Little Langdale

Little Langdale is a quiet valley in the Lake District, set between the fells Wetherlam and Swirl How to the south and Lingmoor Fell and Pike of Blisco to the north. A small hamlet shares its name with the valley, and two tarns lie within reach: Little Langdale Tarn in the valley floor and Blea Tarn in a hanging valley above. The River Brathay flows through, fed by streams from the surrounding fells. Slater’s Bridge, a 16th-century packhorse bridge, still spans the river on three stone arches. Old routes once linked the valley to Ambleside, Coniston and other towns, and today’s roads cross the fells to Eskdale and Great Langdale. The valley carries traces of centuries of mining and quarrying, especially for slate and copper. Hodge Close and Tilberthwaite quarries lie nearby, and Greenburn Mine is regarded as the best-preserved copper mine in the district. The Engine Shaft at Greenburn once held a 9.8-metre water wheel, and tramways carried ore to the crushing mill. Cathedral Quarries above the valley show green slate workings with a towering chamber called ‘The Cathedral’, lit by two high windows. The spoil heaps are now covered in silver birch and larch, and the quarries offer Extreme-grade rock-climbing routes. Blea Tarn sits in a small hanging valley between Great Langdale and Little Langdale. A flat trail circles the tarn, which is bordered by woodland on one shore and open grassland on the others. Brown trout, perch and pike live in its waters, and the site is important for studying past environments. The nearby Side Pike rocks reveal ancient volcanic layers, and the farmhouse at the valley’s edge dates from the 17th century. Wordsworth’s poem ‘The Solitary’ recalls a quiet house beside a small pool, matching the scene today.