The route book
Every route in this book was recorded on club runs and written up by whoever ran it last. Filter by how far and how much climb you fancy, read the profile before you commit, and take the GPX with you.
5 routes 74.0 km documented 2,076 m of recorded climb
Showing 1 of 5 routes
Starts at Rothay Park gates, Ambleside
The club's default easy evening: out along the River Rothay, around the Under Loughrigg lane and back over the stone footbridge. Barely a climb worth naming, though the two short rises past Fox How will still say hello. Runnable end to end in road shoes unless the river has been up.
Starts at White Moss car park, between Rydal and Grasmere
A proper little circuit with one honest pull up to Loughrigg's summit cairn, then the famous terrace path with Grasmere laid out below. Steep and loose in places on the drop to Rydal Cave, and worth every step of it. Trail shoes recommended after rain.
Starts at Market Cross, Ambleside
Up the stone steps out of town and onto Wansfell Pike the direct way — half an hour of proper climbing, no apologies — then over the top and down through Troutbeck's lanes and Skelghyll Woods. The summit view down the length of Windermere is the photo every club member has.
Starts at Rydal Road bridge, Ambleside
The classic horseshoe over eight named tops: up by Nab Scar and Heron Pike, along the ridge to Fairfield's broad summit plateau, then back over Hart Crag, Dove Crag and the Pikes. This is serious mountain running — navigation gets genuinely hard on Fairfield's plateau in mist. Full fell kit, no exceptions.
Starts at Elterwater village green
Our long steady one: valley tracks and bridleways linking Elterwater, Great Langdale, Little Langdale and Skelwith. Nothing steep and nowhere technical — just honest distance with the Langdale Pikes for company the whole way round. Two sensible exit points if the day stops being fun.
No routes match those filters.
The book is short but growing. Widen a filter, or ask the route librarian for a suggestion at routes@brackenfellharriers.example.
Show all routes
The club
We are forty-odd runners of every speed who meet in Ambleside and go up hills. The club has kept a handwritten route book since 1978; this is the same book, typed up, measured properly and shared. Visitors are welcome to borrow a route or join a run.
Market Cross, Ambleside — We gather ten minutes before each run, whatever the weather is doing.
Before you ask
No. The whole library is public and every route follows public rights of way or open access land. If you enjoy them, come along to a club run and say hello — your first three runs with us are free.
Each route was recorded on at least three separate club runs with GPS watches, then averaged and rounded honestly. Expect your own watch to disagree by a few percent — that is GPS being GPS, not you being slow.
For anything graded Moderate or Hard: waterproof top and bottoms, hat, gloves, map, compass, whistle and some food. That is the standard fell kit list, and on the Fairfield Horseshoe we mean it even in July.
Yes. Email the route librarian a GPX trace and a short honest description. Routes are adopted once a club run has checked the line, the distance and the climb — usually within a month.
Tuesdays at 18:30 for fell repetitions and Sundays at 09:00 for the long run, both from the Market Cross in Ambleside. No need to book — just turn up ten minutes early.