The best short Grasmere circular walk with amazing views on Loughrigg Terrace, and a longer route via Rydal Water

Grasmere lake walk circular map route lake District best wordsworth

The best view of Grasmere lake is up on Loughrigg Terrace, which not many people visit (choosing to stay by the lake shore) But it's not much effort to walk up to this viewpoint and this circular walk of about 2 hours is quite an easy walk to do!

Map route of this short Grasmere Walk:

Distance: 3.6 Miles
Time: 2 hours (with stops)
Difficulty: Easy

[Click to enlarge map] This short, circular (clockwise) walk of 3.6 miles around Grasmere starts off from White Moss Car Park (in between Rydal Water and Grasmere). It can of course be started anywhere on the route including from Grasmere Village itself. On this route from the Car Park at White Moss we head up to Loughrigg Terrace for some of the best views of Grasmere (see map below for pin of where Loughrigg Terrace is) - then it's down to the Lake shore then on into Grasmere village itself for a bite to eat / drink in one of the many pubs or cafes. After here we return to the Car Park via a route past Dove Cottage (where Wordsworth lived) and into White Moss Common. It's a relatively easy walk and can be done in 2 hours including a half hour stop off in Grasmere.

The elevation of this short Grasmere walk - it's not that hard going :-)

This is a superb, must-do walk around Grasmere

Photos of this Grasmere circular walk:

The path leading along Loughrigg Terrace - where you will see some of the best views of Grasmere. There's no need to go higher right to the top of Loughrigg Fell as the views here are better in my opinion :-)

Looking back along Loughrigg Terrace - it's not that much of an uphill walk to get here really for the fine views the place offers - and there's even a seat to admire view!

The best view of Grasmere lake is from Loughrigg Terrace and it's quite an easy walk to do

This walk does include a little bit of walking on quieter roads as you come into Grasmere Village and you will pass lots of quaint cottages

Just after half way through this walk you will come to Grasmere Village and its the perfect place to stop off for a bite to eat or drink in one of the many pubs and cafes and just have a wander around this lovely place

Upon leaving Grasmere village the route heads up past Dove Cottage where Wordsworth once lived. If you have the time you can explore the Wordsworth connection to this place even further in the museum here. From here it's maybe 45 mins back to the car park at White Moss.

A longer Grasmere walk that includes Rydal Water & Rydal Caves via 'The old Coffin Route'

Distance: 6.7 Miles
Time: 3 hours (with stops)
Difficulty: Moderate

The cave at Rydal Water - it's worth extending your your walk if you have time to see this man-made cathedral like structure from the old quarry.

[Click to enlarge] Similar to the above walk - this route starts and finishes at White Moss Car Park heading for Loughrigg Terrace with fine views of Grasmere and then onto Grasmere Village. From there we return along the old Coffin Route to Rydal via Dove Cottage. Once at Rydal we head along the shores of Rydal Water via Rydal Caves on it's southern shore. It's a classic Lake District Walk.

As ever I hope you have enjoyed this little write up and photos and it inspires you to want to visit the area and give the route a go. If you have any questions about this route - just post a comment and I'll try and answer.

Post by Stuart Hodgson
'The Hiking Photographer'

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