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Low Rigg and Castlerigg

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Walk directions

Opposite the church, climb a stile and follow the grassy path straight ahead. Keep right at a faint fork to climb a stile in a wall. The path continues through a grassy gap. Tewet Tarn comes into view ahead and the Castlerigg stone circle can be seen to the left beyond a white building in the distance. A broad grassy swathe leads down a gently sloping boggy area of open ground.

A gate leads you through a fence and, with Blencathra straight ahead, an obvious path continues to the right of the tarn and another gate. The path heads towards rock outcrops, where you turn right. Bear right beside a wall to pick up a faint track that swings downhill into a narrow enclosure. Drop to a gate in the bottom right-hand corner. Turn left along the road and left again at a T-junction. At the next junction, turn left with the signs to the stone circle and climbing wall. Just after Naddle Bridge, go through the farm gate on the left.

Always aiming for the white buildings of Goosewell Farm to the west, the right of way heads steadily uphill through a series of gates across the fields. Turn left along the road, passing the former farm buildings and climbing wall. As the road bends around to the right by a wood, look for a sign on the left to High Nest and the A591. Don’t follow it now; you’ll come back here shortly.

Continue along the road to the Castlerigg stone circle, accessed through a gate into the field on your left. Afterwards, return to the road and turn right, descending to the path sign passed earlier. Go through the gate and follow a faint path across three fields and to the right of a fenced woodland. When the trees end, continue beside the fence and then the wall to the farmhouse at High Nest. Follow the access road to a cattle grid. Here take the left turn signed towards the A591 and St John’s in the Vale. Approaching the main road, you pass through a gate to a cattle grid on the access road to Low Nest. Turn right and emerge on the verge of the busy A591.

Turn left along the verge for a few paces to another footpath sign on the left. Go through the gate and descend the field towards an access road. Turn left along the road for a short distance then branch off right on a parallel path. Cross the road and keep ahead. Keep left, following the field boundary. At the bottom, go through the gate, carrying on along a muddy farm track for 120yds (110m) to a footpath sign just over a little bridge. Turn left across the field to a bridge over Naddle Beck. On the far side continue through a gate then across a field, heading for a kissing gate where a fence meets a short section of wall. Make your way up the craggy bank, bearing slightly left up the hill. Another kissing gate leads out onto a farm track.

Almost immediately, turn left up the Old Coach Road, following it all the way to the gate by the youth centre and the start.

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Location

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Grassy paths and tracks, a little road walking, 3 stiles

Landscape - Fell, fields and open valley

Dog friendliness - Fields grazed by sheep so dogs should be under control throughout

Parking - Responsibly around St John's in the Vale Church and the Diocesan Youth Centre. Don't block the turning circle and note there is no onward road beyond here, whatever SatNav might say!

Toilets en route - None on route, nearest in Keswick (3 miles/4.8km)

Walks in Cumbria

About the walk

The stone circle at Castlerigg has been attracting tourists since the 17th century and featured in all the guidebooks that began to make the Lake District a destination from the 18th century onwards. There are 38 stones in a not-quite-round circle, and 10 more in a little grove to one side. Some...

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About the area

Cumbria's rugged yet beautiful landscape is best known for the Lake District National Park that sits within its boundaries. It’s famous for Lake Windermere, England’s largest lake, and Derwent Water, ‘Queen of the English Lakes', but other lesser-known areas in the south, such as the Lune Valley and the coastal towns, are secret gems of wide cobbled streets and rolling hills.

Nearby places to stay

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Route details

Difficulty:

Easy

Gradient:

Gentle

Distance:

4.1 miles (6.6kms)

Ascent:

623ft (190m)

If you like this walk, you can try more routes in the area.

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Low Rigg and Castlerigg

Recommended by

Walk details

Difficulty:

Easy

Gradient:

Gentle

Distance:

4.1 miles (6.6kms)

Ascent:

623ft (190m)

Walk directions

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Almost immediately, turn left up the Old Coach Road, following it all the way to the gate by the youth centre and the start.

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Location

Starting point

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Grassy paths and tracks, a little road walking, 3 stiles

Landscape - Fell, fields and open valley

Dog friendliness - Fields grazed by sheep so dogs should be under control throughout

Parking - Responsibly around St John's in the Vale Church and the Diocesan Youth Centre. Don't block the turning circle and note there is no onward road beyond here, whatever SatNav might say!

Toilets en route - None on route, nearest in Keswick (3 miles/4.8km)

Walks in Cumbria

About the walk

Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

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Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Learn more

Get an AA guide

Explore our range of ‘50 Walks in’ guides - they’re the ideal companion for a ramble.

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Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

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Walking in Safety

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Get an AA guide

Explore our range of ‘50 Walks in’ guides - they’re the ideal companion for a ramble.

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About the area

Cumbria

Nearby places to stay

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Low Rigg and Castlerigg

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Low Rigg and Castlerigg

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