Ambleside to Rydal, with Refreshments and Stepping Stones
Start Ambleside
Getting here Parking: Ambleside, Rydal Road (paid), 0.2 km from the start (straight line). Bus: the 555 and 599 stop at Ambleside, at Vicarage Road, a 190 m walk from this start. Parking & buses ↓
Before you choose
- The line passes the stepping stones over the Rothay near 2.1 km but does not cross them; it crosses the river by Pelter Bridge. A pushchair cannot use the stones.
- A kissing gate is mapped close to the line near 1.7 km.
- Under Loughrigg Road is a lane shared with cars, with cattle grids on it.
- At Rydal the line follows the A591 pavement for a short way, and OpenStreetMap maps steps close to the line near Rydal Hall, around 3.1 km.
- Check the tea shop’s opening before relying on it.
Daylight & turnaround
Daylight is short from October to February — check today’s sunrise and sunset before you set off, and carry a head-torch and spare batteries. On short days, decide your turn-back time before you start.
See also walking in bad weather and today’s conditions.
Access & barriers
Can a dog, a buggy or dodgy knees manage this route?
- Buggy: A pushchair has been along all of this line except km 2.8–3.5 at the Rydal end: Lee pushed one along it in April 2026. That stretch, where the line follows the A591 pavement and passes the steps mapped near Rydal Hall, is from the map.
- Knees: No sustained steep descent in the track’s height model (steepest 250 m about 6%). Steps, wet rock and the surface underfoot are not assessed; your own knees still matter.
With a dog
Not every line below has been assessed. The steepest stretch is a sustained descent of about 5% around the 3.4 km mark.
- Stiles and gates: Only gates and kissing gates are mapped: no stile a dog can’t get through. That is the barriers alone; check the route’s steep or rocky ground before you bring a dog. (OpenStreetMap, mapped as of 2026-10-03)
- Rock and scrambling: Ground underfoot: Easy – graded by Lee on the ground, on the stretches he walked. Surfaced lane and bridleway nearly throughout; the desk model counted the lanes as pathless. Set by Lee, 3 Oct 2026.
- Drops and exposed ground: Not assessed on the ground; the map suggests Easy. No mapped crags on or beside the line.
- Ways off early: No path off the line is recorded, but it passes a bus stop where you could end the walk: the 555 at Church for Rydal Mount (near), about 2.8 km. The buses section says which bus and when.
- Livestock, shade and water: Not recorded for this route yet. We never call a stream safe for a dog to drink, so carry enough for both of you. The lead rules, and what to do around cattle, are on dogs on the fells.
On the line: 4 gates · 1 kissing gate
Barriers as mapped on OpenStreetMap, which can miss some. Spotted one? Tell us (opens in new tab). Barrier data as of 2026-10-03. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).
Route map
Easy 100%ModerateHardSevere
Heights on this chart and its high point are read from the track itself (a terrain model sampled along the line, or a GPS recording), so a top can differ from its listed height, usually reading lower.
Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).
The elevation profile is under the map; the stage notes follow.
The walk, stage by stage
Ambleside → Miller Bridge (0.6 km, 0 m)
Lee walked most of this line with a pushchair in April 2026; we have written these directions from the map. From the centre of Ambleside, cross Compston Road at the lights and follow its pavement south-west to Vicarage Road at about 0.15 km. Turn right along Vicarage Road and through the gate into Rothay Park at about 0.3 km. Follow the surfaced public footpath west-north-west across the park, over Stock Ghyll, to Miller Bridge over the River Rothay at about 0.65 km.
WaypointsCompston Road, Vicarage Road, Rothay Park, Stock Ghyll, Miller Bridge.
Miller Bridge → Pelter Bridge (2.0 km, 23 m)
Over Miller Bridge, turn right onto Under Loughrigg Road, past a cattle grid. Follow this lane, a public bridleway, north-west and then north for about 1.95 km, with the River Rothay on your right, past Fox How. Near 2.1 km the lane passes the stepping stones over the Rothay; the route does not cross them. Carry on over two more cattle grids to Pelter Bridge at about 2.6 km, and cross the river there.
WaypointsMiller Bridge, Under Loughrigg Road, Fox How, the stepping stones (passed, not crossed), the cattle grids, Pelter Bridge.
Decision pointFrom Miller Bridge to Pelter Bridge the River Rothay is on your right. The crossing is Pelter Bridge, the road bridge at about 2.6 km, not the stepping stones.
Easy to get wrongUnder Loughrigg Road is a lane shared with cars. A kissing gate is mapped close to the line near 1.7 km.
© Lee McCoy Pelter Bridge → Turning point at Rydal Hall (0.5 km, 26 m)
Over Pelter Bridge, follow the lane to the A591 and walk north-west along its pavement for about 0.25 km, past the bus stops for Rydal Mount. At about 2.85 km cross the A591 and go north up the lane opposite, a public bridleway, past St Mary's Church and through the gates to Rydal Hall at about 3.05 km, where the line turns back. The Old School Room Tea Shop is mapped about 60 m off the line here; check its opening before relying on it. We have checked this stretch, from about 2.8 km, on the map, not on foot.
WaypointsPelter Bridge, the A591 pavement, the Rydal Mount bus stops, the lane to Rydal Hall, St Mary's Church, Rydal Hall.
Easy to get wrongOpenStreetMap maps steps close to the line near Rydal Hall, around 3.1 km.
If you need to get offThe map shows the line on the A591 pavement to about 2.85 km, past the bus stops for Rydal Mount, then up the lane opposite, a public bridleway, to Rydal Hall; the way off is back down the lane to the A591 and those bus stops, never more than about 0.25 km; not walked for this guide.
© Lee McCoy Turning point at Rydal Hall → Finish (3.2 km, 30 m)
From Rydal Hall the line makes a short loop of about 0.1 km on the gravel public footpath in front of the hall, then goes back down the lane, past the church, to the A591 at about 3.3 km. Cross, and follow the pavement back to Pelter Bridge at about 3.6 km. This stretch, to about 3.5 km, is also from the map. Recross the river and retrace Under Loughrigg Road, with the river now on your left, to Miller Bridge at about 5.55 km. Cross it, and go back across Rothay Park and along Vicarage Road and Compston Road to the start.
WaypointsRydal Hall, the lane past St Mary's Church, the A591, Pelter Bridge, Under Loughrigg Road, Fox How, Miller Bridge, Rothay Park, Vicarage Road, Compston Road.
Decision pointOn the way back the River Rothay is on your left from Pelter Bridge to Miller Bridge.
If you need to get offBus stops for Rydal Mount are mapped beside the A591 at Rydal, at about 2.8 km.
GPX track for your GPS or phone. Walked in part · km 2.8–3.5 from the map
More about this walk
Drawn from the map. Lee has walked most of this line with a pushchair (April 2026), and the page names the stretch he has not; the Ambleside ends, to about 0.7 km and from about 5.4 km, he had also walked with a pram in April 2023. As drawn the line needs neither the stepping stones nor a stile: it passes the stones and crosses the river by Pelter Bridge.
Conditions and timing
Check live conditions in the “From the fells” panel, on MWIS (opens in new tab) and the Met Office mountain forecast (opens in new tab) before you set off.
Getting there and back
Parking
2 more places to park near the start
Positions are approximate.
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.
If the parking is full
If the first one is full, these overlap least in our model. The 3 below sit in different places or are different kinds of parking, so a busy morning at one does not mean a busy morning at all of them.
- Rydal Hall (paid, for visitors) — joins the loop at about km 3.1 of 6.2: a 50 m walk to the line, and you walk the round from there
- Ambleside, Miller Bridge (paid) — joins the loop at about km 0.4 of 6.2: a 290 m walk to the line, and you walk the round from there
- Under Loughrigg Road (verge), Ambleside — joins the loop at about km 5.6 of 6.2: a 50 m walk to the line, and you walk the round from there
We never say whether anywhere has spaces today. Walks to the line are measured along mapped paths (OpenStreetMap), not in a straight line. How we choose these places.
No signal when you get there? RoutePark keeps this list on your phone: choose this walk’s GPX at home, keep it, and it opens offline.
Buses
The 555 and 599 stop at Ambleside, at Vicarage Road, a 190 m walk from this start. This walk starts and ends in Ambleside, so there is no bus to catch back to the start.
The 505 passes this route at 0.2 km (Ambleside bus interchange (Stand 2), 180 m off the line). Other services cross it too — 555 at 2.8 km, 599 at 5.9 km.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.
Toilets and refreshments
The essentials
- Arrival St Mary’s car park is mapped beside the line about 300 m in; other car parks are mapped in Ambleside. (OpenStreetMap contributors, Cumbria extract of 24 July 2026, checked 3 October 2026)
- Toilets Toilets (pay, open March to November as mapped) are beside the line about 350 m in; more are mapped at Rydal Hall. (OpenStreetMap contributors, Cumbria extract of 24 July 2026, checked 3 October 2026)
- Refreshments The Old School Room Tea Shop at Rydal Hall is mapped about 70 m off the line at the turn; Ambleside has plenty at the start. Opening hours are not recorded here. (OpenStreetMap contributors, Cumbria extract of 24 July 2026, checked 3 October 2026)
- Limitation Not a whole-way pushchair route: a kissing gate near 1.7 km, steps mapped near Rydal Hall and a rough footpath on the way back. (OpenStreetMap contributors, Cumbria extract of 24 July 2026, checked 3 October 2026)
Water, shelter & getting away
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors — an absent marker does not mean the facility isn’t there.
Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat
Planning detail
How each grade on this page is set, and the timings stage by stage.
Difficulty profile
Easy overall — hardest: Length, steepness, terrain (graded by Lee on the ground, on the stretches he walked) and navigation (graded by Lee on the ground, on the stretches he walked); exposure not assessed on the ground
Five independent axes, not one score. Two of the five were set on the ground; the rest are computed from the recorded track and the map, which measures the line rather than surveying the ground. This line was walked in part, so a grade set on the ground covers the stretches Lee walked; km 2.8–3.5 is from the map.
How we grade: each axis is Easy, Moderate, Hard or Severe, and a route between two bands takes the higher one. Length: under 8 km, 8–14 km, 14–20 km, over 20 km. Steepness, the steepest 500 m of the track: under 15%, 15–25%, 25–35%, over 35%. Terrain, navigation and exposure are judged rather than measured, and each note says why. How we grade.
Pacing
| Summit | Cumulative | Ascent | Time (fast–steady) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | 6.2 km | 78 m | 1:22–1:49 |
A fast–steady range from Naismith’s rule, deliberately on the slow side. Breaks, weather, rough ground and the slowest person in your party all add to it. How we time walks.
Walks from places nearby
- Walks from Ambleside — 0.1 km from this start
- Walks from Stock Ghyll Force — 0.8 km from this start
Straight-line distance from this walk’s start. Those lists hold the routes we have mapped and every Wainwright and Outlying fell within about 5 km of the town, ranked nearest first.
