Route: Loughrigg Fell
Area: Central Lake District
Date of walk: 25th September 2015
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 5.5 miles
Weather: cloudy at first, sunny spells later
Loughrigg Fell is one of the smallest fells in the district but what it lacks in height it makes up for with the beauty of its surroundings and the views from the top
We parked by St Mary’s Church Rydal and crossed the footbridge over the River Rothay. An easy path took us through idyllic scenery, at first along the shore of Rydal Water and then climbing gently to Loughrigg Terrace, from where there are wonderful views of Grasmere
At the end of the terrace we turned uphill and made the steady climb up to the summit of Loughrigg Fell. The views from here are superb in all directions
We descended the knobbly slopes of the fell in the direction of Windermere and then followed Fox Ghyll back down to Rydal, avoiding the main road by taking the path past Cote How
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Click on the icon below for the route map (subscribers to OS Maps can view detailed maps of the route, visualise it in aerial 3D, and download the GPX file. Non-subscribers will see a base map)
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Wren in the garden before we set off this morning
Start of the walk from St Mary’s Church Rydal
We cross the footbridge over the River Rothay
Rydal Water
Heron
Looking across the lake to the boathouse
Further along the shoreline path
Heron Island
Looking back to Rydal Water as the path starts to rise to Loughrigg Terrace
Loughrigg Fell is up on our left
Looking back along the path
Glorious views of Grasmere as we walk along Loughrigg Terrace and start to climb the fellside…
The Langdale Pikes
Climbing Loughrigg Fell
Summit of Loughrigg Fell looking over Grasmere village
View towards Langdale
Windermere
We descend initially in the direction of Windermere
Ambleside
Windermere again
We follow a path beside the dry stone wall
Fox Ghyll is on our right, and flows into the River Rothay lower down
Back down to valley level
We follow a quiet lane between Rydal and Ambleside
The River Rothay
Pelter Bridge - we turn left here to avoid walking back along the A591 which is just beyond the bridge
The quiet lane leading to Cote How
Back to the footbridge over the River Rothay
We walk back through the grounds of St Mary’s Church to end a great little walk
Back home, a red squirrel in the garden
