Ambleside & Grasmere



This part of the Lake District is easily accessible from Manchester, taking only one and a half hours to get here. The chief attractions of the area are the Fairfield Horseshoe including Red Screes and the Langdale Pikes which include Grasmere Common. There are many smaller, picturesque fells to suit the relaxed pace including Wansfell and Loughrigg Fell.

The Fairfield Tops


The Fairfield Horseshoe is a classic horseshoe that includes the spurs of Heron Pike and High Pike. The traverse of this horseshoe is a fairly long walk while the inclusion of Red Screes will take the walk all day to do. Good routes of ascent include that of Nab Scar from Rydal and also via High Pike. The southern slopes of Fairfield tend to be fairly grassy with a few crags on Heron Pike and in particular Red Screes. The northern slopes, however, are a different story with deep corries and impressive crags that look like magic in the winter.



A more impressive route starts from the Kirkstone pass and ascends steeply up Red Screes. There is an easy path up to the summit but nice scrambles can easily be found as an alternative. The Kirkstone Pass is a great place for an afternoon pint especially on a hot summer's day. Further south towards Ambleside, the eastern slope has been badly disfigured by quarry work, although this is not visible when walking along the ridge above the works. (2.1x vertical exaggeration)

Wansfell is a short hill to climb from Ambleside and provides fine views down Windermere. When combined with a visit to Stock Ghyll Force (a pleasant waterfall) this provides a very nice and pleasant ramble.



Grasmere Common
Grasmere Common includes the infamous Helm Crag otherwise known as the Lion and the Lamb - due to its rock formation on the top that's clearly seen to form the silhouette of a lion and a lamb when seen from Town End just outside Grasmere. At each end of the short summit ridge, there are two rocky towers. The western top is the highest - but also the trickiest to reach. Alfred Wainwright made these notes: "The uppermost inches of Scafell and Helvellyn and Skiddaw can show nothing like Helm Crag's crown of shattered and petrified stone". He also adds: "This is one of the very few summits in Lakeland reached only by climbing rocks".

The walk up to Helm Crag can be extended westwards to Gibson Knott. The ridge here is quite bumpy with many short optional scrambles to do. The going is often muddy but largely good. From Gibson Knott, the walk can be continued on to High Raise, back down to Far Easedale or across to Tarn Crag. Far Easedale is most people's choice of return but Tarn Crag is arguably more scenic.

Tarn Crag is very undulating on top with many false summits - Tarn Crag itself is really just a bump on a spur that rises just 5m above the general scenery. It is, however, quite dramatic when seen from the east - especially from the upper section of its east ridge. This is perhaps the best approach. The views from the plateau edge down to Easdale Tarn are stunning.

An interesting approach from the west would probably be to tackle a spectacular grassy platform called Deer Bields located just north of the summit. The entrance from the west is steep and probably hard to locate but the tantalising position above the best crags on the mountain would probably make it a very worthwhile excursion.

Other places worth visiting around here include Easdale itself. It's a popular picnic site and very pleasant on a sunny spring day. Sourmilk Gill, when dry, provides an excellent introduction to easy scrambling.

Further afield, the Langdale Pikes are attainable from Grasmere by way of a long walk. They are described in the Langdale section but in brief, they are impressive little mountains with some great cliff and gill scenery.

Another hill for the less active types is Loughrigg Fell. It has some very nice grassy paths and is pleasantly wooded in its lower reaches. The topography is confusing even when clear and so provides people with some good practice at map and compass work. Small crags offer some fun for the scrambler while a huge cave exists on the fell. The cave is big enough to fit the population of Ambleside into. Last remarks from the Wainwright guidebooks suggest that everybody will like it. A walk along the waters of Grasmere Common and Rydal provide a fitting end to the day.

The villages


Ambleside is the bigger place of the two and has a wealth of gearshops and eating establishments. It can get overcrowded and suffers from traffic pretty badly during peak times in the year.

Grasmere is still popular but quieter as the main road doesn't go through the village. There are three good pubs in the village. There are at least two teashops in this village. During the summer, Grasmere is a very nice place to spend your money on food and drink. Wordsworth has his grave and house (Dove Cottage) in Grasmere and there is also a very nice ginger bread factory (on the corner of the church).

Gallery links
26.11.06 - Grasmere

05.02.06 - Grasmere

04.12.05 - Ambleside

13.02.05 - Grassmere

30.01.05 - Ambleside

Travel
Fast and frequent trains will get you into Windermere There are very frequent connections to Ambleside and Grasmere.

Two National Express services a day from Manchester also serve the area but take about four hours to get there.

Another option is the Stagecoach Mancunion express to Lancaster (£5 return) and then take an onward bus service from there.

Trip Reports
2.12.2007 Ambleside hike1 (red screes) gps charts