Birk Hill

The walk up Birk Hill from Wigton is proper fell country without the crowds you'd get at Helvellyn or Scafell Pike. It's a modest peak - 573 metres - but the climb pays dividends. You get sight lines across to the Lake District proper on a clear day, and the surrounding moorland rolls away in all directions with barely another soul in sight.

The approach is straightforward enough from the village of Caldbeck, a few miles east of Wigton. An hour up, an hour down, maybe ninety minutes if you're taking your time with photographs. It's more grind than technical - boggy underfoot in places, so proper boots are essential rather than optional.

Walkers will find this worth doing. It's the sort of hill that rewards you for effort without demanding mountaineering skills. Young kids might struggle with the distance and the boggy bits; teenagers who've got some miles in their legs will be fine. The views are genuine rather than spectacular, which honestly suits the place - no need to fight for a selfie spot at the summit.

If you're based at Caldbeck Camping or Riverside Tourer Park, Birk Hill becomes a morning mission rather than a day trip. The fell sits on the northern fringe of the Lake District National Park, so you could easily combine it with time at proper tourist lakes further south. But do it for the walk itself, not as a tick-box. It's a proper bit of Cumbria without the postcard hype.