Various Cracking Views Around Loughrigg

Loughrigg,is a huge but not tall lump of heathery, brackeny rock just outside Ambleside and it seems, is incredibly popular for family dog walks. It’s so popular, in fact, that all the car parks (at seven quid a shot) are permanently full to bursting and local knowledge is required to find somewhere to dump the knipemobile AND not pay any money for the privilege.

So thats what we did – we, being me, LTD and the Bro. We started up a steep road which links White Moss with Grasmere with a steep lurch through bracken and over a little top with a cracking view of Rydal Water and joined the corpse road to Rydal, where we found our route up on to Loughrigg.

The first top, Lanty Scar, a 230 metre rocky top with a cracking view of Grasmere. Here, we lunched whilst looking at the view and remarking (without dropping any crumbs) how cracking the view was. (We’d been delayed by traffic between Ambleside and Rydal moving at a stupidly slow rate caused, it would seem by the sheer number of cars on the road. The lesson being that visiting the Ambleside area at half-term is a really daft idea)

From the Very Lovely Lanty Scar, we progressed to our next target – Fox How - 246m – another brackeny place with a little rocky fin on the top and another cracking view of Windermere.

Onwards to Todd Crag 224 m– apparently more popular than the other two. We noted that the view was cracking all around.

More thigh-testing contours lead to Top 289, which may have a proper name but isn’t named on the 1:25k map is on the way to Loughrigg summit and also has a cracking view, specially if your gaze is drawn towards the Coniston Fells.

Finally, we managed to arrive at the top of Loughrigg, Lucky’s 14th Wainwright. Only 200 to go, Lucky…  I was last here in September 1974, so its a regular hillwalk for me, Every 41 years I climb Loughrigg. I’m looking forward to the next time. I will be 105 years old. I’ll probably have a different dog. Loughrigg summit has cracking views too. And a high population of walkers and their dogs.

A steep path with some very slippery, almost dangerous steps and cobbles leads down to Loughrigg Terrace, a gently descending path with took us down to White Moss car park, which wasn’t too far from where we had so cheaply dumped the car.

We suffered a bit from the shortness of the day, made worse by the slowness of the road. Must set off earlier in winter, I think.

The walk was 7 miles with 1800 feet of ascent.