The Fairfield Horseshoe is a round of the Rydal valley above Ambleside, and it bags eight Wainwrights in one day: Nab Scar, Heron Pike, Great Rigg, Fairfield, Hart Crag, Dove Crag, High Pike and Low Pike. All eight are in the Eastern Fells. The WalkLakes route is 16.4 km with 1,080 m of ascent, with a minimum walking time of 5 hours 5 minutes before any stops.
Eight fells is nearly 4% of the 214 in one outing, on paths that are clear the whole way round. Wikipedia describes the horseshoe as extremely popular, with well defined paths and no real difficulties The catch is the top. Fairfield's summit is a broad stony plateau at 873 m, and in cloud it is easy to leave it by the wrong ridge.
The Fairfield Horseshoe, clockwise from Rydal
| Rank | Fell | Height | Area | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 190 | Nab ScarEastern Fells | 450 m | Eastern Fells | Easy |
| 127 | Heron PikeEastern Fells | 612 m | Eastern Fells | Moderate |
| 54 | Great RiggEastern Fells | 766 m | Eastern Fells | Easy |
| 13 | FairfieldEastern Fells | 873 m | Eastern Fells | Moderate |
| 27 | Hart CragEastern Fells | 822 m | Eastern Fells | Moderate |
| =38 | Dove CragEastern Fells | 792 m | Eastern Fells | Easy |
| 109 | High Pike [Scandale]Eastern Fells | 656 m | Eastern Fells | Moderate |
| 172 | Low PikeEastern Fells | 508 m | Eastern Fells | Moderate |
Where to start and park
Most walkers start from the Rydal Road pay and display car park at the north end of Ambleside (NY 376 047). It takes long-stay tickets, and both arms of the horseshoe come back into town, so you finish at the car either way. Miller Field at the south end of town is bigger and often has space when Rydal Road is full. The Ambleside guide has more on parking in the town.
Going clockwise, walk out along the lane past Rydal Hall to Rydal village and climb Nab Scar from there. Going anticlockwise, go up Smithy Brow and Nook Lane to Nook End Farm and cross Scandale Beck at Low Sweden Bridge. From there a tall drystone wall climbs the ridge to Low Pike.
Clockwise or anticlockwise
There is no agreed direction, and each way has a steep end.
Clockwise, you climb Nab Scar first. The path above Rydal is a steep, repaired zigzag between stone walls, and it is much kinder going up than coming down. The grassy western arm then rises gently over Heron Pike and Great Rigg to Fairfield. You finish on the eastern arm, which is rougher and boggier, but you have the ridge wall to follow most of the way home.
Anticlockwise is the way Wainwright recommended, starting with Low Pike, and it is the way WalkLakes describes. You do the ladder stiles and the wet ground between Low Pike and High Pike while you are fresh, and Fairfield's plateau comes after Hart Crag. The cost is the last hour: coming down Nab Scar at the end of the day means braking hard on tired legs most of the way to Rydal.
For bagging, it makes no difference. The route crosses every summit in both directions.
The tricky bits
- Fairfield's summit. The plateau has many cairns and stone windbreaks and few landmarks in mist. Wikipedia warns of steep drops to the north and west, and the cliffs of Scrubby Crag and Hutaple Crag are close to the northern edge. WalkLakes advises a compass to make sure you take the right way off. Heading south for Great Rigg, the ridge you want runs roughly south on a gentle slope.
- The bog between Low Pike and High Pike. WalkLakes marks one patch of deep bog on the east side of this stretch. There is also a signed marshy patch near Low Pike's summit, with paths round it.
- Sweden Crag, below Low Pike. A rock step about ten feet high on the wall line. You can climb it directly or take a grass ledge round it. Low Pike's top also needs a hand or two, and a path round the north side avoids the rock.
- Hart Crag. The ridge wall fades out near its rocky top, so watch your line in cloud, and the drop to Link Hause is awkward with ice on the stones.
- The weather. WalkLakes puts it bluntly: a pleasant day in Ambleside can be brutal by the time you reach Fairfield. Check the Mountain Weather Information Service (MWIS) forecast for the tops, not the town.
One bagging detail: Heron Pike has two tops. The Wainwright summit is the south top at 612 m, but the north top at 621 m is slightly higher. The path crosses both, so you will stand on the right one either way.
Escape routes
The horseshoe has good ways off both arms.
- From Heron Pike, lanes signed to Alcock Tarn drop down the west flank to Grasmere.
- From Great Rigg, the south-west ridge leads down over Stone Arthur to Grasmere. That also bags Stone Arthur, which the main round leaves out.
- From Fairfield, the path west to Grisedale Hause and down Tongue Gill reaches Grasmere, but the first part is a loose scree zigzag.
- On the eastern arm, leave the ridge below High Pike for High Sweden Bridge, an old packhorse bridge, and follow Scandale Beck down to Ambleside.
The Grasmere exits all put you on the 555 or 599 back to Ambleside.
Shorter ways to bag the same fells
You can split the horseshoe into two or three days and still collect all eight.
- The western arm from Grasmere. The WalkLakes loop climbs Stone Arthur to Great Rigg, comes back over Heron Pike and Nab Scar, and returns along the coffin road from Rydal. About 12.5 km with 800 m of ascent, and it bags four Wainwrights, including Stone Arthur.
- The eastern arm from Ambleside. Low Pike alone is about 4 km from town with 450 m of climbing. Carry on over High Pike and come back by High Sweden Bridge and Scandale.
- Hart Crag and Dove Crag from Brothers Water. The WalkLakes Dovedale Round from Cow Bridge (NY 402 133) is about 12 km with over 800 m of climbing. It adds Hartsop above How, Little Hart Crag and High Hartsop Dodd, so it pulls in five Wainwrights, three of them off the horseshoe.
- Fairfield on its own goes up Tongue Gill from Grasmere to Grisedale Hause and climbs the rough zigzag to the top.
Wainwrights you can add around the horseshoe
Getting there by bus
The Fairfield Horseshoe is one of the easiest big rounds to reach without a car. The Stagecoach summer 2026 timetable (23 March to 1 November) lists:
- 555 between Kendal, Staveley, Windermere station, Ambleside, Rydal Church, Grasmere and Keswick, about every 30 minutes in the day
- 599 open-top bus between Bowness, Windermere, Ambleside, Rydal Church and Grasmere, every 20 minutes in the day
Rydal Church is at the foot of Nab Scar, so you can start the western arm straight off the bus. Windermere railway station is on the 555 and 599. For more rounds you can do without a car, see Wainwrights by bus.
How it fits a Wainwright round
Eight Eastern Fells in one day is a big chunk of the area. Clear them here and the Fairfield group's leftovers are the outliers: Stone Arthur off Great Rigg, and Hartsop above How, Little Hart Crag and High Hartsop Dodd on the Patterdale side. Saint Sunday Crag joins Fairfield by Deepdale Hause and Cofa Pike, and it is the natural target from Patterdale instead. The Grasmere guide covers Stone Arthur and the western side, and the Glenridding and Patterdale guide covers the other.
For more long days that bag a string of summits, see Wainwright ridge walks. In winter the plateau and the Nab Scar zigzags change character, and the winter Wainwrights guide covers what to take. If you are ticking them off, Upfell is a free iPhone app that keeps the list for you.