll.
For scenery without the commitment, Wast Water is hard to beat — deep, still and framed by screes, and a National Trust site, so worth checking what's open before you drive out. Pair it with the valley's quieter corners and you have a full day with very little walking if that suits you better.
Heritage and houses
Muncaster Castle and Dalton Castle cover the castle end of things at quite different scales — one a substantial day out, the other a compact stop. Allan Bank, also National Trust, is a relaxed, lived-in sort of house rather than a rope-and-velvet experience. Brantwood rewards a slower visit, and the Furness Abbey Visitor Centre gives context to ruins that need a little explaining to come alive.
Building a sensible day
The mistake is stacking three attractions in three different valleys. Roads are slow and weather changes plans. Instead, pick an anchor and cluster around it.
- Keswick day: Keswick Museum & Art Gallery in the morning, lunch in town, then Knox Wood Wildlife Centre or The Retro Zone depending on ages and energy.
- Windermere day: Windermere Jetty, then The World of Beatrix Potter Attraction or the Lakeland Motor Museum.
- Western day: Ravenglass Railway Museum, Muncaster Castle and, if the light holds, a late run out to Wast Water.
- Weather-proof day: Tropical Cyclone in Kendal, with Eskdale Mill or Brantwood as a calmer second half.
Where to eat
All of these hold five-star hygiene ratings, which is a useful filter when you're somewhere unfamiliar. Bench Cafe and Brew Brothers are the tea-room options for breakfast, cake or a long sit-down after a wet walk. Relish is the one for picnic building — sensible if you're heading towards Wast Water or up onto the fells, where food options thin out fast. Greggs covers the early start and the drive home. For an evening meal with a fire and a proper plate of food, the Wheatsheaf Inn does the job.
Turning it into a short break
Three nights is the sweet spot. Give day one to something indoors and close to base while you find your bearings, day two to the weather-dependent plan — Scafell Pike, Wast Water or The Lakes Aqua Park — and day three to heritage, with Brantwood, Allan Bank or Furness Abbey Visitor Centre.
Book the fell day flexibly and keep an indoor swap ready. Carry cash for smaller museums, check seasonal opening for castles and mills before you travel, fill the tank when you see a petrol station, and download your maps before you leave the house.
Frequently asked questions
What can we do in the Lake District if it rains all day?
Plenty. Tropical Cyclone in Kendal is an indoor water park, and the region has a strong run of museums: Keswick Museum & Art Gallery, West Cumberland Railway Museum, Ravenglass Railway Museum, the Lakeland Motor Museum, Windermere Jetty, Eskdale Mill and JB Banks Ironmongers. Around Morecambe you also have Judges' Lodgings Museum, Lancaster Maritime Museum, Sir John Barrow Cottage and the Laurel and Hardy Museum.
Which attractions work best for younger children?
The World of Beatrix Potter Attraction in Windermere and Knox Wood Wildlife Centre in Keswick are the gentlest choices. The Lakes Aqua Park suits confident swimmers and older children, while Tropical Cyclone in Kendal is the indoor alternative. The Retro Zone in Keswick tends to appeal to older children and their parents equally.
Are there National Trust places in the Lake District?
Yes — two of the region's listed landmarks are National Trust: Wast Water and Allan Bank. It's worth checking opening arrangements before you travel, as both can vary by season.
Is Scafell Pike suitable for a family day out?
Scafell Pike is the region's mountain and a full, demanding day rather than a short walk. Take proper boots, layers, food and a paper map, and check the forecast honestly before setting off. If the weather turns, Wast Water gives you dramatic scenery with far less commitment.
Where can we eat with confidence about hygiene standards?
Bench Cafe and Brew Brothers are tea rooms, Relish is a deli and local produce shop that's ideal for picnics, Greggs covers quick stops, and the Wheatsheaf Inn is a pub for an evening meal. All five hold five-star hygiene ratings.
How should we group attractions to avoid spending the day driving?
Pick one anchor area per day. A Keswick day might combine Keswick Museum & Art Gallery with Knox Wood Wildlife Centre or The Retro Zone. A Windermere day pairs Windermere Jetty with the Lakeland Motor Museum or The World of Beatrix Potter Attraction. A western day could take in Ravenglass Railway Museum, Muncaster Castle and Wast Water.
More ways to explore
Not booked yet? See the best places to stay in Lake District.