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Rydal Water


Rydal Water is a small lake, close to Grasmere, in the heart of the Lake District.

William Wordsworth is closely connected through his tenure at Rydal Mount where he lived from 1813 until his death in 1850...a must see for his admirers. He often sat on a rocky outcrop, now named Wordsworth's Seat, at the western end of the lake to ruminate on the lake's beauty. His feelings captured by his sister Dorothy

"The trees on the larger island on Rydale Lake were of the most gorgeous colours; the whole island reflected in the water"
Dorothy Wordsworth, 1805

“Nowhere on earth have I seen a spot of more perfect and enjoyable beauty”
Thomas Arnold.

“Rydal Mount, his home for thirty seven years,
became a place of pilgrimage,
not just for the great and powerful in church and state,
but also more touchingly,
for hundreds of ordinary people
who came to pay their silent tribute to his genius.”

Juliet Barker - ‘Wordsworth - A Life’

Rydal Water offers attractive walks & fine views from the 'Coffin Trail', a path used by medieval coffin-bearerson route to St. Oswald's Church in Grasmere.