Banna Fell

The walk up Banna Fell from Cockermouth is genuinely rewarding if you've got decent legs and a couple of hours to spare. It's not a brutal climb - more of a proper fell walk that builds steadily through moorland and rough grass until you reach the summit at 1,050 metres. The views across the Lake District from up there are exceptional: you can see right across to the Helvellyn range on a clear day, and the expanse of the Eden Valley spreading out towards Scotland feels genuinely remote despite being so close to civilisation.

What makes it work is that it's accessible without being trivial. Families with older kids will manage it fine, and regular walkers will find it satisfying rather than exhausting. Expect roughly two hours up and ninety minutes down if you're moving at a steady pace. The terrain is straightforward - no scrambling, no dodgy drops - so navigation isn't difficult, though a map's sensible just to be sure of your descent route.

Park yourself at Whinfell Hall Farm Campsite nearby and you've got a proper fell day ahead of you. The mountain itself is free to climb (as mountains tend to be), and the best time is genuinely any day when the weather's playing ball. Clag and drizzle roll in fast up here, so check the forecast. It's not the kind of peak that gets rammed with day-trippers, which is exactly why it's worth doing.