Fairfield Horseshoe is a classic circular hillwalking ridge walk route starting from Rydal or Ambleside in the English Lake District that takes in all the fells that surround the valley of the Rydal Beck. [1]
Fairfield Horseshoe is a classic circular hillwalking ridge walk route starting from Rydal or Ambleside in the English Lake District that takes in all the fells that surround the valley of the Rydal Beck. [1]
The walk is extremely popular and follows well defined paths throughout with no real difficulties; however, care should be taken on the summit of Fairfield in poor visibility as the plateau of that mountain is very flat and can be quite confusing, with the danger of steep drops to the north and west. [2] The eastern side of the horseshoe from Low Sweden Bridge near Ambleside to the slopes of Hart Crag follows a high dry stone wall, [3] covering some six kilometres, making navigation simple even in poor weather conditions.
One of Wainwright’s favourite ridge walks, [4] the round was described by him as “a great horseshoe of grassy slopes below a consistently high skyline, simple in design and impressive in altitude”. [5] Contrary to his normal practice, Wainwright recommended doing the walk anti-clockwise, beginning with Low Pike. [6]
The horseshoe walk is a 16 kilometre journey with 1100 metres of ascent and includes the peaks of:
There is a Fairfield Horseshoe Fell Race, which takes place annually in May, first organised by the Lake District Mountain Trial Association in 1966. This fell race is over 14 kilometres long with over 900 metres of ascent. [8] The men's course record was set by Jacob Adkin in 2021 with a time of 1:14:45. [9] The women's record is 1:27:15, set by Victoria Wilkinson in 2013. [10]
Fairfield is a fell in the English Lake District. It is the highest of a group of hills in the Eastern Fells, standing to the south of the Helvellyn range.
St Sunday Crag is a fell in the English Lake District, part of the Fairfield group in the Eastern Fells. It is a prominent feature in the Patterdale skyline, with a distinctive rounded shape. Indeed, it figures so finely in views from the upper reach of the lake that it is sometimes referred to as ‘the Ullswater Fell’.
Causey Pike is a fell in the English Lake District. It is situated in the Newlands Valley, 5 kilometres south-west of the town of Keswick. Even though it has a modest height of 637 metres (2,090 ft) it is one of the most distinctive fells when viewed from the Derwent Water and Keswick area due to its distinguishing summit "knobble" which catches the eye. The fell is one of 214 fells described by Alfred Wainwright in his series of Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells: Causey Pike features in Book Six, The North Western Fells.
Loughrigg Fell is a hill in the central part of the English Lake District. It stands on the end of the long ridge coming down from High Raise over Silver How towards Ambleside, and is separated from its neighbours by the depression of Red Bank.
Harter Fell is a fell in the far eastern part of the English Lake District. The summit at lies the meeting point of three ridges, and Harter Fell forms the head of three valleys: Mardale, Longsleddale and the valley of the River Kent.
Grisedale Pike is a fell in the Lake District, Cumbria, England, situated 4+1⁄2 miles west of the town of Keswick in the north-western sector of the national park. At a height of 791 metres it is the 40th-highest Wainwright in the Lake District; it also qualifies as a Hewitt, Marilyn and Nuttall. Grisedale Pike presents a striking appearance when viewed from the east, particularly from the vicinity of Keswick. It possesses two subsidiary summits: one unnamed ; the other Hobcarton End.
Yoke is a fell in the Lake District in Cumbria, England. It has a height of 706 metres (2,316 ft) and is situated in the far eastern sector of the national park, 6+1⁄2 kilometres ENE of the town of Ambleside. Yoke is the southern extremity of the long ridge that runs southwards from the fell of High Street. Yoke’s name is believed to be derived from the Old English language word geoc which is similar to the German word joch meaning mountain ridge.
Shipman Knotts is a fell in the English Lake District in Cumbria, England. It reaches a height of 587 metres (1,926 ft) and is situated in one of the quieter areas of the national park, 2 kilometres north-east of Kentmere village. Although not one of the best-known Lake District fells, it earned a separate chapter in Alfred Wainwright’s Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells due to “Its characteristic roughness. .. rocky outcrops are everywhere on its steep slopes”.
Dove Crag is a fell in the English Lake District. Situated in the Eastern Fells of the national park, seven kilometres south-south-west of Glenridding, it reaches a height of 792 metres. The fell is often climbed as part of the Fairfield horseshoe walk but a direct ascent from Patterdale is required to show the fell's full potential, displaying the impressive crags just to the north east of the summit. The highest point was originally unnamed on maps, being just a minor top, but over the years the summit has adopted the name of Dove Crag by mutual accord..
Low Pike is a small fell in the English Lake District. It has a modest height of 508 m (1,667 ft) and is situated three kilometres north of Ambleside. Low Pike is well seen from the streets of the town as the first prominent fell on the ridge which continues northwards for a further four kilometres to Fairfield. This ridge is part of the Fairfield horseshoe walk and Low Pike is most commonly ascended as part of this.
High Pike is a fell in the English Lake District, located five kilometres north of Ambleside. Situated in the Eastern Fells, it can be confused with another Lake District High Pike in the Northern Fells. High Pike reaches a height of 656 metres (2,152 ft). It is sometimes referred to as Scandale Fell, although this name really only applies to the high ground at the head of Scandale.
Heron Pike is a fell in the English Lake District, two kilometres east of Grasmere. It is part of the Fairfield group in the Eastern Fells. It should not be confused with the Heron Pike that forms part of Sheffield Pike, although it appears that, by coincidence, both Heron Pikes are exactly the same height.
Little Hart Crag is a fell in the Lake District area of England. It stands at the head of Scandale, six kilometres north of Ambleside, at a height of 637 metres (2,090 ft). It is an eastern outlier of Dove Crag in the Eastern Fells, although it does have 34 metres (112 ft) of prominence from that fell making it both a Hewitt and a Nuttall fell. It is frequently climbed as part of the Dovedale horseshoe, an 11-kilometre (7-mile) walk over the neighbouring fells of Hartsop above How, Hart Crag, Dove Crag and High Hartsop Dodd, starting and finishing at Brothers Water.
Great Rigg is a fell in the English Lake District, 7 kilometres north-west of Ambleside and reaching a height of 766 metres. It is most often climbed as part of the Fairfield horseshoe, a 16-km circular walk which starts and finishes in Ambleside. The fell's name originates from the Old English "Rigg", meaning a bumpy or knobbly ridge.
Hart Crag is a fell in the English Lake District, being one of the Fairfield group of hills in the Eastern Fells.
Nab Scar is a fell in the English Lake District, an outlier of the Fairfield group in the Eastern Fells. It stands above Rydal Water.
The Eastern Fells are a part of the Cumbrian Mountains in the Lake District of England. Centred on Helvellyn they primarily comprise a north–south ridge running between Ullswater and Lakeland's Central Valley.
The Far Eastern Fells are a part of the Cumbrian Mountains in the Lake District of England. Reaching their highest point at High Street, they occupy a broad area to the east of Ullswater and Kirkstone Pass. Much quieter than the central areas of Lakeland they offer in general easier walking as the fells merge mainly into the surrounding moorlands.
The Mosedale Horseshoe is a celebrated mountain walk around Mosedale in the English Lake District: starting at Wasdale Head, it includes Kirk Fell, Yewbarrow, Red Pike, Scoat Fell, and Pillar. It is a circular walk of 22.5 kilometres (14.0 mi) with a total ascent of 1,150 metres (3,770 ft).
The Coledale horseshoe, or Coledale Round, is a semi-circle of fells surrounding Coledale in the Lake District, England.
