Ambleside-Loughrigg Fell-Rydal Cave Hike

I was gifted some items from adidas for the purposes of this post. All words and opinions are my own.

Luke and I managed a childfree couple of nights in the Lake District recently, and couldn’t wait to head out on a hike. It’s been a long time since we’ve done any serious walking, in fact our last ‘proper’ hike was probably about 10 years ago when we did Helvellyn.

We were desperate to make the most of our opportunity, but equally realistic about our capabilities. Anyway, we headed off on what turned out to be a moderately challenging, but very achievable route that took in the summit of Loughrigg Fell, some lovely views over Grasmere and Rydal Cave.

To see my route on Strava, click here (and feel free to give me a follow if you like)

We were staying in a hotel at the tip of Lake Windermere, which was a bit of a treat and made a nice change (as much as love camping!)

From there we headed out of Ambleside and along Upper Loughrigg, a quiet country lane which eventually leads to Loughrigg Fell.

We followed this for a while and then picked up a bridleway on our left. This immediately starts heading uphill, but we were soon rewarded with some lovely views.

We followed the obvious path until it opened up onto the fells. You then come to a point where there is a rocky outcrop to your left and excellent views behind you back towards Lake Windermere.

In front, there is path heading downhill to the left and another heading diagonally up the hill to your right. Of course we went uphill.

From here we plodded on, set on reaching the summit of Loughrigg Fell. It certainly tested our fitness, and there was a nice little scramble to test our coordination as well.

At the summit of Loughrigg Fell with Lake Windermere in the background

Surprisingly, we made it to the summit with little problem and had a few minutes rest to catch our breath and admire the views. Once we were ready to set off again, we picked up the path that headed down to the right.

From here we have some great views of Grasmere, in front of us.

I don’t know if it’s just me, but I actually prefer going uphill to downhill. I find it a lot harder and more tiring, and this was quite challenging in places. I had opted for trainers rather than my walking boots, and although that was fine as it was so dry, I could have done with more support as we descended.

I’m not sure this photo does it justice, but this was a very steep section!

Once we had picked our way down the steep zig zags, we turned left and headed towards Rydal Water, leaving Grasmere behind us. This was a relatively flat and easy path to follow, and gave us a chance to catch our breath.

We followed the path above Rydal Water

The path passes in front of Rydal Cave, and we stopped again to have a quick look inside. It was lovely and cool and made an interesting place to rest for a few minutes. I did fancy a paddle, but was worried that I wouldn’t get my trainers back on!

After a nice and cool break, we got back on the path and headed back to Ambleside. From here it’s quite straightforward as it is signposted. This took us to the town centre where we enjoyed a very well deserved pint.

Enjoy a short video of the highlights here:

Have you ever visited Ambleside? Let me know below!