Lake District - best activities for really bad weather?

[Tournament]

We love the Lakes and TBH will be out on the hills in most weather.

Our DC are still quite young though and we're not prepared to go upwards with them on days when it would be dangerous, in extreme weather or when the cloud is low.

What do you do in the Lakes, if you're generally hardly souls, but the weather is too bad to do a mountain. DSs love climbing a mountain, but aren't so keen on a "boring" low level walk.

Well ours used to quite like the Beatrix Potter museum.

There are also the boats on Windemere and a sea life thingy (if you fancy being ripped off).

The RSPB place at Carnforth is a bit of a drive south but has lots of covered hides and a great visitor centre, there is always something for little kids to join in there (badge making etc)

Lakeland plastics has a good cafe and a bit of a play area (not much though).

South lakes wild aimal park is brilliant.

Oh and Grizedale forest if you are taking their bikes.

The motor museum near Haverthwaite is good (especially if they're old enough to do the questionnaire thing, I'd say 4++); you can get an integrated ticket with the steam train at Haverthwaite and the animal thing on Windemere (end of the train line).
Lakeland Oasis is good, though not all indoors.

What about the Ravenglass-Eskdale railway?
Or the Sellafield visitors' centre - surprisingly interesting.

Honister Slate Mine is great for rainy weather... we have a cottage in Buttermere nearby that we let out (www.bowderbeck.co.uk) and lots of the guests go to the slate mine on a rainy day and leave very positive reports about it

Honister Slate Mine is great for rainy weather... we have a cottage in Buttermere nearby that we let out (www.bowderbeck.co.uk) and lots of the guests go to the slate mine on a rainy day and leave very positive reports about it

You can hire motorboats on Ullswater (from Glenridding) or Windermere (Bowness) for £18 an hour in Bowness (more on Ullswater, I think) - DS loved driving the motor boat, even though it was raining.

We went to the cinema in Ambleside in desperation.

This company run abseiling half day sessions in a quarry which they say is OK in the rain as quite sheltered

In Keswick there's an illusions museum which is good for a rainy day (sorry cant remember its name - just google it) and there also the Cumberland Pencil Factory.

Windermere, Coniston, Derwent Water and Ullswater all have steamers up and down the lake.

Dove Cottage, Blackwell House...

We have had extremely wet weeks in the Lakes 2 years running now. Over half term 2 weeks ago we set off twice in sun and were in thick mist / cloud by the time we got to our even modest summits.

NT places? Hilltop and Beatrix potter's gallery in hawkeshead were both enjoyed by our dds. (Get to hilltop early)

Wray catle is also NT. currently undeveloped as only fairly recently acquired I think, but indoors has childrens activities in every room, dressing up/ castle building/ colouring and outdoors has lovely grounds.

Railway path from keswick to threlkeld and back is good for a cycle if you're in the north lakes? It's very sheltered through trees so we've done it many times on rainy days. Not too long dd2 first did it (with many breaks and snacks at 4.
info here

Not. Sure how old the dcs are, ours are 5 and 7 and also prefer mountains to low level walks, but we have the "making tracks" pack for the lake district which are lower level walks, designed to be led by the children with maps and booklets illustrated for them to lead the way. Ours will consent to doing these in nastier weather! (The one a grizedale forest park is out of date though)

cheaper on amazon though naturally!