Loughrigg Tarn & Loughrigg Fell
Start Elterwater (NT, paid)
Getting here Parking: Elterwater (NT, paid), 0.0 km from the start (straight line). Bus: the 516 stops at Elterwater, opposite The Britannia Inn, a 70 m walk from this start. Getting there ↓ · Route map ↓
Hardest part Severe steepness: Steepest sustained descent about 35% around the 5.0 km mark.
Before you choose
- Loughrigg’s maze of little paths is genuinely confusing in mist — carry a map.
- Boggy hollows between the rocky knolls.
- Livestock; keep dogs close near sheep.
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.
See also walking in bad weather and today’s conditions.
Route map
1 Loughrigg Fell
Easy 80%Moderate 15%Hard 5%Severe <1%
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
- 1
Start → Loughrigg Fell (4.7 km, 358 m)
From Elterwater, walk up Mill Row, cross the B5343 and follow minor roads east for about 1.5 km, partly on a footway and a path beside them, climbing to about 184 m. At Red Bank a bridleway drops onto Loughrigg Terrace, which runs gently downhill east along the fellside above Grasmere. A path and then a gravel track carry on above Rydal Water to Rydal Cave. From the cave a rougher path climbs about 210 m in 1.2 km, bending round to the south-west and then west over the knolls to the trig point. The terrain on top is famously hummocky—a chaotic series of false summits, rocky knolls, and boggy hollows.
WaypointsRed Bank: Where a bridleway leaves the road for Loughrigg Terrace, just past the road's high point of about 184 m. Loughrigg Terrace: A public bridleway along the fellside above Grasmere. Rydal Cave: The old working beside the track, where the climb to the summit begins. Loughrigg Fell Summit (335m): Marked by a white OS trig pillar, sitting on the highest of the fell’s many rocky bumps, offering panoramic views of Windermere and the Langdale Pikes.
Decision pointVisual Handrails: Loughrigg Tarn lies to the south. On clear days, the prominent skyline of the Langdale Pikes (Harrison Stickle, Pike of Stickle) gives a westward reference. Boundary Walls: The drystone intake walls clearly delineate the open fell from the valley pastures below, and can act as a boundary to stop you dropping too far off the plateau prematurely.
Easy to get wrongNavigation in the Hummocks: Loughrigg is notoriously difficult to navigate in low visibility (clag). The plateau is a maze of intersecting sheep trods and unmapped paths through the knolls. It is very easy to lose your bearing and end up on the wrong side of the fell. Summer Bracken: From June to September, dense bracken obscures the lower paths, making them narrow and occasionally masking uneven ground or hidden rocks. Livestock: The fell is heavily grazed by Herdwick sheep. Dogs must be kept under strict, close control or on a lead, especially during lambing season in the spring. High Traffic: Loughrigg Terrace and Rydal Cave are honeypot locations. Expect heavy foot traffic, families, and other dogs here. Steep Drops: The edges of Loughrigg Terrace drop away sharply into the bracken toward Grasmere; keep dogs close to heel. Boggy Hollows: After heavy Lake District rain, the dips between the rocky outcrops become surprisingly deep, saturated bogs.
If you need to get offIf navigation becomes confusing or the weather turns, stop before you commit to ground you do not know. Work out where you are with the map and compass, then go back by a line you know: the way you came. If you cannot move safely, call 999 or 112 and ask for the Police, then Mountain Rescue.
Loughrigg Fell → Finish (5.0 km, 24 m)
From the trig point, the descent begins by threading south-west through the rocky outcrops, then drops steeply to a gate; this is the steepest ground on the route, about 46% near the 5.2 km mark. A public footpath continues south to a bridleway, which passes Loughrigg Tarn on your right. Beyond the tarn the bridleway joins the Foulstep road, which drops to Skelwith Bridge. Cross the B5343, walk about 100 m along the A593 and cross it to the public footpath past Skelwith Force. From there a bridleway follows the River Brathay and then the shore of Elter Water back to Elterwater.
WaypointsLoughrigg Tarn: Passed on the bridleway below the fell, on your right. Skelwith Bridge: Where the route crosses the B5343 and the A593. Skelwith Force: A waterfall beside the footpath below Skelwith Bridge. River Brathay and Elter Water: The riverside bridleway back to Elterwater.
Decision pointLoughrigg Tarn: Below the summit, the tarn on your right confirms the line. River Brathay: From Skelwith Force the river, then Elter Water, then Great Langdale Beck stay on your left back to Elterwater.
Easy to get wrongSteep Descent: The drop off the summit to the gate is the steepest ground on the route, about 46% near the 5.2 km mark. Roads at Skelwith Bridge: The route crosses the B5343, walks about 100 m on the A593 and crosses it.
If you need to get offA direction alone is not a way off: Loughrigg's knolls and steep drops catch people out. If you lose your way, stop before you commit to ground you do not know, work out where you are with the map and compass, and go back by a line you know. If you cannot move safely, call 999 or 112 and ask for the Police, then Mountain Rescue.
GPX track for your GPS or phone. Planned route · not yet walked
Summits bagged (1)
- 1Loughrigg Fell335 m
More about this walk
Bags Loughrigg Fell (335 m) — a summit with a view far bigger than its height suggests.
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.
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.
- 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.
How to read these times
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.
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.
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.
- Loughrigg Fell (verge, west 2) — joins the loop at about km 6.6 of 9.8: a 50 m walk to the line, and you walk the round from there
- Elterwater Common (free) — joins the loop at about km 0.3 of 9.8: a 130 m walk to the line, and you walk the round from there
- Silverthwaite (Lowther Estates, paid) — joins the loop at about km 8 of 9.8: a 230 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 516 stops at Elterwater, opposite The Britannia Inn, a 70 m walk from this start. We haven’t published last buses, Sunday or winter service yet, so check the timetable before you rely on getting back.
The 516 passes this route at 0.1 km (Elterwater, opposite The Britannia Inn, 10 m off the line). It passes again at 7.2 km. Other services cross it too — 555 at 2.7 km.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before travelling.
Toilets and refreshments
The essentials
- Arrival Elterwater’s National Trust car park, about 30 m from the start: pay and display, free for National Trust members. 30 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (Lake District National Park car-parks directory; National Trust, the Langdales, checked 11 August 2026)
- Toilets Toilets are mapped about 45 m from the start. 43 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (OpenStreetMap, as mapped on 13 September 2026, checked 13 September 2026)
- Refreshments Slates Coffee and Kitchen (about 75 m) and the Britannia Inn (about 85 m) are mapped by the start. Opening hours are not recorded here. 73 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (OpenStreetMap, as mapped on 13 September 2026, checked 13 September 2026)
- Limitation Loughrigg’s maze of little paths is confusing in mist, so carry a map. One short descent is steep, about 46%. (our route notes (this route's own warnings and summary), checked 2 October 2026)
Everything mapped near the start
At Elterwater (NT, paid), the closest parking we hold to where this route starts:
Distances are straight lines from the car park, not walking routes. Opening hours change; none of this is checked daily.
Mapped as nearby on OpenStreetMap too, as of 13 September 2026, within 250 m of the start and not already listed above:
Also mapped within reach: 2 information boards, a shelter.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in new tab), ODbL.
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
Severe overall — hardest: Steepness
Five independent axes, not one score. This route has not been walked yet, so none of them was set on the ground: three of the five are our judgement from the map and the route’s record, and the rest are computed from the recorded track and the map, which measures the line rather than surveying the ground.
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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Loughrigg Fell | 4.7 km | 358 m | 1:33–2:03 |
| Finish | 9.8 km | 382 m | 2:35–3:26 |
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.
Access & barriers
Can a dog, a buggy or dodgy knees manage this route?
- Buggy: Not a pushchair route.
- Knees: A long, steep ~46% drop over 250 m around the 5.0 km mark — hard on the knees.
With a dog
Hardest for a dog here: the steepest stretch, a sustained descent of about 35% around the 5.0 km mark.
- Stiles and gates: Endlessly varied and dog-friendly. (Lee) (set by hand)
- Rock and scrambling: Ground underfoot: Moderate – our judgement from the map and the route’s record; not walked yet. Knobbly fell paths plus tarnside; boggy in places.
- Drops and exposed ground: Easy – our judgement from the map and the route’s record; not walked yet. No real exposure.
- Ways off early: No path off the line is recorded, but it passes a bus stop where you could end the walk: the 516 at Skelwith Bridge, at Foulstep crossroads, about 7.2 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: 12 gates · 2 kissing gates
Barriers as mapped on OpenStreetMap, which can miss some. Spotted one? Tell us (opens in new tab). Barrier data as of 25 September 2026. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).
Places to stay near this start
From Elterwater: 5 places in Grasmere
Walks from places nearby
- Walks from Elterwater — 0.1 km from this start
- Walks from Little Langdale — 2.2 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.