Rydal Water and Grasmere Water
Walk date – 8th October 2025
Distance – 6.2 miles
Weather – dull and overcast, mild, occasional light breeze
We’ve been confined to barracks by the weather since our last outing. Grey and gloomy skies, strong winds and rain have prevailed and, to cap it all, we were treated to Storm Amy during last weekend. Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning brought constant rain and ferocious winds and, as the weather began to calm down on Sunday afternoon, we were out in wet weather gear dealing with the aftermath in the garden. Since then, other than the wind dying down, we’ve had the same gloomy skies and poor light, not even a hint of sunshine, and it has rained on and off. Today’s forecast offered much the same but we were keen to get out and take a walk somewhere so we ended up falling back on one of our ‘poor weather go to’ walks. It wasn’t what we wanted to do but at least it didn’t involve walking across soaking wet and spongy ground.
Route
A591 lay-by (Grasmere) – Town End – Town End Lane – Howe Top – Coffin route to Rydal – Rydal Mount – A591 to Badger Bar – Bridge over Rothay river – shoreline path by Rydal Water – shoreline path by Grasmere Water – Grasmere village – A591 lay-by
Other folks must have felt just the same as us because the lay-by just outside Grasmere, was almost full when we arrived. I took this shot from the lay-by while J was waiting for the gps gadget to register our presence. Don’t be deceived by what looks like blue sky above Helm Crag and Steel Fell because it was only another layer of lighter grey cloud.
The gps took a while to decide where we were so as I was waiting I took a close up shot of Helm Crag. Most of the folk who were still in the lay-by eventually crossed the road and followed the field path down into Grasmere village.
We walked down the road from the lay-by to the traffic roundabout at Town End and tracked left onto the lane where Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth Museum are located. The little group in the distance further up the lane were a group of excited infant school children being escorted across the road by their teachers. When we reached them they were just crossing the road, all wearing wellies or boots so they were probably going to participate in one of the outdoor activities for children which the museum offers.
Leaving the excited squeals and yells of the infant class behind us we continued on up the steepish lane to Howe Top …..
….. where the signpost indicates that taking the lane to the right will lead you back to Ambleside but, apart from letting you know that taking the left one isn’t a through road for motor vehicles, doesn’t offer much by way of letting you know where it does lead to.
Fortunately this wooden signpost just to the left of the metal one does tell walkers which direction to take. As we walked up the hill from the junction we were passed by a lorry and we thought that the driver must not have noticed the signpost indicating that there was no through road.
At this point, where the lane continues to curve uphill on the right, there is a path leading through Brackenfell Woods which continues on to Alcock Tarn. Also at this junction is a metal bench seat although it might need a zoom in to see it clearly.
The lane eventually flattens out and further along it we noticed another signpost which also indicated this route up to Alcock Tarn.
Further along the lane now and we come to this un-named tarn alongside the path. It has been given various unofficial names and is also known as Wordsworth’s tarn as he used it in winter for ice skating. Its quite overgrown now and we’ve noticed that it has steadily got worse over the years. In today’s low light the whole place looked particularly cheerless.
A shot looking up Dunney Beck which is an alternative route up to Alcock Tarn while I waited for J to join me. Just a few paces back from this point we came across the lorry I mentioned earlier. The driver and his mate were out of the cab and looking around and they asked J if he knew where the house they were looking for was located. J tried to help but his gps only has the same information as the OS maps and individual cottages aren’t named on it. I walked on to this spot thinking it would be a good place for them to turn the lorry round while I waited. J eventually caught up with me and was followed by the lorry which the driver proceeded to turn around and go back the way it came. It wouldn’t have been able to go much further as only a few more paces along we came to this …..
….. spot where Storm Amy had brought a tree down and its branches were strewn across the path although bending down slightly was all that we needed to do to get through it. We saw several more which had been brought down along today’s route although most of them had fallen on the surrounding slopes rather than across the path.
Single file only along here and definitely no room for a lorry.
A glade with a seat where on a warm summer’s day it would be a nice spot to linger for a minute or two but everything was too wet today to even think about it.
A pause here to remove a layer as it became quite muggy walking through the woodland and we were overheating. I took the shot looking down to where the path we are on becomes three and then back to two. The lower path by the wall drops down and then rises steeply, the higher path above it leads to a slabbed area which drops down to join with the lower one coming up to meet it.
Further along the track now and there is another open area where two former coffin resting stones (it is known as the ‘coffin route’ after all) have been transformed into seating benches. There are open views of Loughrigg Fell at this point.
A close up shot of Loughrigg Fell across Rydal Water. The greyish area on the left of the shot is the large quarry cavern which contains an equally large pool of water. At the bottom left of the shot, above the sheep, is a whitish vehicle speeding along the always busy A591.
A close up view of the cavern at the old quarry area and below that is one of the beach areas alongside Rydal Water. During our walk of 2nd July 2015 we visited the cavern so take a look at that walk to see the photos we took while we were there. The path which can be seen rising through the dead bracken above the cavern also brought back memories of the very wet conditions when we walked up it during our walk on 25th October 2017.
The skeletal remains of a tree blown down in a storm many years ago. I used this shot for today’s ‘top of the page’ photo as it seemed quite appropriate given the number of trees we had seen blown over by the weekend’s storm.
The path ends at the top of Rydal Mount from where I took a look at Horseshoe Cottage and its trees which are always very colourful at this time of year. Just above this cottage is the residence known as Rydal Mount and once the home of William Wordsworth. He lived here from 1813 until his death in 1850. I couldn’t get a good shot of the house since it was masked by trees and shrubbery so I haven’t got one to display. The house, which is owned by one of Wordsworth’s descendants, is currently for sale at offers over £2,500,000. A campaign to keep Rydal Mount open to the public as a site of literary heritage has been launched.
Walking down Rydal Mount towards the A591 where we saw that the usual roadside parking is now severely limited by the addition of short wooden posts with large rocks placed between them. Little wonder then that Wordsworth’s Rydal Mount home is short of visitors, if they can’t park they won’t come. Rydal Mount does have a car park but it is only small and charges £10 for the whole day. Once that’s full extra parking is available at the nearby Rydal Hall, just across the lane, but I don’t know if there is a charge.
St Mary’s Church in Rydal where Wordsworth used to be a churchwarden.
At the bottom of Rydal Mount we cross the A591 and walk along the narrow pavement until we reach …..
….. the path dropping down to the bridge across the river Rothay. The wet leaves were a little slithery but there is a handrail to hang on to should the need arise.
A look back after we crossed the bridge and made our way over to …..
….. Rydal Water, where a couple of ladies were just making their way back to the shoreline after a spot of ‘wild swimming’. They weren’t the only ones in or on the water …..
….. there were three more over on the left followed by two paddleboarders …..
….. on reaching the island the swimmers simply turned round and swam back the way they came, the paddleboarders decided to circumnavigate the island and we saw them making their way back to the shore once they had done so.
Plenty of folk walking the path around the two bodies of water today and plenty of debris along the path too which had been washed up by the storm.
A look up towards Ewe Crag on Loughrigg as we passed below it …..
….. and from the top of the next climb the view over towards the High Pike to Low Pike ridge behind Nab Scar which is on the left.
A view of the weir, from the path above it, at which point Grasmere tumbles through a narrow channel which eventually flows into Rydal Water.
On the shingle beach now with a gloomy view along Grasmere towards Helm Crag and Steel Fell. J thought he felt spits and spots of rain along here but they never amounted to anything more than that. It looked like it was going to rain all the time we were out but it never actually did. While we were walking over the beach we did manage to spot a very brief and hazy hint of sunlight on Helm Crag, that too never amounted to anything either.
As there were some low grassy banks to sit on we spread the sitmats out and had a coffee/refreshment break, we were soon joined by a few other walkers who proceeded to do the same. As can be seen from the ripples on the water it was slightly windier along here than what we’ve experienced so far.
If anything it seemed to be getting gloomier and more overcast by the minute during our coffee break. In the distance Helm Crag is towering over Allan Bank, another of Wordsworth’s several homes in the area.
Seat Sandal and Stone Arthur across Grasmere Water, also looking very dull.
A seat with a view across the waters of Grasmere which would also be a pleasant place to pause for a few minutes on a better day.
The path comes to an end at the private grounds of The Lea, which is the residence featured in this peep over the wall shot. The property was on sale in 2014 for £1,750,00 so somebody must have bought it as we have seen renovations taking place during the following years. No trace of building work at all now so the renovations appear to have been completed. The path beside the wall leads up to the Red Bank road where we take a right turn and …..
….. walk down towards Grasmere village and eventually passing the front entrance to The Lea.
Some autumn colours on the trees along the Red Bank road.
Allan Bank on the left and Seat Sandal on the skyline as we reach the outskirts of the village.
Stone Arthur from Grasmere village.
Crossing the bridge over the Rothay river as we leave the village.
A dour Seat Sandal and a sunlit Stone Arthur as we crossed the field and made our way back to the lay-by. That splash of sunlight on Stone Arthur is only the second patch of sun we have seen today and just about tells the story of today’s walk. No matter, it was good to be out walking again even if it was in gloomy conditions. Yes, the views were very dull but it didn’t rain and it wasn’t cold or too windy and things have stayed more or less the same today. All the same, is a little sunshine now and again too much to wish for, even if it is autumn?