Rydal Water
lake in the United Kingdom
Rydal Water is a small body of water in the central part of the English Lake District, in the county of Cumbria. It is located near the hamlet of Rydal, between Grasmere and Ambleside in the Rothay Valley.
The lake is 1,290 yards (1.18 km) long and varies in width up to a maximum of 380 yards (350m), covering an area of 0.12 mi2 (0.31 km2). It has a maximum depth of 55 ft (17m) and an elevation above sea level of 177 ft (54m). The lake is both supplied and drained by the river Rothay, which flows from Grasmere upstream and towards Windermere downstream.
The waters of the southern half of the lake are leased by the Lowther Estate to the National Trust, whilst those of the northern half belong to the estate of Rydal Hall. Navigation is prohibited, except for residents of Rydal Hall.
Numerous walks are possible in the surrounding hills, as well as a walk around the lake itself, which takes in Dove Cottage and Rydal Mount, both homes to William Wordsworth, and Rydal Cave, a former quarry working. At the western end of the lake, steps lead to Wordsworth's Seat, which is considered to have been Wordsworth's favourite viewpoint in the Lake District.
White Moss House, at the northern end of the lake, is believed to be the only house that Wordsworth ever bought.
The public source identifies “Rydal Water” as lake in the United Kingdom. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Rydal, Water and lake.
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The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1544320. Authority coordinates are 54.447, -2.994. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Rydal Water” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.