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Loughrigg Tarn


Near Elterwater, Loughrigg Tarn , exquisitely beautiful, is a real gem. Nearby Langdale Pikes offer great walking and from the adjacent Loughrigg Fell there are superb views over Ambleside and most of the fells in southern Lakeland.

William Wordsworth described Loughrigg Tarn as 'A most beautiful example' and he gave the tarn its nickname, Diana's looking glass (after Lake Nemi, the 'mirror of Diana', in Rome's Alban hills).

Wordsworth , 1811 wrote:

"Thus gladdened from our own dear vale we pass
And soon approach Diana's Looking-glass!
To Loughrigg-tarn, round clear and bright as heaven,
Such name Italian fancy would have given,
. . .when an opening in the road
Stopped me at once by charm of what it showed,
The encircling region vividly exprest
Within the mirror's depth, a world at rest”