Loughrigg Terrace & Rydal Water
Photo: © Lee McCoy
Key facts
Difficulty profile
Five independent axes, not one score. “Desk” ratings come from maps and guidebooks, not yet walked — treat them as a guide, not a survey.
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: Not a pushchair route.
- Knees: No sustained steep descent — kind on the knees.
On the line: 20 gates · 2 kissing gates · 2 step-over stiles
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 2026-07-09. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).
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.
Easy 99%Moderate 1%HardSevere
Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right).
This walk covers about 10.71 km with around 288 m of ascent. The map above shows the line; the elevation profile and stage notes are below.
Pacing
| Summit | Cumulative | Ascent | Time (fast–steady) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | 10.7 km | 288 m | 2:37–3:29 |
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
Grasmere / Rydal (Pelter Bridge or White Moss car parks) → Finish (10.7 km, 288 m)
Starting from either White Moss or Pelter Bridge, cross the River Rothay and pick up the wide tracks leading along the southern shore of Rydal Water. Climb the gentle incline onto the elevated, famous path of Loughrigg Terrace, passing the entrance to the massive slate cavern of Rydal Cave. Continue west along the terrace with sweeping views over Grasmere, then descend to the lakeshore, tracking the water's western and northern edge into Grasmere village. Complete the loop by returning east via the historic Coffin Route traversing the lower slopes of Nab Scar, walking high above the valley road back to your starting car park
WaypointsPelter Bridge / White Moss, River Rothay footbridge, Rydal Cave, Loughrigg Terrace, Grasmere lakeshore, Grasmere village, The Coffin Route (Nab Scar lower slopes), Finish
Decision pointThe route is dominated by two massive bodies of water; Grasmere and Rydal Water serve as continuous, infallible visual handrails throughout the loop. The trail itself utilizes wide, historic highways (Loughrigg Terrace and the Coffin Route) that are heavily signposted and impossible to lose, making navigation effortless even in thick clag
Easy to get wrongA long but technically straightforward low-level circuit. The 288 m of ascent is gently distributed across minor, rolling undulations rather than steep climbs. Entering Rydal Cave requires hopping across stepping stones submerged in standing water, which are notoriously slick. The heavily worn, engineered paths on the terrace can feature polished rock that is slippery when wet, and the sheer volume of walkers here in high summer can be an obstacle. Note that after heavy Lake District rain, the lower lakeshore paths around Grasmere frequently flood and become deep with mud
If you need to get offBecause this is a low-level valley circuit, you are never far from civilization. If fatigue sets in or the weather turns, you can easily drop down to the main A591 road that parallels the route. From there, you can walk the flat tarmac directly back to your vehicle or catch one of the frequent local buses (555 or 599) traversing the valley
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 0.2 km (Ambleside, opposite Health Centre, 90 m off the line). It passes again at 8.0 km and 10.7 km. Other services cross it too — 505 at 0.6 km, 516 at 4.6 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.
- Loughrigg Fell car park
- Ambleside, King Street (paid)
- Loughrigg Fell car park (free)
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.
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.
Make it easier or harder
Easier and harder options coming soon.
Places to stay near this start
From Ambleside or Grasmere: 11 places