Chapel Hill

The walk up Chapel Hill from Milnthorpe isn't going to break you, but it's steep enough that you'll feel it in your legs. Once you're up there, the views across Morecambe Bay and south towards the Pennines proper are genuinely arresting - wide, open countryside that makes you understand why people bother with Cumbria at all.

It's a fell rather than a mountain, so don't expect drama. What you get is a bracing walk with decent views and the satisfaction of being somewhere that doesn't get rammed with people. The chapel itself - that's what gives the hill its name - is long gone, but there's still a sense of something purposeful about the place. Allow two hours from Milnthorpe if you're taking your time, maybe ninety minutes if you're quick. Free, obviously.

This works best for walkers who aren't after a full day on the fells but want something with a bit of purpose. Families with decent-legged kids will manage it fine. History types might find it a touch disappointing since there's bugger all left of the actual chapel, but the walk itself is pleasant enough.

Staying at one of the nearby parks - Little Acre or Once Upon a Fell are practically on your doorstep - means you can pair this with gentler walks around the Bay or pop over to the bigger fells around Kendal if you fancy it. It's useful rather than spectacular, the kind of walk you do because you're based nearby, not because you've driven three hours to do it.