Fairfield Horseshoe

18/6/2023

Well I haven’t hiked for a while due to not having a car for 3 weeks and being unwell since, So that has been fun! I thought in the mean time I will post some of the other hikes I have completed this year!

The Fairfield Horseshoe, we decided to complete the day after doing Haystacks, it was not an easy day to be honest, we were tired but it was also a warm day! To top it off there was also a triathlon happening that day! This horseshoe is one that is worth completing for the views and you get many Wainwrights in at the same time! A total of 8! You could also extend it if you wanted to gain a few more!

We managed to find some cheap parking, I think it was about £3 for the day right in the centre of Ambleside because we got there between a certain time! Very happy with this little find. If you follow the one way system as if you are going back on yourself past the Greggs and the mini Tesco on your right hand side, a little bit further up on that road on your right hand side you will see a small sign for a car park. This is the one you want, but I think you have to be there before 9am for the cheap all day parking!

After parking up, we walked through the town and towards the university….Which is where I realised very quickly my legs were very stiff from the Haystacks Horseshoe, it was hard but I pushed through, I needed to! From the university, the up’s did not stop! When looking at the map on Komoot, it looked pretty flat once we were up….I feel I was lied to this day! I could be being dramatic but this was due to 2 previous days of hiking and the day before was a killer! On your way up, we seemed to have ended up on a different path, not that it seemed to matter as there are many paths that take you to the same point and on both sides of the wall too, so this is not something to worry about, as long as you are heading to Low pike, you are heading in the correct direction. After a very slow up to Low pike and High pike, we felt we had achieved something…little did I know how much was still to come! There is a little bit of scrambling but you can go around if you choose to! We went with the scrambling as I prefer it and find it to be easier than walking up hill!

Before you know it you are up and over Dove Crag and like us most likely do not realise you have gone over it and are currently on your way to Hard Crag. Dove Crag is nothing special to be honest, but like the whole horseshoe, it does have some stunning views! On your way to Hart Crag, you do come down and go back up a bit, but it is partly a scramble up to Hart Crag, so that gives you a little breather. The scramble is a very easy one to do but allows you that break, it has many different routes you can take up too which is nice!

The last main up is when you head towards Fairfield. It is an easy up though and you are at the top before you know it! The actual top according to Komoot is slightly off path as you do sort of feel you are coming back on yourself to carry on the horseshoe. It is an amazing view from here and worth a stop just to take it all in! You get amazing 360 Degree views!

By this point, I think I was feeling very done with hiking for the weekend, I was getting extremely tired and just wanted to sit down and not do much! Also at this point we still had half of the horseshoe to complete and to come back down. Great Rigg was a bit of an up and down but you didn’t really notice it to be honest, it was more when the downs really started kicking in, you noticed your knees were getting tired! The down is far from being near the worst down’s I have done but still not too fun to be honest! We had the triathlon happening as we were coming down, so had a lot of runners trying to get passed us on places that were just small steps so that wasn’t really fun but most of the runners were polite and we did come out of the way for all of them! Once you get to Nab Scar you are able to see Rydal caves and Rydal water which is a very beautiful view to see.

You head back down and into Rydal Hall grounds. The building is so stunning and the cute little waterfall is even more beautiful. If you have not been before it is definitely a recommended thing to go and see and is well worth it! Then before you know it you are back in the town and so thankful to be there and if you are anything like me…gutted to find out that Greggs is not open on a Sunday! Overall a lovely day and one you really should add to your list!

You will find many more of our interesting hikes on here, on our socials and on our YouTube! You can find everything on this link: https://linktr.ee/Acasualhikersguide Come and join us and see where we head off to next!