The Langdale Loop
A 12 mile circular route of the Great Langdale valley.
This was the route I took for my second wild camp of the year, continuing my #pitchpermonth challenge.
Date: 5th & 6th February 2020
Distance: 12 miles
Ascent: 2,832 feet
Part 1 - The Valley Floor
Setting off from the car park, I turned left over the stone bridge, and headed up the minor road bearing right. After a short walk, I began to see warning signs up ahead - 'No Admittance' and 'Authorised Personnel Only'. There was also a sealed off mine entrance just to one side of the road. On the oppsite side was a finger post diverting the footpath away from the road, and down into woodland by the side of Great Langdale Beck.
The slate pitched path soon reached a junction. I carried straight on following the river, but taking the right turning would lead to a bridge, crossing the beck to bring you out at Wainwrights Inn, and the small village of Chapel Stile.
As I continued to follow the course of the river, the landscape became more overgrown-industrial. The woodland was growing out of old spoil heaps that nature had reclaimed.
The path headed through a gap in the spoil heaps, with slate intricately piled into walls. The track then followed a stone wall a short distance, where I was greeted by a friendly Robin, which was sat on the wall, happily chirping away. It didn't mind me watching for a minute or two.
The path then climbed, and rejoined the minor road a bit further on next to a large corrugated iron warehouse structure. It turned out, this was Burlington Stone Slate Quarry, and there were even more warning signs at this point.
'No Admittance', 'Warning Quarry Vehicles Crossing', 'DANGER! Blasting! Keep Out'.
However, there was also a small viewpoint where you could look into the large open-cast quarry, along with a large information board / advertisement giving some detail behind the Burlington Stone company. Elterwater isn't it's only quarry, and it has sites across the county which offer different types of stone. A footpath headed around the fringes of the quarry buildings, behind a fence and followed a track into woodland & upto a T-junction with a minor, single track road.
I turned right, and headed along the road through the woodland. The chugging sound of the quarry machines & vehicles could be heard, and just about seen through the trees. Soon, the sounds of the quarry faded into the distance, to be replaced by the distinctive 'knocking' of a Woodpecker and the road exited the woodland and followed a stonewall, marking the field boundary of Baysbrown Farm.
In the first field I saw a small group of four cows crowded round a hay trough. The were 4 longhorn's and a highland cow.
Continuing along the road, the fields now hidden behind the stone wall, it wasn't long before I saw the whitewashed farm house of Baysbrown Farm, and a signpost pointing across the fields towards Chapel Stile and the Cumbria Way. Outside of the winter months, the farm also doubles as a very popular camp site, but at this time of year, the only residents I came across were of the woolly Herdwick variety.
I followed the road away from the farm buildings upto where it reached a junction next to Great Langdale Beck, and here, I turned left again, joining a section of the Cumbria Way. This followed a farmers track through a gate, and across the fields. The Langdale Pikes looming above & getting closer with each step.
Up ahead, my path diverted from the Cumbria Way and crossed a bridge over the crystal clear waters of the beck, and after heading through another field, reached a farm track which runs straight for just over half a mile until it reaches the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel. This creates a perfect leading line for a photograph of the Langdale Pikes, and was one of the locations that made me choose this particular route.
A bank of cloud was rolling over the tops of Bowfell and Crinkle Crags, which only enhanced the scene as a faint dapple of sunlight appeared to illuminate the Pikes.
In places, the track was lined with hedges and trees, as well as dry stone walls, and this was a haven for wildlife, as Robins, Chaffinches and
other small birds flitted across the path and in and out of the undergrowth.
The track the comes out at the LDNPA Pay & Display Car Park, and on to the B-road that runs along Great Langdale.
Turning left, it's not too soon before you reach the entrance to the National Trust's Sticklebarn Car Park. But we're not at the head of the valley just yet.
One final short loop, before we head up onto the fells....
Opposite the Sticklebarn turning is a gated, paved farm track leading to Side House Farm - a section of the Cumbria Way.
Following the track to the farm buildings, I stumbled onto a herd of cows in a paddock next to the barn, and again, they were all feasting on a hay trough, with a large bull standing out at the back of the herd.
Near the fence however, was a calf, although probably a couple of years old, which happily took a few seconds away from chewing the hay to look at me for a portrait shot.
Heading up behind the farm buildings, and onto the open fellside, the path can either turn left (which is the Cumbria Way route back towards Baysbrown), or right, to the head of the valley. I turned right.
It was coming upto about 1pm, and I decided now was a good time to stop for lunch. I found a boulder to rest on, next to a babbling brook which overlooked a step stile, and over to the Langdale Pikes beyond, where I would be spending the night.
After scoffing down a BLT I'd picked up from Booths in Windermere, I hauled on my rucksack and continued over the wooden step stile.
I followed the path as far as it would go - to a drystone wall barring me going any further. From here, I had views down the valley's which fork off from the head of Great Langdale - Mickleden & Oxendale.
I turned right, and headed downhill, through woodland and onto the National Trust Campsite. The footpath only passes through the parking area, before heading through a gate out onto the road. Turning right hear, the road heads back, past the iconic red post box at the gate to Stool End Farm, and what marks, for me, the head of the Great Langdale valley. (Which I don't seem to have a picture of! - oh well, I guess that's another excuse to revisit!)
From here, divert of the road, and over a small stone bridge directly ahead, and through the field to the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel. From here, its a lovely little stroll through the fields back to the Sticklebarn Car Park, from where I would start my ascent on to the Langdale Pikes.
Part Two - The High-Level Route Back
From the Stickbarn Car Park, I joined the path at the top end of the car park and began to follow the route up Stickle Ghyll. About a hundred or so feet after the 'Stickle Ghyll' plaque, a path turns off to the left which is the Dungeon Ghyll path onto the tops. The path is rocky, but stone pitched on the steeper sections, especially where it crosses the lower section of Dungeon Ghyll. The path itself doesn't enter the ghyll, which is a steep sided impassable chasm, but heads up by the side of it, and has good views into the ghyll & the waterfalls along its length.
As I was heading up the path, five F-15 Strike Eagles flew over ahead, one after another, filling the valley with the sound of their jet engines.
Heading away from the lower reaches of Dungeon Ghyll, the path climbs to the base of a rocky outcrop known as Mark Gate, where a short rocky scramble heads around the back of the outcrop and continues on until reaching a large grassy plateau just below the Langdale Pikes which now tower overhead.
It was around here where I decided to pitch my tent for the night. I found a sheltered spot which had fantastic views back down the valley that I had walked up, with Windermere visible in the distance.
For early February, it wasn't a particularly cold night, and the wind died down to being non-existent once darkness had set in. The next morning was just the same - not a breathe of wind. It was still cloudy overhead, but their were patches of blue sky visible. The were also patches of low cloud forming below me in the valley, rolling onto the hills.
After breakfast, I packed up and headed across the grassy should to the higher reaches of Dungeon Ghyll. This was now at the foot of the cliffs below Loft Crag and Thorn Crag. The beck was much smaller and shallower here, and it was a simple two-step crossing next to some delightful falls. A faint grassy path then headed across the lower flanks of Thorn Crag, meeting a path which ran down the ridge. Instead of following this path, I headed straight across, rounding the hillside to approach Stickle Tarn from the south west.
The lack of wind meant the tarn was the calmest I had ever seen it. The reflections were perfect. I passed two walkers as I walked over the dam, and crossed the wide shallow waters of the outflow. I followed the path around the east side of the tarn when the sun began to break through the clouds.
I left the tarn behind and took the north-eastern path towards Blea Rigg. The sun was breaking through now, and it looked like the cloud was starting to dissipate. I was becoming quite warm in the sunshine, meaning I had to take a quick stop to remove my fleece layer.
It was a short climb up grassy slopes to reach a large boggy plateau. The rocky summit of Blea Rigg was on the opposite side, so I stuck to the path which took me around the boggy ground - keeping my boots dry. I started to see a couple of other people also on the ridge, approaching from the west.
This was a completely different experience to my last visit to Blea Rigg in February 2017, when it was covered in snow & clag. At least this time I could actually see where I was going!
Although it was more or less completely blue sky by the time I reached the summit of Blea Rigg, there was a bit of low cloud rolling up some of the valleys, which made for an impressive view.
The Vale of Grasmere began to come into view, and from a vantage point I could see Easedale Tarn, backed by the Gibson Knott ridge, and a cloud covered Seat Sandal.
I continued on along the ridge heading east from Blea Rigg summit. It was a wide ridge, characterised by the path weaving around grassy hillocks and small rocky outcrops. As the ridge-line rounded to the south, the path veered to the eastern Grasmere side of the ridge, the village making an appearance, gleaming below in the sunshine.
The path continued on, and began head to the southerly, Langdale side of the ridge, where I could look along the whole length of the valley. The quarry I walked through yesterday was clearly visible, but the most impressive view was looked back towards the Langdale Pikes, with the lush green fields of the valley floor curving towards them.
I also found a couple of potential camp pitches along the way which would be amazing places to stop on future adventures. For now, the grassy path continued on, past an overgrown tarn, where the ground nearby was quite damp. The sun was now blazing in the blue sky overhead.
The path turned into a short rocky section as it descended into a gully to cross the stream of Megs Gill, and continued round on a ledge beside the gully before reaching wide grassy paths. The village of Elterwater was now in sight, although how to descend down to it was a confusing ordeal. After crossing over the top of Dow Bank, a number of paths converged in a cross roads, with a stream seemingly taking the 'direct route' to the village.
I headed due east in the direction of Huntingstile Crag. The path became little more than a sheep-trod making a narrow plod across the hillside, but eventually meeting up with the prolific stone path heading over from Red Bank.
Following the stone path lead me back down to the minor road linking Grasmere and Langdale, where instead of following the road, I crossed the open grassland of Walthwaite Bottom, again passing a herd of sheep surrounding a hay feeder.
Finally, I reached the road which heads into Langdale from Ambleside, and it was then a short stroll through the village back to the car park. After unloading my rucksack I headed back into the village and stopped off at the Britannia Inn for some lunch and a pint to end another amazing camping trip.
Notes
The Valley Floor route can be tailored into a day's hike on its own, by returning by the same path.
Great Langdale has the nickname of 'God's Beer Garden' due to the number of pubs in the valley. Why not turn it into 'God's Pub Crawl' by stopping off at each:
The Britannia Inn / Wainwrights Inn / New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel / Sticklebarn / Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel.
Want to make the walk longer? - Why not start from Skelwith Bridge Hotel (which also has its own pub - The Talbot), and follow the path along the River Brathay, past Skelwith Force waterfall & lake-shore to Elterwater.
Comments
Post a Comment