10 Best Castles and Ancient Ruins in the Lake District

Hadrian’s Wall is actually just north of the Lake District proper but is a World Heritage Site that spans 73 miles coast to coast and is 2,000 years old. While the wall has crumbled over the millennia, many portions still stand and are still solid. The longest remaining stretch is found at the Birdoswald Roman Fort in Brampton, and this section also includes the remains of the actual fort, and offers an exhibition space and tearoom for education and eats.

Even better, as you explore the wall, you’ll see many other ancient sites that are cared for and maintained by English Heritage. This is among the oldest historic ruins in England.

Wray Castle is a National Trust site on the shores of Windermere, is open all year round and is among the treasures of the region with a deceptively modern history. This castle is only a couple of centuries old and dates to the Victorian era when it was commissioned by a surgeon who always wanted to live in a castle. The structure, however, was built in classic Gothic design with towers and turrets surrounded by elegant grounds and gardens, as well as Peter Rabbit adventure rooms for the kids to explore and play in.

The castle offers guided tours and daily talks. You can reach the castle by taking a ferry across Lake Windermere to the castle’s hidden jetty.

Carlisle Castle is a 900-year-old fortress that played a key role in many battles, including the Jacobite Rebellion, the English/Scottish wars and the Civil War. It was originally built on the site of an older Roman fortification by Henry II and is the spot where Queen Elizabeth I held Mary, Queen of Scots, prisoner. The castle stood as the principal fortress along the north-eastern border of England and Scotland for 500 years.

The castle has a maze of rooms, hallways and cul-de-sacs to explore on guided tours and also contains the Cumbria Museum of Military Life where you can see hundreds of artefacts, items and ephemera tracing the military history of the region.

Lowther Castle & Gardens, located 15 minutes north of the park centre, is an award-winning visitor attraction offering one of the largest adventure playgrounds in the UK, with interactive family activities. This attraction, called the Lost Castle, will keep your family engaged for an entire day. It includes towers, walkways, ziplines, turrets, sandpits, slides and other fun activities. When you’re not playing at the park, you can explore the dramatic remains of the castle and wander the formal 17th-century gardens, immaculately restored to appear as they once did.

The motte and bailey castle ruins are those of a fortress built for Sir Hugh de Lowther that was the home of the Earls of Lonsdale through the 20th century.

Sizergh Castle is a National Trust site that has housed the Strickland family for over 750 years and offers historic treasures, legends, stories and stunning interior design. Inside, you will see portraits that are centuries old, and traditional furnishings from centuries past, all juxtaposed alongside modern family photos. Don’t miss the Elizabethan Inlaid Chamber with its fine panelled decor.

The grounds are also a treasure, filled with ancient woodlands, unspoiled by the ages, through which you can take a guided countryside tour with a wild play trail to entertain kids and adults. Part of the grounds include a limestone rock garden and elegant, colourful tended wildflower beds. It’s all an hour south of the park.

Muncaster Castle is historic, majestic and reputedly haunted, offering magnificent views over the Ravenglass estuary and situated on 31 hectares of gardens and woodland 2 hours south-west of the park. Besides the potential for a ghostly encounter, the castle offers an adventure playground, an indoor Meadowvale Maze and an enchanted fairy trail to explore.

The castle is a key spot in the history of the region and offers Himalayan gardens, as well as a Hawk & Owl Centre with raptors and falconry shows. You can also explore unspoiled bluebell woodlands. Amenities here include a tea room in the Owl Garden to grab a bite and a beverage and a Carriage House gift shop to grab a souvenir.

Holker Hall & Gardens has been the home of Lord and Lady Cavendish for over 400 years, and even today offers an elegant and lavish country family home to explore. It offers antique furnishings and art exhibits, striking red sandstone walls and colourful formal gardens. The appointments of this manor an hour south of the park are largely Victorian, installed after a fire gutted the house in 1871.

On a tour, you won’t have to deal with ropes or barriers and are free to explore the library, drawing room, dining room and other areas. You’ll see original portraits of Charles II and Catherine of Braganza, and see the very bed that Queen Mary used in 1937.

Brougham Castle offers the impressive remains of an English Heritage Site keep that has survived since the 13th century set in idyllic settings along the banks of the River Eamont. You can spread out a blanket and enjoy a picnic meal right inside the castle ruins. Climbing the steps of the keep offers astonishing panoramic views of the entire Eden Valley. Kids love to play hide and seek in the secret passages, cul-de-sacs, cubby holes and spiral staircases throughout the mostly complete ruins. Some of the historic highlights are the double gatehouse and the Tower of League.

The castle is dog-friendly so long as the pups are on leads. An onsite shop serves snacks, beverages and ice cream in summer.

Ambleside Roman Fort dates to the 2nd century and is believed to have been built by Emperor Hadrian. While today most of what remains are the foundations, you can walk the design and enjoy idyllic lakeside views. You will also have the opportunity to learn all about the way Ambleside was connected to 2 other important ancient forts by Roman roads and explore the importance of its history in England.

You can access the ruins of the fort by walking through Borrans Park, a beautiful, unspoiled green space along the lake where you can enjoy a picnic meal. The fort is located in Ambleside, about an hour south-west of Lake District National Park.

Furness Abbey, also known as St. Mary of Furness, is the ruin of a former Catholic monastery dating to the 12th century, and offers expansively complete ruins. This abbey an hour-and-a-half south of the park was erected in 1125 by Count Stephen of Mortain, the Lord of Lancaster. Count Stephen later went on to become the King of England, and the abbey consequently became one of the wealthiest Cistercian monasteries in the nation. Historically, it is second only to the Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire.

You can walk the 900-year-old ruins here and discover the still-standing Outer Court and Precinct, the complete transept and tower of the church, the gorgeous Cloister Court, the dormitories, kitchen, infirmaries and chapter house.