Walk around Ambleside in the Lake District (From Gazette & Herald)

Walk around Ambleside in the Lake District

11:16am Thursday 3rd February 2011 in Country walks By Brian Beadle

MANY visitors to the Lake District pass through the tiny town of Ambleside at the head of Lake Windermere on their way to Borrowdale, Coniston or the Kirkstone Pass, but take a closer look and you will find a history going back to Roman times.

On the way to Waterhead, where Ambleside meets the lake, there are house names using the word Galava. These names reflect the Roman fort and settlement of Galava of around 90AD. There are still extensive remains to be seen in the fields between the lake and Ambleside town.

The Vikings arrived around 500 years later and named the town after their chief Amel who had a pasture there which was called a sate, hence Amel’s sate or Ambleside. The Normans also had an influence on Ambleside, carving the area up into monastic settlements and, with the introduction of sheep farming, gave stability to the region.

It was in the mid-18th century that Ambleside, and indeed most of the Lake District, changed, with better roads and transportation visitors explored the area and the so-called ‘romantics’ made their impression on life around Ambleside, Grasmere and Coniston.

The peace and tranquillity were soon interrupted, however, when, in 1847 the railway arrived in Windermere bringing a new era of tourism with day trippers arriving by the thousand.

It is hard to find peace and tranquillity in the Lake District today but if you keep away from the popular paths and fells with their tourist motorways, Lakeland holiday on the fells can be delightful.

If you attempt this short walk in the early morning, peace and solitude will accompany you and for a quiet refreshment stop when you return to Ambleside you might like to extend the walk on the flat to Rydal Hall and the Old School Tea Rooms at Rydal Falls, just a couple of miles away.

Your route

Leave Ambleside from Greggs baker’s shop to walk away from the town towards Windermere on the A591. Take the first turning on the left which leaves the road at an acute angle steeply uphill. Keep straight ahead, then bear left up Blue Hill Road, uphill past houses to soon meet a wide, stony public footpath.

Keep on climbing for some time, passing through a gate, then at the next gate, do not enter but turn right, climbing up a paved path all the way to the summit of Wansfell Pike.

The last part of the climb becomes quite steep and reaches the summit via a short scramble through the rocks.

Enjoy the grand view from the top of Wansfell Pike. Looking westwards you will see the peaks of, from left to right, Coniston Old Man, Crinkle Crags, Scafell, Bowfell, Great End, Langdale Pikes, Black Fell and Loughrigg Fell. You might just be able to make out the Wrynose Pass which is to the right of Coniston Old Man. You also have a grand view of Windermere curving gracefully along its length.

Leave the summit the way you came and it is now on the descent that you realise how steep the climb was – mind your knees. On a wet day the paving can be treacherous.

As you descend, enjoy the view across to the Kirkstone Pass. You can make out the Kirkstone Road ascending from Ambleside to join the Pass where it meets roads from Troutbeck and Ullswater. More to your left is Ambleside and beyond the view stretches to Rydal Water with Low Pike, High Pike and Scandale Fells in front of you.

When you descend to meet the track at the gate, you must turn right through the gate this time. Follow the path immediately left downhill to the stile to join a narrow road. Go left here to descend back into Ambleside. Take a look at Stock Ghyll as it crashes down beneath you on the right. If you venture into the woods you can get a closer look at the falls, but take care.

When you eventually reach Ambleside there is lots of refreshment available and excellent walking equipment and clothing shops in the town. But why not leave Ambleside on the A591 towards Rydal, then in about half a mile go through a metal gate in the trees on the right at the gatehouse and walk to Rydal Falls for refreshment at the Old School Tea Rooms.

View a map of the Ambleside country walk>>