Loughrigg - April 2018

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We were heading up to Keswick for a week in the lakes and had decided to stop off on the way at Loughrigg and get a fell in on the way up, the beaming sun made this all the better but it has to be said the views from the top of here on a clear day are superior to most fells.  

Starting from the car park we headed up the main path and then took a right down to Rydal water, from here we walked through some light woodland and got some great views of the lake, trees and mountains that surround the area. We followed the lower path all the way along Rydal water with the warm sun beating down on us it was a perfect day to be in the lakes. Once past Rydal water the walk starts gaining a little ground, but not a much amount, before opening out again to another lake on the right, this lake is Grasmere and from this viewpoint it is up there with the best lakes.  

Following this path, a little further round eventually leads to a route up the fell on the left, once you start up it's a pretty obvious path with steps and a couple of rocky sections but nothing that should cause many people any issues. This route takes you all the way to the peak of the fell as is just short of 1km but does add 200m to the walk.  

Once at the top you are presented with some of the finest views, you can see multiple lakes including Windermere, Grasmere and Rydal water to name a few and looking back towards Grasmere gives you an epic view of a grand valley and huge surrounding mountains. The peak may not be the highest, but it definitely offers views better than most.  

On the way back, we followed the same route up the fell back down, and when we headed back across to the right we took the higher path across. Rather than going back past the lake, this allowed us to visit the very memorable Rydal cave. This is a fantastic natural cave that you can walk inside, on stepping stones above the water and it really does feel very grand inside.  

After viewing the cave, we dropped down a bit further and joined the main route back to the car park. This is a great route, it's not too long or too difficult but gives amazing views and it's very easy to make it a bigger but still round route. If you do decide to go on this walk, don’t miss up the chance to see Rydal cave, it's a must see if you are in the area.  

The 3D Mapped route of our Loughrigg walk. A beautiful hike to the peak of Loughrigg where you can look over the grandest lakes in the lake district. https://hopelesswanderer.co.uk/blog/loughrigg-/2018/5/2 Mapping software is property of the Ordnance Survey