Lakeland

Next door to the Park is Ducky's Park Farm, a great family day out with a wide range of familiar (and not so familiar) farmyard animals. Be a keeper for the day, play in the large soft play area or enjoy a bit to eat at Daffy's Diner.

Just 5 miles from Junction 36 of the M6 near Kendal is Sizergh Castle. This is an imposing house, which stands proud in a rich and beautiful garden with pond, lake, a national collection of hardy ferns and a superb limestone rock garden. The estate is crossed by footpaths giving stunning views over Morecambe Bay and the Lakeland hills. Still lived in by the Strickland family, Sizergh has many tales to tell, showing centuries-old portraits and fine furniture alongside modern-day family photos - it certainly feels lived in! Take time to explore the house and garden, with its herbaceous borders and kitchen garden, sample fine local produce in the contemporary café, then follow one of the trail leaflets around the estate.

Windermere, at 10.5 miles long, one mile wide and 220 feet deep, is the largest natural lake in England, and is fed by numerous rivers. The Romans built their fort of GALAVA at its northern end (Waterhead), and it has always been an important waterway for movement of heavy materials. Bowness-on-Windermere - Lakeland's most popular holiday resort - is an excellent centre for boating activities, with over 10,000 boats registered. Steamers and launches operate from Bowness Bay to Waterhead at Ambleside, and Lakeside at the southern end. At the southern end is Lakeside Pier, and Lakeside Station of the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway, and also the Aquarium of the Lakes.

The Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway is a heritage railway in Cumbria, England. The line runs from Haverthwaite via Newby Bridge to Lakeside at the southern end of Windermere. Some services are timed to connect with sailings of the diesel excursion vessels or steam vessels on Windermere, sailing up to Bowness and Ambleside. The railway is a former branch line of the Furness Railway (FR), and there is a train-boat connection that was established in 1868. The railway's locomotive fleet includes FR no. 20, Britain's oldest working standard gauge steam locomotive, which was built in 1863. The route of the connecting length from Haverthwaite to the junction at Ulverston was obliterated by road widening after British Railways closed it (to passengers in 1965 and to all traffic two years later) and before it was opened as a heritage railway in 1973.

The Gallery is housed in one of Kendal’s most important buildings, a Grade I listed villa, on the banks of the river Kent. The galleries offer two floors of light-filled spaces in which to see art. The intimate rooms and tranquil setting are used to show British painting and sculpture, without pretention or overload, to uplift the spirits in an enjoyable and relaxed atmosphere. As well as a fine permanent collection, Abbot Hall is widely acknowledged as having one of the most imaginative and independently minded exhibition programmes outside London.

This award winning Museum takes you and your family back through time to explore the story of the Lake District and its inhabitants. Isolated before the arrival of the railway and motorcar, this area developed its own unique customs and special traditions. Recreated period rooms reveal how rural people lived and worked, how children played and how different life was before the introduction of machinery. Discover a Lake District kitchen, a bedroom – including a magnificent 17th century four-poster bed, a farmhouse parlour with a working phonograph and rare 18th century oak panelling and a recreation of Arthur Ransome’s study.

Come and join in our Summer of Fun with a fool performing every day, circus workshops and great family fun!  This August will also see all 5 recent ‘Fools of Muncaster’ performing every Sunday and various performances/workshops throughout the week.  Home to the World Owl Centre with more than 200 birds of prey on display as well as the historic haunted Castle and magical gardens and play areas, there’s plenty to see and enjoy this August!

Special Offer - Free child entry with every paying adult ticket with entry to castle, gardens and owl centre (Excludes additional tours). Ask at reception for more details.

Blackwell is one of Britain's finest houses from the turn of the last century. Designed by M H Baillie Scott, Blackwell was built between 1898 and 1900.The house features almost all of its original features and the period rooms have been furnished with the bend of Arts and Crafts furniture and early country-made pieces advocated by Baillie Scott. Blackwell offers more than most historic houses; several of its first floor rooms are used as galleries and have a changing exhibition programme of contemporary craft and historical material.