Captain's Log

The Fairfield Horseshoe From A New Perspective 

Out of all the walks I’ve done in the Lake District, I’ve probably completed the  Fairfield Horseshoe more than any other. I’ve lost count of the number of times that I’ve tackled this classic route. It seems odd then that I’d never explored the Rydal valley that forms the inner part of the horseshoe. Today’s weather forecast was pretty grim and we could see that the clouds had dropped on to the mountain tops. It wasn’t the weather to tackle the Fairfield Horseshoe and so I suggested to the Kapitan and the Cabin Boy that we might explore the Rydal valley instead. They said that they’d rather sit on the sofa and watch TV all day, but if I was really going to force them to go out, then the Rydal valley would have to do. We’d make our way to Rydal Hall from Ambleside and then follow Rydal Beck northwards to the delightful pools at Buckstones Jump. From there we’d just head northwards up the valley. Depending on the weather, I’d half a mind to then climb eastwards to Dove Crag, before returning to Ambleside along the Scandale valley. I didn’t mention this possible extension to the Kapitan and Cabin Boy since it would have required some apparatus more painful than an electric cattle prod to coax them off the sofa. 

The Road To Rydal Hall

Even though it was 9 o’clock, we almost needed head torches to see as we walked through Ambleside. It was very gloomy. As we walked through Rothay Park, I noticed that it had acquired some temporary tarns. I was glad I was wearing my waterproof socks and gaiters. There were plenty of squirrels (all grey) as we made our way along the Fox How road. A Robin befriended the Cabin Boy and she put a handful of seed on a nearby stone wall as a treat for it. The bird hopped up to the seed, inspected it and then turned his back and  ignored it. When we crossed the bridge over the River Rothay we saw half a dozen Alpacas in a field adjacent to a house. They all dashed to the stables; it looked like their own was heading over there to feed them. A pavement alongside the busy A591 brought us to the side road that led up to Rydal Hall. If you have a spare half an hour in the day, then wandering around the gardens of Rydal Hall is time well spent. It is much better to do this in Spring or Summer, rather than the middle of Winter though, and so we gave it a miss today. Instead we headed off into the woods and followed Rydal Beck northwards. 

Buckstones

IIt was a delightful path along the side of the beck. There were plenty of waterfalls and cascades to keep us entertained, supplied with an abundance of water as a result of the damp weather. Eventually we drifted away from the beck and then had to traverse a stone wall that presented an awkward challenge. The stone steps were exceedingly slippery and for some reason, the landowner had installed a single wire running along the other side of the wall that inevitably got tangled with our feet. The final challenge was the long drop to the ground from the last step that required either a leap of faith with a parachute roll, or stretching your hamstrings to their elastic limits. I chose the latter option and was surprised I didn’t hear a ping as I stretched down to terra firma. 

Away from the trees, the views started to open up. Or rather they didn’t, since mist clung to the top of the hills on each side of the valley. The path was quite boggy in places and it didn’t get any drier as we progressed up the valley. As we approached Buckstones we caught up with a couple of elderly ladies. ‘Are you enjoying the sun?’ I asked. ‘At least it’s not raining,’ one of them replied. I was seeing droplets of rain hitting the lenses of my glasses and was about to debate the issue with her, but both of them had already wandered off to investigate the beck. Buckstones Jump really is a magical place. Rydal Beck collects into a number of inviting pools and the area is surrounded by wonderful rock formations. Unfortunately, there are some burnt spots where people have lit fires. It is what it is. . 

Rydal Valley

We continued up the valley on a very damp trail. This was now all new territory for me. When I’d walked along the western ridge of the Fairfield Horseshoe, I’d often looked down into the Rydal valley and very rarely saw anybody walking along its base. It was interesting to look up from the valley now and see the Fairfield Horseshoe from this new perspective, albeit only the lower half of the hills being visible due to the mist. The hills looked steeper and more craggy than I’d imagined they would. We went through a gate of a deer fence. I presumed that the barrier was protecting something in the bottom of the valley, but I couldn’t see anything specific except for a handful of newly planted trees.  The deer fence was installed next to a stone wall that ran along each side of the valley. From the map, I could see that the wall came together at the head of the valley. Unless there was a gate or a stile, there’d be no way of getting across the wall, and so I had some doubt about my walk extension up to Dove Crag. We pressed on into worsening weather. 

‘I think I can see a gate up to the right,’ I said to my team. We were approaching the head of the valley and we could see the stone wall stretching from one side to the other. Over to the right though, I was pretty sure I could see a gap in the wall. We headed off up steep terrain in that direction. As we got nearer it became apparent that it was not a gate, but a gap in the wall to let a stream through. What I’d taken to be the gate was actually a wooden grill barrier. At least we had a fine view back down the valley from the elevated spot. We followed the wall down and across the valley, back towards Rydal Beck in the hope of finding a stile or gate. There were none to be found. There was a gap in the wall and a wooden grill across Rydal Beck and I thought we might be able to swing it upwards and get to the other side. It was a heavy structure though and unless you were Charles Atlas, it wouldn’t have been easy to lift it up and scuttle underneath. ‘It looks like we are going back the way that we came’ I announced to the Kapitan and Cabin Boy. They didn’t argue about it and looked quite relieved. The weather had closed in even more and so they seemed happy about the decision. . 

Alternative Route

We faced a headwind as we plodded back down the valley. It seemed even wetter now. The Cabin Boy took great delight as my left leg disappeared to the knee in one particular bog. We bypassed Buckstones and made our way back to the awkward wall and its stone stile. I looked at the map and saw that there was an alternative track that continued along the hillside towards Low Sweden Bridge. I’d never been along this track before. It wasn’t down as a public footpath and it did eventually leave open access land, but I decided we should give it a try. It was quite a well made track, although very muddy. It held the elevation and occasionally we’d get views through the trees over Rydal towards Loughrigg. At one point a herd of cows stood bemused on the track as we walked carefully between them. The Cabin Boy wasn’t happy. We left the open access area and had two options; we could follow the track down to the hydro-electric building in Rydal Park or we could try and get on to the public footpath to Low Sweden Bridge. I preferred the latter, but there was a high stone wall between us and the public footpath. We followed the wall uphill for 100 metres and found a locked farm gate, with the Low Sweden Bridge path on the other side. It was too tempting and so we hopped over the gate. 

Return

The farm track dropped down to Low Sweden Bridge. Just after Nook End Farm we joined a lane that led us into Ambleside. The town was busy with Christmas shoppers who looked with puzzled amazement at the mud splattered adventurers. 

After all the decades of tramping the Fairfield Horseshoe I’d at last explored the Rydal valley. It was certainly worth exploring since it does give a fresh perspective to those Horseshoe hills that are so familiar. It is a shame that there’s no stile or gate to get over that wall at the head of the Rydal valley since it would provide quite a nice alternative walk up to Dove Crag.