Caves, via ferrata, haunted castles, secret waterfalls and viewpoints you can reach by car — the Lakes beyond the usual five walks.
Beyond the usual five walks
Most visitors stick to the same handful of honeypots — Catbells, Tarn Hows, the Bowness waterfront — and never see the rest. This guide to unusual things to do in the Lake District is for everyone else: the curious, the repeat visitors, the people who've done the famous walks and want something stranger. We've gathered the Lake District hidden gems the coach tours miss — flooded slate quarries with natural skylights, a via ferrata bolted to a mountain, one of Britain's most haunted castles, WWII spy pencils and waterfalls hidden in mossy ravines. If you want to get genuinely off the beaten track, start here.
Section 1
The Lakes' slate-mining past left behind some of its most atmospheric — and least-visited — places.
Between Ambleside & Grasmere
A massive man-made slate cavern above Rydal Water, with a stepping-stone path across still, reflective pools. The huge arched mouth and mirror-flat water make it one of the best photography spots in the central Lakes — and it's free. Easy to reach on the Rydal Water circular.
Things to do in GrasmereLittle Langdale
A 40-foot-high slate cavern with a dramatic central pillar of rock holding up the roof, lit by openings in the walls. Part of the same quarrying heritage as Hodge Close — and just a short walk away, so the two are best visited together.
Little Langdale
A vast flooded quarry where a collapsed roof has created a natural skylight over deep green water — one of the most dramatic and least-known spots in the Lakes. Popular with cliff divers and wild swimmers. Pair a visit with Cathedral Cave, a few minutes' walk away.
Section 2
The most thrilling unusual thing to do in the Lake District: climb a cliff face on iron rungs and wire cables, clipped on the whole way.
Above Borrowdale
Follow the old miners' route up the cliff face on a fixed line of iron rungs and wire cables, high above Borrowdale, at England's last working slate mine. There are two routes — the Classic, suitable for first-timers, and the harder Xtreme. The via ferrata Lake District experience is genuinely unlike anything else in the national park.
Things to do in KeswickThe harder route
The full-fat version: a longer, more exposed route with a cargo-net climb and a cliff-edge burma bridge over a serious drop. Still fully clipped to a safety cable and guided, but with far more air beneath your boots. The harder option for anyone who finds the Classic route too gentle.
Section 3
Two very different castles — one a working fortress with a fearsome reputation, the other a vast romantic ruin.
Ravenglass
An 800-year-old fortress regularly named one of Britain's most haunted locations, still lived in by the same family. Beyond the ghost stories, it's home to the Hawk & Owl Centre and the World Owl Centre, with daily flying displays in the grounds. A brilliant rainy-day or family day out on the western edge of the Lakes.
Things to do in WasdaleNear Penrith
A vast Gothic ruin set in a 130-acre estate of gardens slowly being reclaimed from the wild. Children love The Lost Castle — one of the biggest adventure playgrounds in the country, built into the grounds. Atmospheric, photogenic and unlike any other castle visit in the Lakes.
Lowther Castle near PenrithSection 4
Crystal pools and mossy ravines well off the tourist trail — cold, clear and wonderful.
Borrowdale
Crystal-clear waterfalls and deep plunge pools strung along the beck near Stonethwaite — one of the Lakes' best wild swimming spots, and sheltered enough to be lovely on a warm day.
Eskdale
A 60-foot waterfall hidden in a steep, moss-covered ravine, reached via a suspension bridge over the gorge. One of the most spectacular and atmospheric falls in the Lakes — and far quieter than the famous ones.
Little Langdale
The flooded quarry from our caves section is also a renowned — if serious — wild swimming spot, its deep green water framed by sheer rock walls and the collapsed-roof skylight above. For confident, experienced open-water swimmers only.
Planning a wild swimming day?
Use the Lakes Planner appSection 5
The wonderfully odd corners of the Lakes you won't find on a postcard.
Keswick
Home to the world's longest pencil — and a genuinely surprising WWII story: pencils were secretly hollowed out and packed with tiny escape maps and compasses, smuggled to prisoners of war. The most unexpectedly fascinating museum in the North.
Things to do in KeswickBassenthwaite Lake Station
Take breakfast, lunch or afternoon tea inside the actual carriage used as the set for the 2017 film, with original props on display — then watch the film itself in the bar carriage. A wonderfully theatrical day out beside Bassenthwaite Lake.
Morecambe Bay edge
A rare tidal bore — a wave that travels up the estuary against the current on big spring tides — and one of the most accessible places in the country to witness it. A siren sounds before the bore arrives. A genuinely unusual natural spectacle.
Ravenglass
Among the tallest surviving Roman structures in northern Britain — 2,000-year-old bath house walls still standing well over head height, free to visit and surprisingly well preserved. Easy to combine with a trip to Muncaster Castle nearby.
Section 6
Stone circles and Roman forts in some of the most spectacular settings in Britain.
Near Keswick
Around 4,000 years old — predating Stonehenge — and ringed by a 360-degree backdrop of fells that no other stone circle can match. It's free and always open, and often blissfully quiet if you arrive at dawn.
Things to do in KeswickEskdale
One of the highest Roman forts in Britain, perched on the famously brutal Hardknott Pass — the steepest road in England. The remains are extensive and the views are extraordinary; just be sure of your driving before tackling the pass.
Section 7
No boots required — some of the finest Lake District viewpoints by car, with parking right there.
Ashness Bridge, near Keswick
A panoramic view over Derwentwater from a roadside pull-off above Ashness Bridge — no walking needed, just park and take in one of the great Lakeland views.
Great Langdale
An easy roadside pull-in with the jagged Langdale Pikes reflected in the tarn — one of the most photographed scenes in the Lakes, reachable on the drive over from Coniston.
Things to do in ConistonBorrowdale / Buttermere
A dramatic high road pass with parking at the slate mine at the top — wild, rugged scenery the moment you step out of the car.
Western fells
Remote, wild and gloriously empty — a narrow mountain pass with barely another tourist in sight, and the Three Shire Stone at the top.
Section 8
Away from the towns, the Lakes go properly dark — making Lake District stargazing some of the best in England.
The Lake District is one of England's largest Dark Sky Discovery Sites — on a clear, moonless night you can see the Milky Way with the naked eye.
The remotest valley in the Lakes — no through road, almost no light.
High forest above Keswick with organised dark-sky events through the year.
England's deepest lake under a vast dark sky, ringed by the highest fells.
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