Ambleside, Todd Crag, Rydal Cave
Key facts
Difficulty profile
Five independent axes, not one score — all field-checked on the ground here, with nothing left as a desk estimate.
Conditions on this route
We score every Lakeland Wainwright each morning on cloud, wind, rain and underfoot, and this route crosses 1 of them. The worst summit governs the verdict — a route is only as kind as its roughest top.
Modelled guidance — not a substitute for the mountain forecast or your own judgement. See how every fell ranks today →
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.
Why this matters: 78% of Mountain Rescue call-outs come after midday — the day runs out on the way home, not on the way up. See also walking in bad weather and today’s conditions.
1 Loughrigg Fell
Easy 83%Moderate 12%Hard 5%Severe
Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right).
This walk covers about 10.38 km with around 392 m of ascent, taking in 1 summit. The map above shows the line; the elevation profile and stage notes are below.
Access & barriers
Can a dog, a buggy or dodgy knees manage this route? A quick read from the gates and stiles mapped along the way.
- Dog: Gates and kissing gates only — a dog can do the whole route.
- Buggy: Stiles or rough going on the route.
- Knees: A long, steep ~32% drop around the 4.8 km mark — hard on the knees.
On the line: 11 gates · 3 kissing gates · 1 step-over stile
These are mapped barriers, from OpenStreetMap — coverage in the Lakes is good but not guaranteed complete. Spotted a stile or gate we’ve missed? Tell us (opens in new tab) and we’ll fix it. Barrier data as of 2026-07-19. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).
Pacing
| Summit | Cumulative | Ascent | Time (fast–steady) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Loughrigg Fell | 4.4 km | 305 m | 1:23–1:51 |
| Finish | 10.4 km | 392 m | 2:44–3:38 |
Naismith-based estimate — a fast/steady range. Your pace will vary. These use Naismith’s textbook constants (5 km/h, 600 m of ascent an hour). Measured against a pace fitted to 41 recorded Lakeland walks they run about 8% slow, and we have left them that way deliberately: a slow estimate strands nobody.
The walk, stage by stage
- 1
Start → Loughrigg Fell (4.4 km, 305 m)
Starting from Ambleside (typically Rothay Park), cross the footbridge over the River Rothay and begin the immediate, steep climb up the southern flanks toward Todd Crag. Once the initial height is gained, navigate the sprawling, lumpy plateau of the fell, weaving north-west past small tarns and rocky hummocks to reach the true summit of Loughrigg Fell
WaypointsAmbleside (Rothay Park), Todd Crag, Lily Tarn, Loughrigg Fell summit (335 m)
Decision pointOn the initial climb, the sprawling view of Lake Windermere behind you is a fantastic orientation tool. On the plateau, maintaining a general north-west bearing is essential. The OS trig pillar at the true summit is the ultimate visual target, though it frequently disappears behind the endless false summits until you are right on top of it
Easy to get wrongThe gentle 7% average gradient hides a steep, heavily stepped, breath-sapping initial climb out of Ambleside. The primary challenge on Loughrigg is the terrain of the plateau itself: it is a highly confusing maze of crags, hidden bogs, and crisscrossing sheep trots. In high summer, towering bracken can obscure the paths entirely, making it easy to trip on unseen rocks or roots
If you need to get offIf disoriented on the plateau, carefully set a back-bearing south/south-east to retrace your steps toward Todd Crag and descend the main path back into Ambleside
Loughrigg Fell → Finish (6.0 km, 86 m)
Plunge north off the summit of Loughrigg Fell, descending the steep, pitched stone steps toward Grasmere. Near the bottom, turn right (east) to pick up the famous, wide path of Loughrigg Terrace. Follow the terrace high above Rydal Water, explore the massive slate cavern of Rydal Cave, and then continue along the shoreline tracks and the quiet 'Under Loughrigg' lane back into Ambleside
WaypointsLoughrigg Fell summit, Loughrigg Terrace, Rydal Cave, Rydal Water shoreline, Pelter Bridge, Ambleside Finish
Decision pointThe descent perfectly frames the lakes of Grasmere and Rydal Water directly below you. Once you connect with Loughrigg Terrace, this wide, heavily engineered highway acts as an infallible handrail all the way past the cave and onto the valley road
Easy to get wrongThe initial drop off the summit features steep, polished stone steps that can be highly treacherous when wet or icy, punishing tired knees. Inside Rydal Cave, entering requires hopping across stepping stones submerged in standing water, which are often incredibly slick. The 86 m of ascent is scattered across minor, barely noticeable undulations on the long, hard-packed walk back to the village
If you need to get offYou are on the final, incredibly well-trodden exit route. Once on Loughrigg Terrace, simply continue following the main track east; avoid attempting to shortcut directly down the steep, wooded banks to the water's edge, as the terrain is surprisingly rough and fenced off in places
Summits bagged (1)
- 1Loughrigg Fell335 m
Getting there & parking
Positions are approximate. Lakeland car parks fill before 9am on fine weekends.
Vehicles are left entirely at their owner’s risk. We list places people park; we cannot vouch for any of them. Judge it on the day: take valuables with you, leave nothing on show, and if a spot feels wrong when you get there, park somewhere else.
Every option near this start, on the parking map →
Water, shelter & getting away
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors — an absent marker does not mean the facility isn’t there.
Buses
We don’t know yet. The path network around this start isn’t mapped well enough for us to measure a walk from the nearest stop. That’s a gap in our data, not a sign that no bus comes here.
The 555 passes this route at 0.1 km (Ambleside, at Vicarage Road, 10 m off the line). It passes again at 7.8 km and 9.4 km.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.
If the parking is full
If the first one is full, these do not all fill together. 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.
- Ambleside, Lake Road (paid)
- Loughrigg Fell car park (free)
- Ambleside Cricket Club car park
Worked out from the parking we hold within walking reach of this route and the other walks each place serves — two places that serve the same walks fill for the same reasons. We are not saying whether anywhere has spaces today, and we never will: this is what exists, not what is free.
When the sun reaches the tops
Not sunrise — the moment the sun clears the skyline from that summit, which on a fell with high ground to its east can be a good deal later. The two equinoxes are shown because they fall in the walking season, and late December too wherever a top keeps you waiting then; the clock gap between the equinoxes is British Summer Time, not the hill. Rounded to the nearest quarter hour and meant as a general idea, not a schedule.
- Loughrigg Fell — in late March the sun reaches it around 06:30, with the sunrise. In late September, about 07:15. It waits longest in midsummer — about half an hour after sunrise.
Modelled from a 30 m elevation model against each summit’s own skyline — the same figures the fell pages carry, never observed. Cloud is not in it.
Safety & conditions
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.
Places to stay near this start
From Ambleside or Grasmere: 11 places