White Moss Common

Overview

About White Moss Common

Why go

Smooth accessible riverside path
Meadow, woodland, and river in a compact walk

Heads up

Short payoff if you stop at the accessible turning point
Optional extension becomes steep and rough

Map & elevation

The route

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Full map

Elevation62–76 m

TrailheadWhite Moss Common54.44996, -3.00660

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Plan your hike

Before you go

Parking

Use the lower or south White Moss Common car park off the A591 between Ambleside and Grasmere, about 4 km north of Ambleside. Start beside the walks information panel at the lower end of the car park. Dedicated accessible spaces are available, and buses run along the A591.

Best time to go

The main route is short, mostly smooth, and suitable for visitors using wheelchairs or pushchairs, although the bridge and river edge still call for care. Allow about 30 minutes moving at an ordinary pace, more if you stop for the river or a picnic. The route is prettiest in soft morning or late-afternoon light. The optional extension through Penny Rock Wood is a different proposition: it climbs steeply, has rougher sections and steps, and leads toward the Grasmere outflow.

Safety

The route stays close to the River Rothay and crosses a footbridge, so supervise children and keep clear of the water edge. Do not treat the optional Penny Rock Wood extension as part of the accessible short route: it has steep gradients, rougher ground, steps, and small stream crossings.

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

See all 8 alerts

A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone — Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

Lake District Tour Guide

Your drive to White Moss Common, 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

Rydal Water and Cave from White Moss

0:00 / 1:19

“You're approaching White Moss, the starting area for walks beside Rydal Water and up to Rydal Cave.”

Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Lake District Tour Guide.

Hiking White Moss Common

The walkThis is an easy out-and-back of 0.68 miles round trip on the accessible route.

This is an easy out-and-back of 0.68 miles round trip on the accessible route. From the lower White Moss Common car park, follow a wide, smooth stone path, cross a wooden footbridge, and enter a meadow beside the River Rothay. Benches and a picnic area mark the turning point; return the same way. The stored distance covers this shorter route and does not include the optional continuation through Penny Rock Wood.

What you will seeThe payoff is immediate rather than dramatic: a shaded river corridor, a small meadow, mossy…

The payoff is immediate rather than dramatic: a shaded river corridor, a small meadow, mossy woodland, and views toward Nab Scar and Loughrigg Fell. Ducks, dippers, and herons are worth watching along the Rothay. In spring, bluebells can carpet the woodland. It is a good reset walk when you want water and trees without committing to a fell day.

AccessUse the lower car park and start at the walks information panel.

Use the lower car park and start at the walks information panel. Dogs may use the public-access route, but keep them under close control and use a short lead where livestock or wildlife are present. There is no special hiking permit for this short route.

Wildlife

Wildlife in Lake District

All Lake District wildlife maps

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 map

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across Lake District. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.