Fitz Park Alpacas

The alpacas at Fitz Park are exactly what you'd expect - soft, curious, and surprisingly engaging for an hour or so. You walk around their enclosure near Cockermouth, watch them amble about, maybe feed them if that's on the menu. They're genuinely gentle animals, and if you've got younger kids who haven't seen one up close, they'll get a kick out of it.

It's the sort of place that works brilliantly as a half-day addition to a Cumbrian holiday rather than a destination in itself. The nearby caravan sites - Castle Guards Farm Retreat is only 2.2 miles away, Forest Views a bit further at five miles - make it easy enough to slot in between walks in the Lake District or exploring Cockermouth's town centre. You won't be here for hours, mind. Thirty minutes to an hour covers it unless you're really keen on alpaca photography.

Best suited to families with primary-school-age children, or anyone who finds animals therapeutic. Don't expect wilderness - this is a working farm experience rather than a nature reserve in the grand sense. The information on opening hours and admission isn't readily available online, so ring ahead before you go. Bit annoying, but worth doing so you don't waste a trip. If alpacas aren't your thing, you're better off heading straight for Cockermouth itself or pointing the car towards the proper fell walks that dominate this corner of Cumbria.