Little Stand

The walk up Little Stand is a proper Lake District grunt that catches most people off guard. It sits just above Ambleside, which sounds convenient until you realise you're climbing 500 metres of fell in what feels like no time at all. The summit itself is modest - a cairn and some rocky outcrops - but the view down Windermere and across to the Langdale Pikes justifies the leg work. On a clear day you can trace the entire length of England's largest lake sprawling below you like someone's unfolded a map.

This isn't a destination for casual strollers. The path is steep, bouldery in places, and there's absolutely no way round it. Children need to be confident walkers, and even then you're looking at a full hour of proper climbing. The payoff is that you'll share the summit with fewer people than you'd encounter on the honeypot peaks. Fell runners often use it as a training route, which tells you something about the gradient.

Go early morning if you can stomach the 7am start. Afternoon clouds tend to roll in and kill the view. The walk works perfectly as a launch point for a week based at Great Langdale Campsite or BaysBrown Farm - both within reach - because it's short enough to do as a morning mission before exploring the broader valley walks. Allow two hours return if you're not hammer-ing it. Free, obviously. Weather is everything here.