The Rydal Cave walk is one of the best, easier and family friendly walks in the Lake District. Due to the fact you can do the walk in under two hours with plenty of stops, it’s one I do really regularly (at least once a month) as it never gets old.
My Rydal Cave walk guide focuses on the shortest, simplest circular walk that starts from White Moss, heads to the cave and then down past Rydal Water to return. It’s 3.95km/2.4 miles with 141m/462ft. of ascent and you can do it in under two hours even with stops.
The area where Rydal Cave sits is an old slate mining site and is actually man made (but you wouldn’t really know it now). The cave is incredibly atmospheric and has an almost mouth like opening and from inside. It frames the surrounding fells as you look out with some pretty iconic Lake District views.
Its location between Ambleside and Grasmere around the Rydal area makes it easy to get to as well. It’s served by a good bus route and also has plenty of parking at various different car parks that I’ll cover further down this guide.
I personally love this walk because the cave itself is always great to go in, explore and look out, but the views along the trail are also incredible. You get views of surrounding fells and Rydal Water.
There’s the opportunity to swim in Rydal Water directly on this route. You can also combine it with other walks in the area, like adding on Loughrigg Fell directly to the Rydal Cave walk (our guide to the Loughrigg Fell walk covers this).
So, let’s get into everything you need to know about this walk, including a downloadable route map, where to park, and what your options are!
Rydal Cave Walk Quick Stats
Distance: 3.95km/2.4 miles
Elevation Gain: 141m/462ft.
Approx Time Needed: 2 hours
Difficulty: This Rydal Cave hike is one of the easier Lake District routes. Though I would class it as moderate in some sections for anyone with mobility concerns. Going inside the cave requires you to walk over stepping stones with some sections of water underneath. There are some loose rocks on the hill down to Rydal Water. Though you can avoid this by returning the same way you came.
Start Point: White Moss Car Parks
Car Park Facilities: No Toilets, Paid Car Park (via card machine or app)
Route Type: Circular walk/loop
Our Rydal Cave Downloadable Route Map
The map below shows my custom Rydal Cave walk route through our AllTrails widget. You’ve got a few simple options to use the map yourself. You can click on the route and save it to your own AllTrails account and download for offline use.
You can also download the GPX file directly from AllTrails if you click on the map and then add it to the specific software you use. Likewise, you can also print out a PDF of the Loughrigg Fell walk route or send it to a Garmin device too.
Though signage is good in the area, I’d always recommend downloading the map in advance and saving for offline use. Signal can be patchy!
Rydal Cave Walk: What to Expect
My Rydal Cave circular walk starts at White Moss Car Park, which is the shortest and most direct route to Rydal Cave itself. As you leave the car park, you’ll head into woodland and past the river. This is gorgeous on a sunny day, and you’ll see plenty of families around.
At this point of the Rydal Cave walk, it’s pretty well graded, with very little uphill. You’ll then reach a bridge to the left and the path you’ve been on continues straight on. You’ll take the route over the bridge.
From here, the woodland starts to go uphill, and this is the first section of ascent you’ll cover. The path is uneven in places due to the nobbles and roots of trees, and can get a little slippery when wet, so just be careful here.
When you reach the top of this section, you’ll get to a gate which will open out from woodland to hillside: you’ll veer left here. This, for me, is where this walk starts to get incredibly beautiful.
You’ll start to see Rydal Water below you on your left side as the trail veers uphill gradually. This stretch takes you to the cave, which is on your right, but I always like to take some time to enjoy the views. If you head here later in the day, you can often see some incredible light, especially if there are clouds passing over too.
The trail to the cave is always obvious here. It is a little uneven at times, but there’s no risk of exposure here. The cave is also distinct when you reach it. If you want the cave to yourself, I’d recommend going very early, or later in the day on a weekday. On a weekend, you can expect it will be busy.
As you enter the cave, there’s a random (what I call) puddle that has fish in it with no active water source that’s a bit of a mystery to everyone here. That aside, the stepping stones look slippery, but they’re not, just make sure you wear waterproof shoes or boots for it!
Once you’ve finished in the cave, you can head through the old quarry area to the right of the cave. Then downhill to the shore of Rydal Water. This section has loose rocks, but there are fence sections and tree areas you can hold onto if needed. Just be mindful in this section.
Rydal Water is a perfect stop off, it’s a calm and peaceful lake with no motorised traffic on it. It’s a great spot for swimming: I love a dip here after the cave. The water is often so gentle here with a small, but lovely beach. Even if you’re not into swimming, it’s a lovely place to relax.
When you’re done at Rydal Water, the path follows the shore in the direction of the car park you started from. This will take you back to the gate and woodland you came through on the way to Rydal Cave, where you can retrace your steps back to the car park.
Key Highlights
Places to Swim
The best place to swim is Rydal Water. When you come down from Rydal Cave, you’ll reach the lakeshore, and this is a great entry spot for swimming.
This is also a good place to swim in the Lake District for beginners as the entry point is really gentle and has finer gravel than some others which is just nicer to deal with! It does get deep as you walk out, and you won’t be able to stand up for too long.
I really love swimming out to the small island which isn’t very far away and just chilling out there for a while. If you add swimming onto the Rydal Cave walk, I’d suggest allowing an extra hour to really enjoy it.
In summer, it’s perfect as the sun sets and you get the full, later day light over the lake. The warm glow is just gorgeous to experience.
I swim in Rydal Water year-round, and if you’re used to cold swims, it’s a good one in the winter. You’re very close to the car park when you get to Rydal Water on the walk, so you can warm up quickly at the car when you return. Of course, swimming in cold water is risky, so you should always be aware of your limits before heading in.
Grasmere is also very close to this walking route. You can easily get there by heading back to the point where you cross the bridge near the start and take a left along the wide path. This will take you directly to the shore of Grasmere and where it brings you out on the lake is a good spot to swim from (it does get deep quickly though).
Best Views & Photo Spots
If you look at Rydal Cave photos, you’ll usually see the iconic view from inside the cave looking out. This is a great one to take as the slate sides of the cave frame the surrounding fells and depending on the weather, you’ll sometimes get a reflection from the water around the stepping stones.
I’ve got some great shots of this from around golden hour. When you take a photograph from here, you will find you’ll need to edit it using the highlight and shadow sliders to bring out the detail in the darker sections of the cave as there’s a big exposure difference between the dark inside and lighter outside. I’d always expose for the outside to ensure you can do this.
That gives you a fairly solid shot, but there’s plenty to play around with if you get creative. For example, you can also make a feature of the darkness inside the cave and get some interesting shots if you spend a bit of time exploring.
I do think that when you’re trying to get to a specific point on a walk, it can be easy to miss what’s around you, and there are some beautiful views in this part of the Lake District.
I think one of the reasons I return to this walk so often is because it gives you a pretty incredible payoff views wise. It’s always like a good top up dose of happy when I see the scenes it offers.
I really love the view as you’re heading down to Rydal Water but you’re still higher than it. It feels like this view just stretches out as you see the lake and the higher fells in the distance. This is a spot I always stop to take a photo as it’s just hard to resist it!
Seasonal Differences
Unless there is exceptionally heavy snow, this walk is accessible year round. It’s actually a really good one if it’s snowy in other areas (or even rainy) as you can still get out and enjoy it without the worry of things like wind or storms holding you back.
I’ve only really experienced frost on this trail when it’s been really cold, and snow higher up in my time living here. However, that can change! The one thing to keep in mind is that a lot of the trail can stay in shadow in winter, so it never really warms up: bring warmer clothes than you think.
In spring, this is a great walk as the days get longer and you’ll start to get crystal clear light over the fells. Often spaced out with heavy rain storms. Summer is always busy, but later in the evenings in the week (if you can make that work) is one of my favourite times to do this walk. The light, the glow, the feel, it’s just…hard to explain.
Autumn is also beautiful as some of the colours start to change, and the temperatures drop a little bit. There’s always a quality to the light in the Lakes at this time of year and this walk is a really nice one to see it on.
Rydal Cave Walk: Difficulty Breakdown
Technical Difficulty
The Rydal Cave walk isn’t technically very difficult. With its relatively short distance and minimal ascent and descent, most people will find it manageable.
However, if you have specific mobility concerns, there are sections that you may need to think about in advance. These are mainly the stepping stones into the caves, the path uphill through the woodland near the start and the rocky path down from the cave to Rydal Water.
The path, except for these areas is relatively well maintained and graded, some more so than others. The uphill sections are relatively short, and the grade is quite gentle throughout. There are also plenty of sections to take breaks and enjoy the views too.
Exposure
There is little to no exposure at any point on this walk. Even when walking on the hillside after you’ve left the woodland, there are never any drop offs, and the path is well set into the fell.
Navigation
This trail is really easy to navigate. The route I’ve provided is one I’ve used many times, and there are also plenty of signposts to help point you in the right direction. This is a well trafficked walk, and you won’t be on your own.
That said, I would always recommend using a map and saving it offline before you head out.
Steepness
The walk is generally quite well graded. There are only a few slightly steeper sections, like the woodland going uphill and from the cave going down to Rydal Water. However, this is relative and it’s best to check the route map grading for a clearer picture of this.
Why I Personally Love the Rydal Cave Walk
I feel like this walk has been with me through thick and thin. In times where I don’t have much energy, this is one of my go-to routes, and it always makes me feel good because it means I get to see incredible scenes even when I’m tired.
It’s one that I love to do in the evenings after I finish up for the day when the nights are drawn out in summer. At this time, the trail is usually empty, and being out at 10pm on a random Thursday evening is one of my favourite things to do.
That aside, I think this walk packs in a lot for such a short trail that doesn’t have a huge amount of ascent. The cave, the views, the chance to swim. For me, it’s pretty much perfect!
Rydal Cave Walk: Parking & Transport
Parking
White Moss Car Park
The most direct parking for Rydal Cave is White Moss Car Park. This puts you right at the start of the trail.
This car park has a bad rep from a few users as it uses ANPR but having used it repeatedly over the years at least once a month, I’ve never had an issue with the system at all.
When you arrive, buy your parking from the time you arrive, not the time you set off. This seems to be generally how most ANPR car parks in the area operate. So if you arrive at 15:00 but don’t set off until 15:10, just make sure your parking started from 15:00.
RingGo works well here, and you can also pay by card. I usually use RingGo as it’s handy to be able to extend your parking if you need to and you can get signal for most of this walk (if not a little patchy in areas).
If you pay with card, I’d recommend getting more than you need. At present, you pay a block price for the first two hours and then it’s a certain amount for every hour after. This car park costs about the same as pretty much all other Lake District paid car parks.
There are of course other car parks in Ambleside and Grasmere and smaller car parks dotted around if this car park gets busy, but White Moss is actually a small cluster of car parks on both sides of the road. I don’t think I’ve ever not got a space though, even on busy days.
If you do end up starting the Rydal Cave walk from Grasmere or Ambleside, you’ll find those routes linked up below in our optional route extensions section.
Public Transport
Another great thing about this walk is that it’s well served by the 555 bus route. This travels through Kendal, Windermere, Ambleside, Rydal and Grasmere and finishes in Keswick and returns the same way.
If you get the bus, the bus stop called Rydal White Moss Common is the one to get off at. This puts you right next to the White Moss Car Park and allows you to follow the route in this guide.
If I’m on my own, I’ll often use the bus as it’s actually cheaper than parking and fuel. It’s also great in summer as it means you don’t need to think about finding a parking space at all and the bus runs frequently through the day and into the evening.
Other Walks in the Area
One of the main walks you can do in the area that complements really nicely with this one is Loughrigg Fell. This actually takes the main path out from the same car park but branches off after the woodland. Where you turn left for Rydal Cave, you’d turn right and head along Loughrigg Terrace.
We have a full route guide for the Loughrigg Fell walk, and you can actually add this on alongside the Rydal Cave walk if you want something a bit more challenging. I love this walk and it gives you incredible views of The Langdales on the way up.
Another great option in the area is the Elterwater to Skelwith Bridge walk. It is actually possible to walk from the start of the Rydal Cave trail, along Loughrigg Terrace and down to Elterwater, combining this for a longer trail.
However, the start of the Elterwater to Skelwith Bridge trail is only a short drive away from the start of the Rydal Cave walk if you wanted to do them as seperate walks.
If you love caves, then another good walk from Elterwater that I’d recommend is the Elterwater to Cathedral Cave walk, which we have a full guide to as well. Not only do you get to visit this iconic cave, you also get to go through some gorgeous mountain scenery to get there.
I’d also really recommend Easedale Tarn as another incredible walk if you do want something more challenging. We have a full guide to the Easedale Tarn walk on our sister site, This Expansive Adventure. This is one of my all time favourite walks and one I’d recommend to anyone.
Likewise, we have a more detailed guide to Rydal Caves and the things to do nearby on our sister site, This Expansive Adventure. If you’re staying in the area or want to see what else is in this area, it’s well worth reading.
Rydal Cave Walk: Optional Route Extensions
There are a few options in terms of route extensions for the Rydal Cave walk. If you’re staying in or want to park in Ambleside, it’s possible to walk to Rydal Cave from there. This does make it longer but is a really lovely route. This increases the route to roughly 7.2km/4.4miles with 211m/692ft. of ascent.
Another option is to start in Grasmere. From here, you can start the walk along the shore of Grasmere and then head up to Rydal Cave.
This is a great way to see more lakes on the journey out and also allows you to see Loughrigg Terrace (which has some iconic views out over Grasmere) too. This increases the route to roughly 9.2km/5.7miles with 405m/1,328ft. of ascent.
These routes can both be slightly easier to find parking if White Moss car park is completely full. But they do of course make the route longer. I’ve linked both of these route extensions, alongside the Loughrigg Fell route that I’ve spoken about below through our AllTrails list here.
What to Bring on the Rydal Cave Walk
This isn’t a very technical walk in the Lake District, but the weather can change really quickly. This is the loose list I’d recommend, depending on different times of year:
- Waterproof jacket (and waterproof pants depending on just how much rain is forecast)
- Waterproof hiking shoes or boots, especially if you want to visit Rydal Cave
- Warm layers including an insulated jacket
- Gloves and a hat (or a sun hat and sunglasses in summer)
- Water and snacks
- Map saved offline – whilst there is signal, don’t rely on this for navigation
- Traction spikes if your mobility is impacted and you want an extra bit of grip if it’s frosty
- Swimwear if you plan to swim in either Rydal Water or Grasmere
I’d also recommend reading the guides on our sister site, This Expansive Adventure on what to wear hiking and our day hiking checklist. We’ve also got dedicated gear guides for all the essentials we’d recommend for hiking in the Lake District.
Why Trust Our Lake District Walking Guides
As someone who lives in the Lake District, this guide was written to actually help you get out and enjoy the Rydal Cave walk as much as possible. The aim with all our guides is to give you the information you actually need, including maps and the right level of detail to get you out and feel prepared.
When I write a walking guide, it means I’ve done this walk multiple times, assessed it using my years of experience in the fells and spent time thinking in detail about what is actually important for you to know.
This just means that when you know what to expect, it’ll feel safer, you’ll feel better prepared and overall, this has a better impact on you and the place you’re visiting, so it’s a win-win.
About the Author
- Based in the Lake District, Fay Doyle is also co-founder of This Expansive Adventure
- Walks these routes regularly
- Writer and photographer specialising in the outdoors, with extensive local hiking experience
- Focused on firsthand experience walking guides