The Lake District is good at any time of year and often your can get four seasons in a day! Spring though has the added benefit of it being a bit quieter and a good time to go on a bluebell ride. After spending several years working in Grasmere I have become very fond of Loughrigg Fell and in a past work life this was my morning dog walk before work. I remember the bluebells being good, but the day of this ride they really were spectacular!
There are a couple of car parks in Elterwater, but this time we tried Silverthwaite Car Park between Elterwater and Skelwith Bridge. Once you have worked out how the machine works this is a great car park to start a ride.
From Silverthwaite car park cross the road and take the path directly opposite the car park entrance. This leads you through a small wood and links onto the bridleway. Some people may like to dismount and lead their horse along this path. Once you have done this, the bridleways around here are well signed, but you still need an OS map if not familiar with the area.
After the small wood the bridleway heading towards Elterwater village which a lovely trail taking views of the Langdales and along the edge of Elterwater. It is popular by here and you will see many people. The day we went we saw families, cyclists and a large group of young people, who I believe would of been students on a field trip. There was lots of #BeNiceSayHi going on and we had some good chats to fellow trial users. There is a short film of by here at - https://twitter.com/GardnerKHannah/status/1522513150779789313?s=20&t=tNIcFYXWh8Q38TvTOwLP8A
The bridleway leads into Elterwater village, here turn rights and head toward the common. Cross the main road and then ride up the lane towards High Close YHA . The common here is classed as open access land for horses under Section 15 of the CROW Act so you can use the little paths adjacent to the lane to keep out of the way of traffic. Once you pass High Close YHA the lane goes down to a road junction from here go straight on and take the bridleway to Loughrigg Terrace. Here the feel of route starts to clear the mind with glimpse of Grasmere and fells beyond. As you go through the gate onto Loughrigg you will see a short rocky slab section over a beck. This looks worse than it is, but you may like to get off and lead your horse through this section. Once past this, you are onto the Terrace and you need to make time to take in the view, but also if it is spring the bluebells, which really are a carpet of purple that if the light is right will just zing!
Once at the end of the Terrace, you have options, you can either ride up to Rydal Caves, down to the Rydal shore or go through the woods, cross the main road and pick up the old coffin route. We opted for Rydal shore and then onto Pelter Bridge for a ice cream!
From Pelter Bridge take the gated lane towards Ambleside and then pick up the bridleway that takes you over Loughrigg Fell. On a clear day the views are fantastic and although the off road riding is stony in places it really is very enjoyable. The bridleway brings you out at Tarn Foot Farm, and when you reach the lane, you then need to turn right and then immediately left and ride down to Skelwith Bridge. This brings you out onto the main road into Langdale, here turn right and do a short section of main road and then take the route that goes though the buildings next to the river and back to the starting place. If you did not manage to stop for a ice cream you could also take in the Chester Café before heading home.
This ride has now become at least an annual outing and is a classic Lakeland route, which should be on everyone's riding list! The terrain may challenge you and your horse in parts, but it really is worth it to immerse yourself in the Lakeland landscape.
Things to Note
Route Length - 9 miles. Route can be made shorter (7.7 miles) if starting from Ambleside or White Moss Car Park and taking the the bridleway adjacent to Loughrigg Tarn. The map below shows all the route possibilities in the Loughrigg Fell area. The different route options are shown as public routes on the OS maps app or website. On OS maps go to find routes (all routes not just recommended) and zoom in on the place you want to start the ride to find the route. A GPX file of this ride can be downloaded from Ride Cumbria Facebook Group
The route can be complete clockwise like outlined above or completed in a anti clockwise direction, which means it can be easier to tackle the rocky parts as you are going up hill over the stones and rocks, which many horses find easier.
The route takes in popular bridleways and some quiet lanes and your likely to encounter walkers, disabled users, runners, bikes, dogs, cows, sheep, pigs small water crossings, wooden bridges, stoney slabs, narrow paths, stone pitching, gates, low flying jets and a ice cream van at Pelter Bridge, Rydal!
If your take the bridleway up to Rydal Caves would suggest doing this from the Ambleside direction as this is quite a stony path and it easier ascending rather than descending steep rocky stony sections. To avoid the first really stony section take the path to the left around the tree.
Parking - We started the ride from Silverthwaite Car Park between Elterwater and Skelwith Bridge (What3Word: ///chew.enacts.demanding and OS Grid Reference: NY 34080 03736) but the ride could also be started from the car park on the Elterwater Common (What3Word:///users.sanded.then and OS Grid Reference: NY 32921 05107) or the National Trust car park in the Elterwater village (What3Word:///submit.illogical.inefficient and OS Grid Reference: NY 32790 04755).
The ride can also be start the ride from White Moss Car Park (What3Word: ///bonds.gratitude.etchings or OS Grid Reference NY 35016 06518), Rydal, Grasmere village or Ambleside.
For Ambleside I would suggest Miller Bridge Car Park, Ambleside, LA22 0EE (What3Word: ///prepare.decency.ribcage and OS Grid Reference: NY 37266 04271). To access the Loughrigg Fell area you can get their via Rothay Park, which is located adjacent to Miller Bridge Car Park and means you do not need to tackle the one way system of Ambleside. After parking in Miller Bridge Car Park (remember you need to pay for spaces used and leave no trace) head to the back of the car park and there is a gate directly into Rothay Park, follow the path towards the toilets then turn left towards Miller Bridge. Once over Miller Bridge turn right and pick up the bridleway around Loughrigg Fell or go straight on to Rydal. You can also ride from Miller Bridge through Rothay Park and instead over going over Miller bridge take the path that come out on Stoney Lane, Ambleside and the Rydal Road (A591). When in Rothay Park should your horse drop dung in the middle of the path please get off and kick the dung off the path. This has
been talked about for some time as good equestrian trail etiquette on popular trails.
For info cyclists have permissive use of Rothay Park via Miller Bridge (part of National Cycle Network) and it is marked on the OS map as a footpath. I have also in the past seem someone on a chestnut horse using Miller Bridge, so if you wanted to used this route it would not be a new thing. The original Miller Bridge was swept away in a flood and this bridge was built around 1884 and is a Grade 2 listed structure. Miller Bridge is a very solid traditional Cumbrian stone bridge and looks a
bit like a packhorse bridge. In my opinion this structure is fine for equestrians and cyclists to use and I am sure there is historic use dating back to 19th Century.
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