Broom Fell

The walk up Broom Fell from Cockermouth takes about forty minutes if you're moving steadily, and the views across the Lake District open up gradually rather than hitting you all at once. It's not a dramatic peak - 519 metres at the top - but that's rather the point. You get proper fell walking without the scramble, and the path is well-trodden enough that you won't spend the day navigating.

What makes it worthwhile is the perspective. You're high enough to see across to Skiddaw and the Borrowdale fells, yet low enough that the landscape feels intimate rather than vast and slightly terrifying. The summit itself is grassy and open. On a clear day you can pick out the Solway Firth. On a cloudy one, you might not see your feet.

Families with competent walkers will manage this comfortably - it's not technical and there's nothing properly exposed. Younger children may find it dull though, all gradient and no scrambling. For a straightforward hill walk within striking distance of Cockermouth, it does the job.

If you're camping at Whinfell Hall Farm or one of the other sites dotted around the area, Broom Fell slots in nicely alongside longer days in the central lakes. It's the sort of walk you do to warm up or to use a quiet afternoon when the big peaks are heaving with people. Free to climb, obviously - it's a fell. Allow two hours return from the car park at Liza Beck.