Braithwaite How

The walk up Braithwaite How rewards you with proper Lake District views without requiring fell-walker fitness. It's a modest peak by Lakeland standards - nothing you'd write home about in terms of height - but the route from Keswick is straightforward enough that families actually make it to the top without complaint.

You get fell and water views across the valley, with Derwent Water looking quite handsome if the weather plays ball. The summit itself is nothing fancy - a cairn rather than a dramatic peak - but the walk itself is the point. Forty minutes or so of gradual climbing through decent woodland before you break onto open ground.

Walkers with young kids will find this manageable, though the path gets boggier in wet weather. It's the sort of walk where you can turn back at any point without feeling you've wasted the effort. If you're camped at Keswick Camping and Caravanning Club or Castlerigg Hall, this is a sensible morning out before heading elsewhere. The ascent is gentle enough that you won't spend the afternoon recovering.

Timing-wise, allow two hours there and back including a stop at the top. Spring and autumn are best - summer brings the midges out, and winter can make the boggy bits genuinely unpleasant underfoot. It's free to walk, naturally, and doesn't need any special permits. Honestly though, if you're only at a park for a few days and want proper Lake District walking, you'd get more satisfaction from tackling something with more obvious rewards. But as a gentle half-morning ramble from camp? It does the job.