Grasmere and Rydal

Northwest of Ambleside the A591 road to Keswick passes through a compact yet an especially beautiful area. The road twists and turns along the valley of the Rothay, reaching first Rydal Water and then Grasmere, and the villages named for them. The Rothay valley is lush and beautifully wooded, and surrounded on all sides by fells; the western limb of the Fairfield horseshoe to the east, and the lateral ridges of the High Raise massif to the east. The valleys of Easedale and Far Easedale run into the fells from Grasmere, overlooked by summits such as Loughrigg, Silver How, Blea Rigg, Tarn Crag, Helm Crag and Steel Fell. Wordsworth's two principal homes, Dove Cottage and Rydal Mount, are both situated here and both are run as museums, attracting hosts of visitors. Grasmere itself must surely be one of the loveliest villages in the Lakes, and argably the whole of England. Casual tourists and hillwalkers alike love Grasmere and Rydal, and with good reason. Here is the Lake District at its finest..