Trail Running Ambleside
Recent weeks have been a blur of gorges and canyons, with quite unbelievable amounts of customers all wanting to put a wetsuit on and jump into a gorge or abseil through a canyon. Fantastic, thanks to all. We love it.
But it's not the only activity that's been going on here. Something we aren't asked for too often, is Trail running / Fell running. Yesterday that's exactly what we were doing though. Naomi contacted us for some guidance on these local hills.
A very regular runner - that was clear from the off - but unfamiliar with the area, Naomi was simply looking for a hassle free run for a morning. No route finding to worry about, no weather decisions to make, just turn up and run, we'll take care of the rest.
Starting from Ambleside, we headed out in perfect running weather, drizzle 🙂
A short warm up on the flat Under Loughrigg lane, led us to the rather brutal uphill towards the old golf club. Soon up on the open fell, the view started to open up, despite the low cloud. Glimpses of Fairfield teased us. The ground was saturated and some bog negotiating was needed at times.
Fine undulating terrain, with steady uphills brought us to the summit cairn of Loughrigg where wonderfully atmospheric views down to Grasmere could be savoured. Well, I say savoured, but not for long, there was a very strong and chilly wind blowing up there. So a few snaps of the camera and a 360 to appreciate this gorgeous place and we ran away, with our sights aimed on Grasmere so we could meet up with the Loughrigg Terrace path.
Once on Loughrigg Terrace the terrain eases and becomes more trail like rather than rough fell. We stayed on the upper trail so we could call in on Rydal cave, a lady was singing in there this morning, yes she had a fine voice.
Once clear of Rydal Water it's the Under Loughrigg lane all the way back to Ambleside.
We always had a breeze, sometime a strong wind, and fairly constant drizzle. On days like this it can feel hard to make the effort to leave the house. We urge you to try it. These are the very best running conditions and pretty good walking conditions if you don't fancy the run. The views may not be far reaching, but they will be atmospheric and that can be so much finer. Not convinced? Give it a try.
Big thanks to Naomi for good company and for getting us out on that damp day 🙂
Mark