15 Best Water Activities In Cumbria

Fell Foot Park is the closest thing on this list to a straightforward answer, rated 4.6, with grass, shoreline and the sort of layout that lets an adult sit down while a child gets wet. The named lakes are beautiful and far less managed — access, parking and safe entry points vary enormously along a shoreline, and a listing for an entire lake cannot tell you which spot is the good one.

Both routes are on this list and they suit different families. Windermere Canoe Kayak and Bike Hire puts you on the water under your own supervision, which assumes an adult who is confident about what to do if a child ends up in it. Mobile Adventure and Crags Adventures are recorded as activity providers and both carry 5 ratings, which is the safer option with beginners and the one that comes with kit and judgement included.

Because the heading catches everything wet, and Shap Swimming Pool has landed in it. Our flags record it with outdoor space and no indoor space, which we would treat with caution — pool listings in our data are among the least reliable for that particular field. If a covered swim is what you want, check the pool's own site rather than trusting the flag on a directory page, this one included.

Almost everything, and more than in most counties. Fourteen of the fifteen entries have no indoor space recorded at all, and Cumbrian weather changes within a morning rather than between days. Anything booked with an operator will come with their own call on whether it goes ahead. Anything self-organised on open water is your call to make, which is a heavier responsibility than a sunny forecast makes it feel.