Guided Walks from Ambleside - The Fairfield Horseshoe
Today we've been out enjoying the British summer during an ascent of Fairfield from Ambleside.
A 14 strong team from Cheshire joined us for the walk, they are raising funds for the good causes of Macmillan charities, always great to hear the good people are doing, well done.
The forecast was okay, but not amazing. However, the weather definitely played a big part in the day, a 'damp pants' day indeed!
We set off from Ambleside and followed the bridleway to High Sweden Bridge before heading up to the broad, grassy ridge. Once on here we pass by Low Pike, High Pike, Dove crag, and Hart crag before reaching the lofty heights of Fairfield. It was quite blowy on the top, with a bit of sideways rain thrown in too, it was very refreshing!
We blasted Southwards down the long, sweeping ridge back towards Rydal, descending the steep Nab Scar path to Rydal Hall. There were a few people swimming below the waterfalls, this looked idyllic, if a little chilly.
It was soon back to Ambleside and a celebratory beer for all, well deserved too. This 10 mile walk can at times feel quite benign, if the weather is lovely. But today we had heavy rain, drizzle, strong winds to blow the rain through our waterproofs, and very low visibility all day. These conditions of course mean no stunning Lakeland views, but they also add up to give a wonderfully atmospheric mountain day. Many of the team today were completely new to mountain walking, so this will have felt like a baptism of fire. All the better we were blessed with Lakeland weather. Smiles all round and I suspect plenty of beer flowing in the pub this evening 🙂
Well done everyone for completely the route. And thanks to Jim for helping keep everyone safe and leading the way in such poor visibility.
Mark
