If you are visiting the Lake District there are few more convenient budget options than the YHA in Ambleside which sits just outside the town on the very shores of the waters of Windermere. Housed in what used to be separate Victorian hotels the hostel offers comfortable accommodation with a well equipped self catering kitchen, plus a meal service and bar/coffee shop with a view across the water. It is the perfect spot if you want to explore the area on foot with a large number of walks from Ambleside YHA to suit all abilities being available.
We drove up on the Thursday night with dire warnings about the arrival of Storm Eowyn ringing in our ears, and sure enough when we woke around 8am on the Friday the wind could be heard rattling the windows of our room and a quick glance out of the window showed Windermere whipped up into a frothing, foamy maelstrom! We were a bit nervous about heading out so decided to take a low level route that was pretty familiar but still took us along the shores of Rydal Water and Grasmere. We followed the tiny Under Loughrigg lane that heads towards Rydal and gave us views of flooded fields and flocks of Jackdaws playing in the wind above us. Just before the stepping stones a tree had come down blocking the road and whilst we were able to negotiate our way past it we saw a few vehicles having to turn around and retrace their route. On reaching Rydal we headed off along the path skirting the edge of the water which exposed us to some of the strongest gusts yet. We watched a couple of Mergansers enjoying themselves in amongst the waves before we climbed and then dropped down to Grasmere making our way through the Beech woodland and arriving at the welcoming haven of “Tweedies”, the excellent real ale and real fire venue in the heart of the village. After picking up the obligatory portion of gingerbread we passed Wordsworth’s “Dove Cottage” sadly closed due to the storm and much to the disappointment of a family of Chinese tourists who were huddling out of the wind looking confused. We followed the Coffin Route (named because it was the route used to carry the dead of Rydal to St Oswald’s in Grasmere where they were buried) to Wordsworth’s second house in the area at Rydal Mount. It too was closed so we swung off to Rydal Hall where after a nosey around the gardens and a visit to “The Grot” for views of the waterfall we continued across the fields and back to the hostel. We rounded off a very satisfactory day with a drink in The Unicorn and a Thai meal at Doi Inthanon.
Saturday dawned bright,only a little breezy but with a definite chill in the air. Whilst I had ventured up Wansfell Pike many times I had never taken a route starting from the hostel, but it proved to be a quiet walk with some spectacular views. We followed a sloping path through Skelghyll Wood watching Treecreepers on the trunks of the mature trees before passing the beautifully situated High Skelghyll farm where we saw a Redwing in a Hawthorn tree before continuing on to the rough track marked on the map as Hundreds Road. The name apparently comes from the Anglo Saxon unit of land that was considered sufficient to sustain one hundred families. Nowadays the road is a rough farm track with spectacular views across Windermere and to the Langdale fells, we admired the view watching Ravens soaring above us and picking out, in the distance, people moving about on Wansfell Pike and the ridges around it. A good stiff climb, the first since my surgery in September, proved to me that the knee was in good shape and we finally popped out on the very busy summit to admire the views across to our walking route yesterday not to mention Red Screes and even as far as Morecombe Bay. The number of people and the biting wind meant we didn’t stay for long before starting the steep descent back down towards Ambleside. There were plenty of people huffing and puffing their way up the slopes but it wasn’t long before we were back in town enjoying a restorative coffee and Rhubarb and Custard pasty!
Two very different walks from Ambleside YHA which had proved itself to be a perfect base for exploring some of the southern fells and valleys. We would be more than happy to have you join us on an Ambleside weekender and can tailor itineraries to suit any level of ambition including classic routes like the Fairfield Horseshoe. This was a perfect weekend given the conditions and an ideal introduction to walking in this beautiful part of the world!
