Swimming in the Lake District leaves you spoilt for choice, as the name would suggest. Only a couple of miles north of the longest lake in England, and over the mountains from the deepest, lies shallow Rydal Water. According to a reliable source (our Rough Guide), the lake regularly froze over in the time of a certain inescapable poet. Thinking it should therefore warm up more in the summer – and on the back of a recommendation – we strolled over Loughrigg Fell and along the south banks of Grasmere and Rydal Water – an easy and popular path. The path follows the southern side of the lake and there’s easy access to the water from it – the north side of the lake is rather close to the main road. Finding somewhere to get changed is more of a challenge!
Rydal water from the south shore - Heron Island on the left, Little Isle on the right.
On a rare cloudy day, the water was cool and easy to get into from the gently shelving beach. Slightly alarmingly, once the water is deep enough to swim, there turned out to be rather dense weed beneath the surface – frail enough to break easily, but still rather annoying. We realised later that the area near the islands – where we were swimming – is probably rather shallower than other parts of the lake, so these may be better swimming. But the lure of the islands was too much – a nice swim out to Heron Island (pleasingly inhabited by an IRL heron) and Little Isle (complete with mysterious ruin, visible occasionally through gaps in the trees) and back to the shore for a nice warming cup of tea…
Grasmere is nearby and just as swimmable. Probably.
Getting There
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Both Rydal Water and Grasmere are next to the main road (A591) and there’s probably plenty of parking nearby. Buses 555 / 556 go past reasonably frequently (Stagecoach North West – timetable) between Kendal, Windermere (which both have stations), Keswick and even as far as Lancaster and Carlisle.
Alternatively, try Traveline North East (oddly).
