Sunday was our first hike that had both longer distance, and significant ascent.  Mary planned that we would leave from Ambleside and hike the perimeter of Loughrigg Fell (1102 ft), stopping at Loughrigg Tarn on the way out, and Rydal Cave on the way back.

This is the recorded route we took, clockwise from Ambleside on the right (top is north).  Windermere Lake is at bottom right.  Loughrigg Tarn is due west of Ambleside.  Grasmere Lake is at top left.  Rydal Water is at top center.

Here is a description of the walk from a hiking guidebook.

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Here is Patty climbing over the stone wall as we leave the road at Pine Rigg and enter the footpath.

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Along the climb, Patty and I decided to cut over the top of what we thought was the peak of Loughrigg Fell (1102 ft), and then meet Mary and Andreas on the other side at Loughrigg Tarn.  This is looking west along the path we took (see hikers near center).

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This is looking back east along the path we took.  Notice that there are a couple of hikers way in the distance.

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This was looking north at a saddle at the base of the path to the top.  You could tell that in wet weather this area would be pretty boggy.

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This is another view looking back west along the path, trailing far off to the right.  Beyond it is the northern end of Ambleside (Windermere lake is out-of-sight right.).  Beyond Ambleside is Wansfell Pike (1581 ft), which we would climb on Day 6.

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This was the peak we reached, in a view looking southeast back at Windermere Lake in the distance.  Unfortunately, this peak, as impressive as it was, did not indicate the top of Loughrigg Fell (1102 ft).  The peak of Loughrigg Fell was 2500 ft further northwest.  We assumed that it was just some other mountain.

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I think this is a view looking south.

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And here are the intrepid explorers, grinning with tired satisfaction after having bagged their first Wainwright (Not!).

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This is looking west from the peak towards Loughrigg Tarn.  The water at right is Elter Water.  I think the mountain in the distance is Weatherlam (2503 ft), about 4.5 miles away.

By this time, Mary and Andreas were probably relaxing with their feet in the water at the left end of the lake.  Patty and I would be descending nearly straight down, 600 ft, along a steep, but bracken-covered slope.  This is where all those months of leg-press training would pay off (Not!).

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And down we go!

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The final few steps.

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Finally, we reached Loughrigg Tarn.

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And the locals came out to greet us.

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In the distance, those are the peaks above Great Langdale valley.  I believe the nearer peak is Harrison Stickle (2402 ft), and the further one on the left is Pike of Stickle (2326 ft).  We would hike to Stickle Tarn, just below Harrison Stickle (2402 ft) on Day 8.

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This was the view from Loughrigg Tarn looking northwest along the path we would be hiking after our brief rest.

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We didn’t mind the locals, and they didn’t mind us.  Believe me!  The sheep poo was nothing compared to the cow pies in Ireland.

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This is looking back at Loughrigg Tarn as we were getting ready to hike on.  I spoke to a local couple at this point, and he told me that this was the best weather this area had seen in 25 years.

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This is looking west.  I think that’s Lingmoor Fell (1539 ft) in the distance.

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Was that sun strong, or what?

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This is looking northeast along the northwest slope of Loughrigg Fell (1102 ft).  Downslope is Grasmere Lake.  Down in the trees below is the River Rothay, which empties out of Grasmere Lake and into Rydal Water, before traveling on past Ambleside to Windermere Lake.

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And this was the view down-slope.  To the right in the distance is the village of Grasmere.

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This is the opening to Rydal Cave.  It gathered quite a bit of attention on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

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Andreas and Mary.

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Patty and Rich near the back of the cave.

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A view from the back of the cave looking out.

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A view looking north and down at Rydal Water.

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Here we’re hiking back to Ambleside along Under Loughrigg Road.

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On the way back into town, we encountered this oasis.  The San Pelligrino was not a hallucination.

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This flower is loving life!

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Here, Patty and I are posing at a bridge over the River Rothay, near the end of our hike back into Ambleside.

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I think that’s Wansfell Pike (1581 ft) in the distance.

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Back at Ambleside, after a shower we went out for drinks and some dinner a The Ambleside Inn.

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And after dinner we took a stroll along Stock Ghyll, a stream that starts on Wansfell Pike (1581 ft) to the east, and runs west through Ambleside into the River Rothay.  Here is a close-up of the two-room Ambleside Bridge House.