Redhow Crags

The view from Redhow Crags stops you dead. Standing on these craggy outcrops above Cockermouth, you're looking straight out over the northern edge of the Lake District - nothing between you and the Solway Firth but rolling fell country. It's not a long walk to get here, which is precisely why it works so well as part of a wider day in the area.

Redhow Crags themselves are modest by Lake District standards - rocky shelves rather than dramatic peaks - but that's rather the point. The scramble up takes maybe thirty minutes from the road, and the rocks are straightforward enough for confident walkers without being technical. Kids who've done a bit of walking won't struggle. What makes it worth the effort is the openness of it. You're high enough to feel properly elevated, low enough that you can actually see somewhere - no mist-soaked views of nothing.

This isn't a destination where you'll spend half a day. An hour on the crags themselves, maybe ninety minutes if you potter about, and you're done. That makes it excellent as a morning or late-afternoon tick on a longer walk across the fells, or as a standalone jaunt from Whinfell Hall Farm Campsite just down the road. The campsite sits at a decent location for exploring the quieter northern edge of Lakeland, and Redhow gives you a proper vantage point without the crowds you'd find further south.

Go when the weather's clear - those fell views really do make it worth the trip. Misty, it's a bit pointless.