Crooklands

You can mix and match your national parks and national landscapes when staying at Crooklands. Travel to the eastern side of the Lake District National Park for Elizabethan grandeur at National Trust - Sizergh (35 minutes’ drive), or otters, sharks and rays at the Lakes Aquarium (50 minutes). At Windermere (45 minutes), you can take lakeside walks and boat cruises, enjoy cream teas and shop for outdoor gear. Turn south to the Forest of Bowland National Landscape and take long woodland ambles in Gisburn Forest (35 minutes), or take cuddly alpacas for a stroll at Wood End Alpacas (40 minutes). If you’d rather potter about in the Yorkshire Dales, have a gentle ramble to Malham Cove (25 minutes to the car park), or challenge yourself with a hard hike up Ingleborough (five minutes to the car park), the closest of the Three Peaks. Lively market towns to explore include Settle (10 minutes) and Sedbergh (35 minutes), while the soaring arches of Ribblehead Viaduct are only 20 minutes’ drive away.