Parking
Start at Rydal Road Car Park in Ambleside, 1-3 Rydal Road, LA22 9AN, just off the A591. Walk into town toward Kirkstone Road and Nook Lane to join the circuit.
Overview
About The Fairfield Horseshoe
Why go
- eight Wainwright summits
- wide ridge views
- complete circuit
Heads up
- long strenuous day
- boggy and rocky footing
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Lake District map
Full mapElevation59–865 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
Safety
8 active Lake District alerts
- ClosureChapel Stile footpath closed for retaining-wall riskPart of Footpath 543030 between Chapel Stile and Baysbrown campsite is closed because a retaining wall beside the path could collapse and material it supports could fall across the footpath.Official details
- ClosureStanley Ghyll Lower Falls footpath closed for rockfallThe section of Footpath 408037 leading towards Stanley Ghyll Lower Falls is closed because severe rockfall damage has made the path unstable and further rockfall remains a danger.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Lake District Tour Guide
Your drive to The Fairfield Horseshoe, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Lake District National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Ambleside: Fairfield or Loughrigg0:00 / 1:19
“Up ahead is Ambleside's Rydal Road parking area, the starting point for the Fairfield Horseshoe and a shorter circuit over Loughrigg Fell.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Lake District Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Ambleside and Stock Ghyll Force
- Dragonflies: Before They Fly
- Ambleside Roman Fort: Reading the Ruins
- Clappersgate: The Walk to Wray
- 298 audio storiesacross Lake District’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Red Deer, Eurasian Otter, Osprey, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 265 trails, 89 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking The Fairfield Horseshoe
The short versionA closed loop of 10.7 miles (17.
A closed loop of 10.7 miles (17.18 km) with roughly 950m of ascent, starting and finishing in Ambleside. Most people take 6 to 8 hours, with about 7 as a fair planning figure. This is the standard classic horseshoe, which does not include Stone Arthur or the greater variant.
The route in orderFrom Rydal Road Car Park you head out via Kirkstone Road, Nook Lane and Nook End Farm, cross…
From Rydal Road Car Park you head out via Kirkstone Road, Nook Lane and Nook End Farm, cross Low Sweden Bridge, then climb the eastern arm over Low Pike, High Pike, Dove Crag and Hart Crag. From Link Hause you gain Fairfield itself, then swing south down the western arm over Great Rigg, Heron Pike and Nab Scar, dropping through Rydal Hall and returning by Scandale Bridge into Ambleside.
What you getEight Wainwright summits in one continuous walk: Low Pike, High Pike, Dove Crag, Hart Crag,…
Eight Wainwright summits in one continuous walk: Low Pike, High Pike, Dove Crag, Hart Crag, Fairfield, Great Rigg, Heron Pike and Nab Scar. The reward is broad ridge walking with views over Windermere, Rydal and the central fells, with the sense of the horseshoe closing around you as you come down the far arm.
How hard it feelsRate it hard, around 8 out of 10.
Rate it hard, around 8 out of 10. The ascent is long and sustained rather than technical, but the ground demands attention. Footing varies from rough rock and boulders to boggy going between Low Pike and High Pike, with a few short scrambly steps and several ladder stiles. The high ground is genuinely exposed ridge, and conditions on Fairfield can turn serious. The summit plateau is broad and featureless, so in mist you need map, compass and the confidence to use them; do not rely on following worn paths near the top.
Access, dogs and waterStart from Rydal Road Car Park, Ambleside, LA22 9AN, just off the A591.
Start from Rydal Road Car Park, Ambleside, LA22 9AN, just off the A591. The route follows public footpaths and open fell paths, and no route-specific permit was found. Ordinary dogs are allowed, but the ladder stiles are awkward for them and there is grazing livestock including cattle, so keep dogs under close control and on a lead near animals. No reliable on-route drinking-water source was established, so carry water from Ambleside.
PhotographyClear conditions give the best ridge and lake views, and the open tops between High Pike and…
Clear conditions give the best ridge and lake views, and the open tops between High Pike and Great Rigg are the strongest photographic section of the walk.
One planning notePublished lengths for this walk range from about 16.4 to 17.
Published lengths for this walk range from about 16.4 to 17.9 km because of route variants and differences in how the line is drawn. The standard track is 17.18 km, so treat shorter figures with care when you plan your day.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Lake District
81 sightingsRed DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
13 sightingsEurasian OtterMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
76 sightingsOspreyMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
51 sightingsEuropean BadgerMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
233 sightingsMute SwanMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
176 sightingsGrey HeronMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Lake District. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
