Rydal Cave

In my last post I talked about Cathedral Cavern in Little Langdale south west of Elterwater and mentioned that another big cavern worth visiting in the Lake District was Rydal Cave.

Rydal Cave can be found on the north side of Loughrigg Fell above Rydal Water and, like Cathedral Cavern, is man made; a consequence of quarrying, again for slate. Long disused, the cave can be entered by the public.

Looking down into the entrance of Rydal Cave

At the entrance there is a shallow lake full of small fish (including goldfish allegedly!) and insect life but there are stepping stones so it's usually possible to make your way across it to the dry floor inside and explore. Do be cautious when doing so, especially without a torch, as we have come across things you wouldn't want to step in darker corners.

Looking in Rydal Cave - the figure gives you some idea of the size of it

We currently have four walks over or around Loughrigg Fell all of which pass Rydal Cave:

• Loughrigg Fell from White Moss (4.9km, 273m ascent) - starting from the north side of Loughrigg Fell on the A591 this takes to the cave and the up to Loughrigg Fell summit before taking you back along Loughrigg Terrace with fine views over Grasmere.

  
  Looking down to Grasmere from above Loughrigg Terrace

• Loughrigg Fell from Rydal (6.5km, 360m ascent) - again from the A591 but this time starting at the eastern end of Rydal Water at Rydal this goes the other way around taking in the cave and then on to Loughrigg Terrace before heading over Loughrigg Fell.

  
  Looking out from the back of Rydal Cave - again look out for the people in the entrance

• Loughrigg Fell from Ambleside (10.4km, 368m ascent) - starting from Ambleside to the east of Loughrigg Fell this is a longer walk, basically following the same route as Loughrigg Fell from Rydal but in reverse.

  
  Langdale Pikes across Loughrigg Tarn

• Loughrigg Tarn (11.7km, 343m ascent) - again starting from Ambleside but this time, rather than taking you to the summit of Loughrigg Fell, it takes you further south to Loughrigg Tarn before continuing round via Loughrigg Terrace to Rydal Cave.

But however you get to Rydal Cave you won't be disappointed, it's well worth a visit.

Tagged: walks

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