Little Langdale Loop Walk

Little Langdale is a gem of a valley to walk and discover, comprising of a tarn, packhorse bridge, a path circulating at a moderate height for good photo opportunities, good views all the way around, a fabulous pub (Three Shires Inn), easy access, a waterfall (Colwith Force), impressive fell tops at close-hand (Wetherlam, Swirl How, Great Carrs, Lingmoor Fell).  

There are so many paths that cross the valley it is very easy to modify the route, such as, add on Blea Tarn, the mine workings in Greenburn, the quarries of Hodge Close, or even Elterwater.  

The bridge, dating back to the 17th century, is in two parts that take advantage of a central large rock and a very long slate slab to cross the River Brathay on its way from Little Langdale Tarn to Elterwater. It is thought that the bridge was originally built by the quarrymen of Little Langdale to provide shorter access from their homes to the slate quarries on the other side of the river, on of which is the impressive Cathedral Quarry.

Slate quarrying was discontinued in the 1950s but the bridge became a Grade II listed building in 1967.

Cathedral Quarry is 400 metres on from Slater Bridge. After crossing the bridge, walk on the track with the slag heaps on your right towards the trees, until it is possible to take a path on the right up to Cathedral Quarry. 

The Quarry is a disused Slate Quarry dating back to the 16th century, and one of the many various quarries in the area. The quarry reached its prime during 19th century when Slate was extracted for housing. 

The Quarry was once owned by Beatrix Potter before she gifted it to the National Trust who continued to quarry under lease until the 1950s.

The main chamber reaching forty feet in height, is aptly nicknamed, today ‘The Cathedral’. 

It is easy to spend an hour or so exploring the various tunnels, and marvelling at its scale.

Blea Tarn Walk from the Slater’s Bridge is a gorgeous lake surrounded by the Langdale Pikes, and was featured in the film, 'The Witcher'. 

The walk is not clearly signposted from Little Langdale, so we have created an OS Map for you via AllTrails.comap and compass is recommended.

Hodge Close Quarry Walk, a dramatic skull cave, can be reached from Blea Tarn or Slater's Bridge, and is another 'The Witcher' film location. 

The walk is not clearly signposted from Little Langdale, so we have created an OS Map for you via AllTrails.com