Heron Pike (Rydal)

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Summited April 2023

Home › Fells › Heron Pike (Rydal)

612 mWainwright — Eastern Fells+1 bonus Birkett within 3 km

Heron Pike at 612m (2,008ft) is near the southern end of the Fairfield Horseshoe ridge above Rydal, its rocky summit giving excellent views across Windermere and south to Morecambe Bay.

Summit conditions on Heron Pike (Rydal)

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 11° to 5°C, gusts to 59 mph, 13.0 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.

Against our lines, Tuesday 27 October: wind, cold and cloud from the Met Office UKV 2 km model (daylight hours, as in the verdict above); rain from the summit line’s forecast (the whole day). A tile is large when this top is past its line.

Wind on the top

Past the line

61 mph, our estimate for the open top in the worst daylight hour

The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 53 mph times our exposure factor of 1.14. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 59 mph, before any exposure factor.

The line Our line: 25 mph, where our wind Scale begins its 25–35 band: “balance affected; buffeting on exposed ground”. MWIS (opens in new tab) describes what wind does to a walker across a range rather than at a line: from about 20–25 mph it starts to affect your balance.

Estimated: it is not calibrated against summit readings, and the two forecasts can disagree by more than a band.

Cloud on the top

Past the line

18 out of 100, the clear-top reading

Averaged over the daylight hours, from the forecast’s humidity and low cloud.

The line Our line: a clear-top reading under 20 out of 100, where our scorer says “summit likely clagged in”. There is no outside threshold to cite; it is our estimate. What cloud does to finding the way: navigating in cloud.

Not an observation: cloud lifts and drops within the hour.

Rain, and the becks

Past the line

13.0 mm of rain over the whole day, midnight to midnight

The same figure as the summit line above and the 7-day forecast.

The line Our line: 6 mm in the day, where our scorer counts a day as soaking. We read rainfall, never river levels: becks in spate.

Open-Meteo’s forecast. It says nothing about rain already in the ground.

Also checked cold: feels like 1 °C, no ice or snow forecast. Under a line is not the same as fine: it means only that these figures are under the lines we use.

Not in these tiles Lightning, river levels, snow or ice already lying, and the ground under your feet. A tile cannot see them, so an empty space here never means they are absent.

Snow figures with a second opinion: Powered by Met Office data

Full 7-day summit forecast ↓

Wainwrights are scored for walking conditions each morning from the Met Office’s UK forecast model, read for each summit through Open-Meteo; the forecast figures are Open-Meteo’s, worked out for the summit’s height. How we check →

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)

Routes up Heron Pike (Rydal)

Choose the way up before the car park: these two routes start from two places, and the last two rows give the parking and bus at each route’s own start. Full maps further down.

Compared	Fairfield Horseshoe	Long Hike to Fairfield from Ambleside
Starts from	Rydal (or Ambleside)	Ambleside
Distance and climb	16.92 km, 1,009 m of climb	22.39 km, 1,425 m of climb
Time, fast to steady	~5–6¾ h	~6¾–9¼ h
Scrambling	Hands for a few steps: High Pike and Low Pike, and a short down-climb by Sweden Crag above Low Sweden Bridge (km 9.4–12.2 and km 13.1–13.5). A little easy scrambling in places, but nothing obligatory.	Hands for a few steps: rocky steps between Dove Crag and Hart Crag (km 10.0–11.4).
Exposure	Hard	Hard
Navigation	Hard	Hard
Steepest stretch	Climb of about 30% at 1.3 km (Hard)	Descent of about 28% at 18.6 km (Hard)
After the summit	Over Heron Pike North Top (Rydal Fell), Great Rigg, Fairfield, Hart Crag, Dove Crag, High Pike (Scandale) and Low Pike	Over Nab Scar
Walked or planned	Walked by Lee, April 2023	Walked by Lee, April 2023
Car park at the start	Pelter Bridge, Rydal (paid)	Ambleside, Lake Road (paid)
Bus to the start	555, 2.3 km walk from Rydal, at White Moss Common	555, 340 m walk from Ambleside, at Hayes Garden Centre

Times run from fast to steady pace (Naismith’s rule). Scrambling quotes each route’s own notes; “not mentioned” means they do not say, not that the ground has none. Each route’s page has its map, stages and GPX.

Distance, climb and the steepest stretch are measured from each route’s GPX track; the other grades are set on the ground, judged from the map or estimated from OpenStreetMap, and each route page says which. How we check →

Is Heron Pike easy?

Easy in the sense that matters most: there is no scrambling you have to do and the path is clear. It is not a short day, though, because the climb over Nab Scar to Heron Pike is the first on the Fairfield Horseshoe — 16.9 km and 1009 m of ascent for the full round, which we rate Hard, and the steepest of that comes early on the climb out of Rydal.

More than half of the climbing on the round is done by the time you reach Heron Pike. Once you are on the ridge the gradient eases and the walking is simple as far as Great Rigg.

How we check →

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Modelled for the 612 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

Full 7-day forecast

Tue 27 Oct

11° / 5°

59 mph

13.0 mm (100%)

Wed 28 Oct

9° / 6°

41 mph

12.4 mm (100%)

Thu 29 Oct

9° / 7°

28 mph

0.7 mm (33%)

Fri 30 Oct

8° / 6°

29 mph

0.0 mm (23%)

Sat 31 Oct

10° / 1°

12 mph

0.0 mm (18%)

Sun 1 Nov

8° / 1°

13 mph

0.0 mm (10%)

Mon 2 Nov

7° / 1°

17 mph

0.0 mm (0%)

Taken 27 October 2026, 08:13 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

Parking & buses for Heron Pike (Rydal)

Parking

Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.

Pelter Bridge, Rydal (paid) — at the start of Fairfield Horseshoe

For Loughrigg and the Rydal side of the Fairfield Horseshoe. Fees: pay and display; coins and cards; RingGo ID 37305 (LDNPA, checked August 2026).

Directions Something changed here?

If it is full: White Moss, Lower (paid) (2.4 km, 124 m up); Ambleside, Rydal Road (paid) (1.7 km); White Moss Common, Upper (paid) (2.3 km, 121 m up)

The Old School Room Tea Shop, Rydal Hall (~445 m straight line) — Free The Tea Room The Old School Room Tea Shop Badger Bar & Restaurant

Ambleside, Lake Road (paid) — 0.2 km from the start of Long Hike to Fairfield from Ambleside (straight line)

South end of town towards Waterhead. Fees: pay and display (Lake District National Park car-parks directory, checked August 2026). 1h £2.60; 2h £4.40; 3h £5.80; 4h £7.40; 6h £8.80; all day £10.60. Early Bird: £1.40 all day if you arrive before 09:00. Motorcycles free. Blue Badge: +1h free. Cash/card/contactless; PayByPhone 9908. 3/7-day passes and permits accepted (W&F council, checked August 2026). Charges apply 08:00-20:00, 7 days a week incl. bank holidays. The council's own page is contradictory about access outside those hours - it says both open all day and open from 8am to 8pm - so do not count on getting in before 08:00 (W&F council, checked August 2026).

Directions Something changed here?

Nab Scar (layby) — 1.6 km from summit (straight line)

Walking base for Helm Crag, Gibson Knott, Calf Crag and Steel Fell (Dead Pike - Steel Fell) — the 'Helm Crag, Gibson Knott, Calf Crag, Steel Fell and Tarn Crag' route starts 374 m away. Also serves 'Stone Arthur from Grasmere'. Free (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

4 more places to park near Heron Pike (Rydal)

Grasmere, roadside layby (free) — 1.6 km from summit (straight line)

Free roadside layby just outside the village, room for about 20 cars. No facilities beyond bins.

Directions Something changed here?

Broadgate Meadow car park, Grasmere — 1.8 km from summit (straight line)

About 0.5 km (straight line) to the Grasmere Village start (West of Grasmere, Stone Arthur, Helm Crag). Broadgate Meadow Car Park. Fees: pay and display; coins and cards; RingGo ID 37313 (LDNPA, checked August 2026).

Directions When people arrive, and what it costs →Something changed here?

Stone Arthur (layby) — 1.8 km from summit (straight line)

1.2 km from Stone Arthur.

Directions Something changed here?

Grasmere Hall car park (paid) — 1.9 km from summit (straight line)

About 0.5 km (straight line) to the Grasmere Village start (West of Grasmere, Stone Arthur, Helm Crag). Paid parking (OSM-tagged).

Directions Something changed here?

Positions are approximate.

Of the pay-and-display machine tickets sold at Broadgate Meadow from 17 August 2024 to 31 March 2026, 11% were bought before 10am (our count of FOI/2026.500 ticket data). Contains public sector information provided by the Lake District National Park Authority and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Vehicles are left at their owner’s risk: we list places people park and cannot vouch for any of them. Take valuables with you and leave nothing on show.

Buses

The 505, 516 and 555 stop at Ambleside, at Hayes Garden Centre, a 340 m walk from the start of Long Hike to Fairfield from Ambleside — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: distance). Last bus: Monday to Friday 22:43 towards Grasmere (555) and 20:29 towards Keswick (555); Saturday 22:43 towards Grasmere (555) and 20:29 towards Keswick (555); Sunday 19:09 towards Grasmere (555) and 18:15 towards Keswick (555). Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026; that timetable runs to 1 November 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

Stagecoach 555

Kendal – Staveley – Windermere – Ambleside – Rydal – Grasmere – Thirlmere (Wythburn & Swirls) – Keswick

Catch it from: Windermere · Ambleside

Year-round, roughly hourly. The backbone bus of the A591 — ideal for Helvellyn (Wythburn/Swirls), Fairfield, the Central fells and anything around Grasmere/Rydal. From Penrith, take the X4/X5 to Keswick and change.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat

Hazards on Heron Pike (Rydal)

Notes from the Fairfield Horseshoe route

A little easy scrambling in places, but nothing obligatory.

Quoted from the route page: its warnings.

We have not written a hazard card for this fell yet, and that is not a sign that it is low-hazard. Read the warnings on the route pages that climb it, check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected. The National Park Authority’s What to pack page, AdventureSmart’s hill walking kit list and Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s safety page are linked from our what to carry guide.

Navigating in cloud

Not graded by the model

Our terrain model finds nothing to grade on this summit, so it gives no cloud grade here — that is not a sign of easy navigation. Read this fell’s hazard notes and the route pages before a day in cloud. Carry map and compass, and know how to use them.

In winter — snow, whiteout, cornices, buried features — every top demands full winter navigation skills whatever its band, and a broad, gentle summit can be the worst place of all. See walking in bad weather and the navigation guide.

How Heron Pike (Rydal) compares with all 214: the Clag Index (experimental).

If you need Mountain Rescue

Dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Police, then Mountain Rescue.

Before you call, have ready: where you are (a grid reference if you can – the OS Locate app shows yours on your phone), what has happened, how many of you there are, and your mobile number.

Then stay where you are until the rescue team contacts you.

If you cannot make a voice call because of a hearing or speech impairment, emergency SMS works only if you have registered first: text “register” to 999.

From Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s guidance on calling them out (opens in new tab) (read 26 October 2026).

Map, GPX and nearby Birketts

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).

Parking, toilets and buses: Parking & buses ↑.

Birketts within 3 km of Heron Pike (Rydal)

These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.

0.4 km NNEHeron Pike North Top (Rydal Fell)621 m · Eastern

Routes over Heron Pike (Rydal)

Fairfield Horseshoe

Summits: Nab ScarHeron Pike (Rydal)Heron Pike North Top (Rydal Fell)Great Rigg Fairfield Hart Crag Dove Crag High Pike (Scandale)Low Pike

Download GPX Walked by Lee, April 2023

Best season: Any season in good conditions; save the broad, featureless summit for a clear day.

Warnings: Fairfield's broad summit plateau is confusing in cloud — carry a map and compass and take a bearing before descending. A little easy scrambling in places, but nothing obligatory.

Route guide: Fairfield Horseshoe →

Long Hike to Fairfield from Ambleside

Summits: Red Screes Dove Crag Hart Crag Fairfield Great Rigg Heron Pike North Top (Rydal Fell)Heron Pike (Rydal)Nab Scar

Download GPX Walked by Lee, April 2023

Warnings: Red Screes: The summit plateau drops away into steep, loose scree and crags on more than one side. A simple slip near the edge — especially in wind, cloud or with tired legs on descent — can turn into a long, uncontrolled fall over broken ground. Keep back from the rim and don't shortcut down the screes. Fairfield: Featureless and flat, with steep ground on three sides; in mist it is very easy to walk off on the wrong bearing. A compass and the discipline to trust it are essential — don't rely on cairns.

From the hazard notes for Red Screes · Fairfield, each with its sources.

Route guide: Long Hike to Fairfield from Ambleside →

Every line here is a guide, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate for yourself and carry a map and compass. How to use this guide.

On the hill: terrain and water on Heron Pike (Rydal)

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Fairfield Horseshoe route:

Church for Rydal Mount (146 m from the start, straight line) campsite (432 m from the start, straight line) Rydal Hall Youth Centre Bunkhouse (441 m from the start, straight line)

On the Long Hike to Fairfield from Ambleside route:

shelter (weather shelter, mapped, not checked; 6 m off the line) bus shelter (65 m off the line) bus shelter (77 m off the line) toilets (30 m off the line) toilets (108 m off the line) toilets (123 m off the line) Loughrigg Avenue (71 m from the start, straight line) Hayes Garden Centre (189 m from the start, straight line) Kelsick Road Stand 1 (256 m from the start, straight line) Ambleside Backpackers (19 m from the start, straight line)

About Heron Pike (Rydal)

Heron Pike (Rydal), a Lake District fell — Photo: Mick Knapton at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The ascent from Rydal is direct and straightforward, and it is the second top of the Fairfield Horseshoe from Rydal, after Nab Scar. The views across Rydal Water and Grasmere from the descent via Nab Scar are among the classic Lakeland lake views.

My Strava hikes over Heron Pike (Rydal)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Bit of a hike in the Lake District (opens in new tab) — 23.0 km · 1488 m ascent · 6h 13m moving · 3 April 2023

Data from Strava.

Classifications & hill data

Is Heron Pike (Rydal) a Wainwright?

Heron Pike (Rydal) is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list and the Nuttall list.

Selected lists

612 m

Height

2,008 ft

In feet

NY 3559 0831

Grid ref

This is the summit’s grid reference. If you call from anywhere else, give your own position, not this one.

The summit is also a Birkett.

Other tops of Heron Pike (Rydal)

Heron Pike North Top (Rydal Fell): 621 m (2,038 ft)Our routes over it: Fairfield Horseshoe, Long Hike to Fairfield from Ambleside

Lists, height and summit position from the Database of British and Irish Hills; the feet are converted from its metres and the grid reference from that position. How we check →

The view from Heron Pike (Rydal)

The 360° skyline from Heron Pike (Rydal)

A computed 360° skyline — every visible named top labelled by distance and bearing, from the terrain model in perfect clarity, not photographed. Drag to pan; reveal the far four-nations horizon.

drag to pan · arrow keys

The skyline as a list, by direction

North: Hart Crag (3 km), Fairfield (4 km), Helvellyn (7 km)
East: Red Screes (4 km), Caudale Moor (6 km), Stony Cove Pike (6 km), Thornthwaite Crag (8 km)
South-west: Wetherlam (10 km), Great Carrs (11 km), Swirl How (11 km), Little Stand (12 km), Great How (12 km), Grey Friar (12 km), Brim Fell (13 km), The Old Man of Coniston (13 km)
West: High Raise (8 km), Shelter Crags (11 km), Crinkle Crags (11 km), Crinkle Crags (11 km), Crinkle Crags (11 km), Crinkle Crags South Top (11 km), Bowfell (11 km), Crinkle Crags (11 km), Esk Pike (12 km), Great End (13 km), Ill Crag (13 km), Broad Crag (14 km), Scafell Pike (14 km), Great Gable (15 km), Scafell (15 km), High Crag (18 km), High Stile (20 km), High Stile (20 km), Red Pike (21 km)
North-west: Sail (20 km), Crag Hill (20 km), Eel Crag (21 km), Grisedale Pike (21 km), Sand Hill (22 km), Hopegill Head (22 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Snowdon (171 km, Wales), Carnedd Llewelyn (159 km, Wales), Aran Fawddwy (192 km, Wales), Moel Siabod (167 km, Wales), Cairnsmore of Carsphairn (118 km, Scotland), Arenig Fawr (179 km, Wales), Yr Eifl (191 km, Wales), Craig Cwm Silyn (178 km, Wales).

Computed from Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills v18.4 (opens in new tab) (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

Sunrise and sunset on Heron Pike (Rydal)

Heron Pike (Rydal) waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls at midsummer, when the sun is up for 30 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 05:07 against an almanac sunrise of 04:37. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the north-east from here (51.4°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 3.0°.

Midsummer. The filled shape is the skyline as seen from the summit; the line is the sun’s path. Where they meet is first light — everything left of that point is the wait.

Times for 2026, in Lakeland clock time (GMT in winter, BST in summer) — and model outputs rather than observations.
	First light	Almanac sunrise	Difference
Midsummer	05:07 BST ±5.0 min	04:37	+30 min
Equinox	06:28 GMT ±5.0 min	06:15	+13 min
Midwinter	08:31 GMT ±5.0 min	08:32	-1 min

The northern horizon stands at about 2.4° from here.

Last light — when the sun leaves Heron Pike (Rydal)

The evening here runs close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its earliest evening of the modelled year (on 1 October) last light is only 10 minutes before almanac sunset, so the published sunset time is a fair guide on Heron Pike (Rydal).

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
	Last light	Almanac sunset	Difference
Midsummer	21:56 BST ±5.0 min	21:52	+4 min
Equinox	18:17 GMT ±5.0 min	18:26	-9 min
Midwinter	15:40 GMT ±5.0 min	15:49	-9 min

These are daylight figures, not a descent plan: the light goes on fading for a good while after the sun leaves, and going down in it is a decision about your own ground and party, not about this table.

What you can see from Heron Pike (Rydal)

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.

65Wainwrights in view+7 marginal

171 kmFurthest sightlineSnowdon (Yr Wyddfa) · possible under favourable refraction

1Sea in viewMorecambe Bay

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Wales and Scotland.

Far horizons

Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) WalesSSW · 171 km clear
Carnedd Llewelyn WalesSSW · 155 km clear
Criffel ScotlandNW · 68 km distant
Ingleborough Yorkshire DalesSE · 52 km clear
Whernside Yorkshire DalesSE · 46 km clear
Morecambe Bay bay/estuaryS · 34 km in view

All 65 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Stone Arthur, Low Pike, High Pike (Scandale), Great Rigg, Dove Crag, Helm Crag, Hart Crag, Loughrigg Fell, Seat Sandal, Fairfield, Silver How, Red Screes, Gibson Knott, Steel Fell (Dead Pike - Steel Fell), Dollywaggon Pike, Tarn Crag (Easedale), Blea Rigg, Baystones (Wansfell), Calf Crag, Stony Cove Pike (Caudale Moor), Lingmoor Fell (Brown How), Helvellyn, Black Fell, Sergeant Man, Pavey Ark, Harrison Stickle, Ullscarf, High Raise (High White Stones), Thunacar Knott, Thornthwaite Crag, Loft Crag, Holme Fell, Sour Howes, Pike of Blisco, Armboth Fell (Armboth Fell South Top), Wetherlam, Cold Pike, High Tove, Bowfell, Crinkle Crags - Long Top (Second Crinkle), Great Carrs, Swirl How, Allen Crags, High Seat, Esk Pike, Grey Friar, Great End, Brim Fell, The Old Man of Coniston (Coniston Old Man), Scafell Pike, Grey Knotts, Scafell, Harter Fell (Eskdale), High Crag (Buttermere), Causey Pike, Scar Crags, Sail, High Stile, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Red Pike (Buttermere), Grisedale Pike, Hopegill Head, Whinlatter (Brown How - Whinlatter), Lord's Seat, Broom Fell

How the view from Heron Pike (Rydal) compares with all 214 — the View Report: every Wainwright ranked by what you can see from the top.

How the skyline, light and sightlines are computed

Computed, not photographed. First light is the first minute the sun’s upper limb clears this summit’s own skyline and last light the last minute it is still clear of it, both solved against the 360° horizon profile behind The View from Heron Pike (Rydal). Almanac sunrise and sunset are the flat-horizon convention. Every time carries a ± band from the 30 m elevation model — it smooths arêtes and cornices, so nothing here claims better than five minutes.

Sightlines from the Copernicus GLO-30 elevation model, which is a surface model: each 30 m cell holds the top of whatever stands there, trees and buildings included, rather than bare ground. Corrected for the Earth’s curvature and average atmospheric refraction. “Distant” sightlines and any over 100 km depend on exceptionally clear air. Modelled from Copernicus GLO-30 open elevation data — a guide to the view, not a guarantee of any single one.

Places to stay near this fell

From Rydal: 7 places in Ambleside · From Ambleside or Grasmere: 3 places

Frequently asked questions about Heron Pike (Rydal)

Is Heron Pike easy? Answered above.

Questions from Google’s “People also ask”. · Last updated 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)

Heron Pike (Rydal)

Summit conditions on Heron Pike (Rydal)

Wind on the top

Cloud on the top

Rain, and the becks

Routes up Heron Pike (Rydal)

Is Heron Pike easy?

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Parking & buses for Heron Pike (Rydal)

Parking

Buses

Hazards on Heron Pike (Rydal)

Notes from the Fairfield Horseshoe route

Navigating in cloud

If you need Mountain Rescue

Map, GPX and nearby Birketts

Birketts within 3 km of Heron Pike (Rydal)

Routes over Heron Pike (Rydal)

On the hill: terrain and water on Heron Pike (Rydal)

Water & shelter on the way up

About Heron Pike (Rydal)

My Strava hikes over Heron Pike (Rydal)

Classifications & hill data

Is Heron Pike (Rydal) a Wainwright?

Selected lists

Other tops of Heron Pike (Rydal)

The view from Heron Pike (Rydal)

The 360° skyline from Heron Pike (Rydal)

Sunrise and sunset on Heron Pike (Rydal)

Last light — when the sun leaves Heron Pike (Rydal)

What you can see from Heron Pike (Rydal)

Places to stay near this fell

Frequently asked questions about Heron Pike (Rydal)

Other fells near Heron Pike (Rydal)