Strenuous Leader: Paul Distance : 8 miles
This walk is Loughrigg and Heron Pike – the walk we were forced to abandon some years ago when torrential rain flooded the path forcing us to turn back to a rapidly rising flooded carpark.
A varied walk, which although consisting of no great height for the Lakes (1,000 ft) Loughrigg is a rough old fell and warrants the designation of an ‘A’ walk. The Terrace views over Grasmere are justly famous.
We start from Ambleside heading W to Brow Head and on to Lily Tarn. Turning NW to ascend Loughrigg Fell. We then follow The Terrace E to descend N down to the confluence of Grasmere and Rydal Water, crossing the waters through lakeside woods heading N to Alcock Tarn then NNE to Heron Pike. We t then pivot S back to Ambleside taking in Rydal Hall. A ‘classic’ Lake District walk.
Moderate Leader: Laura Distance : 7 ½ miles
912 ft total ascent.
Please note that everyday trainers and leisure footwear are not suitable for this walk.
We start at Rothay Park and begin our steady ascent along the bridleway to Tarn Foot, with views of Lake Windermere. We continue on the How, past Loughrigg Tarn to Loughrigg Terrace with views of Grasmere.
We pick up the bridleway again along Rydal Water to Rydal and Rydal Mount.
We follow a footpath behind Rydal Hall, to the falls at River Rothay then along Rydal Park back to Ambleside via Scandale Bridge.
The terrain comprises of wide stone paths with some streams that cross over. There are one or two small stretches of large limestone pieces. No mud, or livestock just one stile.
Easy Leader: No leader – OS maps will be provided for independent walking & a sheet of previous walks and suggested routes will be distributed on the coach.
NOTES ON THE AREA
Once a mill town whose becks and rivers provided power for waterwheels, Ambleside long ago made its peace with visitors and started to provide for their needs. There are book shops, outdoor pursuit shops and gift shops too numerous to mention, whilst the streets throng with people spilling off the pavements, and cars go gyrating in a gigantic roundabout through the town centre. But, in spite of all this, Ambleside still retains its charm. The architecture is principally that of a Victorian town, whilst up the hill leading to the Kirkstone Pass some houses date from the 15th Century.
The earliest sign of man, however, is much earlier as the Romans built their fort, Galava, on the shores of Windermere. There are no impressive columns or walls still standing, only a few stones poking through the grass, but nevertheless they are a reminder that Ambleside has been inhabited for nigh on a thousand years.
In the centre of Ambleside the quaint little Bridge House, built over the River Rothay like something out of a fairy tale, dates from the 17th Century. It was probably a summer house for Ambleside Hall, though in 1843 Chairy Rigg lived here with his wife and six children. With one room up and one room down, how they all fitted in is a mystery. An attractive subject for any artist who can brave the inquisitive passersby. It was painted by JMW Turner on one of his northern tours. In 1926 it was bought by the National Trust and in 1956 became its very first information and recruiting centre in the country.
Stockghyll Force, a popular beauty spot from Victorian times, still has the remains of the railed viewpoints where Victorian ladies stood to admire the scene. It is well worth visiting after heavy rain. Beside the stream, one of the old mills has been converted to holiday flats.
In the Ice Age, the undulating top of Loughrigg Fell was scraped clean by glaciers, leaving a landscape of bare rocky outcrops and boggy hollows, now occupied by tarns and pools. Though little over a thousand feet in height, and barely a square mile in extent, there is more scenery packed into Loughrigg Fell than practically anywhere else in Lakeland.