The whole route is done on forest road and path.
Loughrigg Fell trail head by High Close.
Start of path towards Loughrigg Fell.
| Loughrigg Fell from
High Close Loughrigg Fell |
| Estimated net time | 1 hour | ||
| Difficulty |
No difficulties. The whole route is done on forest road and path. |
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| Drinking water | Access to running water 50 metres after leaving the forest road, approximately 350 metres from trail head. No stable access to running water above this. | ||
| GSM coverage | Coverage throughout the route (October 2010). | ||
| Parking | Room for 2-3 cars on the right hand side of the road by trail head. | ||
| Start height | 162 metres | ||
| Vertical metres | 235 metres for the roundtrip. | ||
| Trip distance | 2.4 km | ||
| GPS-file | X | ||
| Map |
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| Route photo |
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Assuming you drive road M6 north from Manchester. Exit at junction 36 towards Kendal, and then follow signs for Windermere, and then Ambleside. From Ambleside drive road A593 west, approximately 3.0 km, and look out for a sign for High Close towards right. From the High Close exit from road A593 drive 2.4 km. Here you will see a gate and the start of a forest road on your right hand side, and a road going up to the left on the other side of the road. Find parking on the right hand side of the road.
Start your hike by crossing the gate on the right hand side, and follow the forest road downhill for 350 metres. When you get to a forest road junction, with one road turning sharp left and one continuing straight ahead towards a gate, continue straight ahead. Pass the gate and head right, uphill on a cobbled path, after a few tens of metres. Follow this path all the way to the summit, which is marked by a cairn.
Descend by reversing your ascent route.
Elisabeth and I had flown from home in Norway to London this Thursday, and then driven up to Ambleside. After having checked in to our hotel we changed into hiking gear and set out for a short hike, on a very nice evening. The choice of Loughrigg Fell was simply based on the facts that it was a short drive and a short hike, allowing us to get back down before it started to get dark.
The whole hike was done in 45 minutes or so, including the summit stop, and was indeed a nice breather after a full day of travelling. And we were not the only ones enjoying this nice area; we met some other hikers at Loughrigg Fell, and along the shores of lake Grasmere we could see lots of people out exercising.
After the hike we drove back to the hotel, got some food, and then planned tomorrow's hike to Skiddaw.