High Rigg & Legburthwaite
Lake District Walk
Nat Park - Lake District - Lake District Central Fells
Wainwrights - High Rigg
County/Area - Cumbria
Author - John Paterson
Length - 5.5 miles / 8.9 km Ascent - 700 feet / 212 metres
Time - 3 hours 30 minutes Grade - easy
Maps
Ordnance Survey Explorer OL5 | Sheet Map | 1:25k | BUY |
Anquet OS Explorer OL5 | Digital Map | 1:25k | BUY |
Ordnance Survey Landranger 90 | Sheet Map | 1:50k | BUY |
Anquet OS Landranger 90 | Digital Map | 1:50k | BUY |
Walk Route Description
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Walking the "Wainwrights" has one great advantage - it encourages you to explore the lesser heights of the Lake District with equal enthusiasm to the days spent in the high mountains. High Rigg is one such fell. Surrounded by much loftier peaks, including Helvellyn and Blencathra, it provides a taste of the higher fells without the effort required needed to gain the summit cairn of one of the giants. Ideal for a day shortened by bad weather, this Lake District walk starts within a few yards of a major road and soon gets you away from the hustle and bustle of daily life.
There is an adequate car park just off the A591 (Grid ref. NY318196). From here return to the main road and walk north over the river bridge, immediately turning right on a footpath that climbs the southern flanks of High Rigg. Take the left hand path where it splits and climb quickly to the top of Wren Crag. Most of the ascent is now over and it is a matter of following the path along the ridge. For most of the way it keeps to the western side and is easy to follow with the summit cairn visible ahead. For a low fell the views are surprisingly good. The panorama includes Thirlmere, Helvellyn, the eastern flanks of the Dodds, Clough Head, Blencathra, Skiddaw and the Central Fells.
A perfect place to rest, the summit cairn provides a grandstand view of Blencathra giving you the chance to review some of the routes to the summit. Suitably rested, continue steeply down to St John's Vale Church (worth a look inside) before taking the bridle-way which follows the wall along the eastern side of the fell. Eventually this leads you back to where the path forked at the start of the walk.
Other walks nearby
Walk 2019 | Raven Crag, the Benn & Shoulthwaite Gill near Thirlmere | easy/mod | 4.0 miles |
Walk 2032 | Great How, a short ascent above Thirlmere | easy | 2.0 miles |
Walk 1247 | Helvellyn & Raise from Swirls | mod/hard | 7.0 miles |
Walk 2025 | Helvellyn & Wythburn from Swirls | mod/hard | 8.5 miles |
Walk 3132 | High Tove & Blea Tarn | moderate | 7.6 miles |
Walk 2587 | Castlerigg Stone Circle & St John's in the Vale | easy/mod | 8.5 miles |
Walk 1356 | Walla Crag from Great Wood | easy/mod | 4.5 miles |
Walk 1108 | Ashness Bridge & Grange Fell | moderate | 9.0 miles |
Walk 2525 | Standing Crag & Dock Tarn from Watendlath | moderate | 7.0 miles |
Walk 2526 | Standing Crag, Ullscarf & Borrowdale | mod/hard | 10.0 miles |
Recommended Books & eBooks
Lake District: Low Level and Lake Walks
This guidebook describes 30 of the best low-level walks in the Lake District. From delightful wooded glades and sparkling tarns, to waterfalls and glacier-carved valleys towered over by craggy mountains. The walks described aim to seek out the best walking that the lower areas of the Lake District have to offer.
More information
Walking the Lake District Fells - Patterdale
Part of the Walking the Lake District Fells series, this guidebook covers a wide range of routes to 35 Lakeland summits that can be climbed from Ambleside, Grasmere and Patterdale and the Thirlmere and Ullswater valleys, with highlights including Helvellyn and Fairfield. Suggestions for longer ridge routes are also included.
More information
Mountain Weather
Stay safe on the mountains with detailed weather forecasts - for iOS devices or for Android devices.