Kendal Castle was probably built in the late 12th century as the home of the Barons of Kendal. The best known family to live there were the Parrs, including Katherine, the 6th wife of Henry VIII. The building has been a ruin since Tudor times but imposing stonework remains are still present. The site is freely accessible to the public. It is managed by the South Lakeland District Council. The well on the East side of the castle would have been the only source of water for the inhabitants in the event of a siege.

Windermere is the largest natural lake in England, and is entirely within the Lake District National Park. It has been one of the country’s most popular places for holidays and summer homes since 1847, when the Kendal and Windermere Railway built a branch line to it. Since ‘mere’ means ‘lake’, referring to Windermere as ‘Lake Windermere’ is tautologous, though common. Windermere is 10.5 miles long stretching from Newby Bridge to Ambleside and varies from a quarter of a mile to one mile wide at Millerground. The lake covers an area of 14.7 sq km.

Sizergh Castle & Garden is a castle, stately home and garden, about four miles south of Kendal, and in the care of the National Trust. The Deincourt family had owned the land here since the 1170s and on the marriage of Elizabeth Deincourt to Sir William de Stirkeland in 1239, the estate passed into the hands of what became the Strickland family, who owned it until it was gifted to the National Trust in 1950. The family still inhabit the estate. The core of the medieval castle is a 14th-century pele tower surrounded by a Tudor house.

Recognised as one of Europe's leading conservation zoos, the South Lakes Wild Animal Park at Dalton-in-Furness is the Lake District's only zoological park and the only one in Britain to house both the Sumatran Tiger and the Amur, the largest and smallest tigers in the world . Home of the Sumatran Tiger Trust and the Wildlife Protection Foundation, the zoo opened in 1994 on converted farmland and now holds all six South American Margays in the country as well as having the largest collection of kangaroos outside of Australia. It is also one of the few parks to allow lemurs to roam freely.