Wainwrights for kids: easy fells for children

The best Wainwrights for kids are short, have a clear path with no drops beside it, and give a proper summit with something to look at. Latrigg above Keswick is the easiest of all: about 2 km there and back from the Gale Road car park, with around 100 m of climbing. Walla Crag, Catbells, Black Fell and Loughrigg Fell are the next step up.

Every fell here counts toward the 214 as much as Scafell Pike does. A child who ticks off Latrigg at six has started a round.

How we picked

This list is the Kid Friendly collection in the Upfell app. A fell makes it when there is a short, well-used route to the top with no scrambling, no exposed edge on the path, and a start with parking. We checked each one against its route write-up, and took off a few that had been tagged generously, including the higher tops above Hartsop, where the walk is fine but long for young legs.

That leaves low, friendly fells, mostly under 500 m. Some are the obvious ones, and some, like Sale Fell and Low Fell, are quiet hills most visitors never hear about.

The best first choices

• Latrigg, 368 m. Park at the end of Gale Road (postcode CA12 4PQ), already at about 280 m, and the top is a short stroll on grass. Look for The Witch, a wind-bent tree that looks like a figure on a broomstick. Older children can walk up from Keswick instead, through Fitz Park and up Spooney Green Lane.
• Walla Crag, 379 m. From the National Trust car park at Great Wood, a loop up Cat Gill and back by Rakefoot is under 5 km. The top ends in a cliff above Derwentwater. A wall runs behind the edge; keep children on the wall side of it.
• Black Fell, 323 m. Start at the National Trust car park at Tarn Hows, walk part of the way round the tarn, then climb through Iron Keld plantation. Walk My World found the detour adds about 1 hour 20 minutes to the Tarn Hows loop.
• Loughrigg Fell, 335 m. From White Moss on the A591, walk the level Loughrigg Terrace above Grasmere, climb the stone steps to the top and come back past Rydal Cave, where there are stepping stones across the pool at its mouth. The 555 bus stops at White Moss.
• Catbells, 451 m. The rock steps below the summit need hands for a few metres, and most children love them. Park at Hawse End or Gutherscale, or take the Keswick Launch to the Hawse End jetty.

By area

Around Keswick and the north west: Latrigg, Walla Crag and Catbells are all within a short drive or bus ride of town (see Wainwrights from Keswick). Barrow climbs straight out of Braithwaite on a grass ridge. Sale Fell, above the head of Bassenthwaite Lake, has grass and gravel paths with almost no bog. Its Walk Lakes circuit is 3.4 km with 215 m of ascent. Broom Fell starts from the Whinlatter forest and has Spout Force, a hidden waterfall, a short detour from the car park.

Grasmere and Ambleside: Loughrigg, Stone Arthur, Nab Scar, Gibson Knott and Steel Fell. Wansfell climbs from Ambleside past Stockghyll Force waterfall; there and back to both tops is about 7.6 km with 490 m of climbing, so it is one for older children. The Grasmere and Ambleside guides have the parking.

Coniston and Langdale: Black Fell and Holme Fell sit either side of the Coniston road and make a loop together. Holme Fell has a few rocky steps below the summit, and the flooded Hodge Close quarry on its north side has sheer drops into deep water, so hold hands there. Lingmoor Fell has a dry stone wall along its spine that you can follow to the top. See the Coniston guide.

Ullswater: Gowbarrow Fell goes up past the Aira Force waterfalls from the National Trust car park. The terrace path on the way back is narrow, with steep ground above the lake. Arnison Crag and Birks rise straight out of Patterdale, and Hartsop above How climbs from the Cow Bridge car park by Brothers Water. The Glenridding and Patterdale guide covers the area.

The west: Low Fell above Loweswater looks down Crummock Water to Buttermere. Park at Thackthwaite, where the lay-by takes only a couple of cars, and bring a map, as the paths are faint.

Watch for these

• Cliff edges on top. Walla Crag and Gowbarrow's terrace path are the obvious ones. Holme Fell's quarry is another.
• Ladder stiles. Nab Scar has one on the zigzag above Rydal. Small children will need lifting or a steady hand.
• Rock steps. Catbells needs hands for a few metres, and they are polished by boots, so they are slippery when wet.
• Bogs. Steel Fell's summit plateau is wet in any season, and so is the ground west of it towards Calf Crag. Low Fell has wet patches too.
• Cattle. The National Trust grazes cattle in Glenamara Park, below Birks and Arnison Crag.

What to take

A waterproof and a warm layer each, even in August, because the top is colder and windier than the car park. Hats and gloves outside summer. Plenty of food, water and a treat for the summit. A small first aid kit, and a map and compass: the tops of Loughrigg and Silver How are a maze of knolls in mist. The beginner's guide has the full list.

When to go

Pick a dry day with the cloud above the tops, so they see what they walked up for. Check the Mountain Weather Information Service (MWIS) forecast for wind on the summits, not the town. Latrigg, Walla Crag and Catbells fill up on sunny weekends and school holidays, so go early or midweek. In winter the low fells are a good fallback, but paths ice over: the winter Wainwrights guide covers which ones.

Next steps

When they are ready for more, the family-friendly Wainwrights guide has longer loops that suit mixed ages, and the easiest Wainwrights has exact times and climbs for ten short tops. For a day out with the dog as well, see dog-friendly Wainwrights. For somewhere to finish that everyone can reach, Castle Crag is the most popular last fell on the LDWA register; where people finish the Wainwrights has the rest.