slate quarry

The Old Man of Coniston from Torver

Moderate

9.2 miles | 14.7 km | 859 m Ascent | 13.4 Naismith miles | Rick Clapham
Last week’s walk at Waddington took us to the Forest of Bowland, where we noted that there were fewer visitors than our typical Yorkshire Dales walks. This time we do exactly the opposite – we head to one of the best loved peaks in the Lake District, and trust that the stunning scenery makes up for the higher visitor numbers.
So, did this work? Absolutely: A quick glance at the gallery on our website shows that we picked a perfect day – bright late summer sunshine, without being too hot – made the whole day simply perfect.
If you pick this walk expect a steep climb, some clambering over rocks, idyllic tarns, daring rock climbers, jaw dropping views, industrial archaeology, waterfalls, and an ice cream stop. Take your costume and you can add wild swimming to the day’s fun.

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The Two Langdales

Moderate

8.8 miles | 14.2 km |462 m Ascent | 11.1 Naismith miles | Alison Kinder & Colin Stroud
The two Langdales referred to in the title are Great Langdale and Little Langdale – in effect two parallel valleys separated by Lingmoor Fell.
Starting from Elterwater, we head up the valley along the gentle woodland paths of Great Langdale with Lingmoor Fell on our left and Chapel Stile on the right across a surprisingly flat valley with very steep sides. We then follow the direction of the beck upstream to Oak Howe where we pick up the Cumbria Way enjoying fantastic views of Dungeon Ghyll Force as we follow the path round the back of Side Pike to cross over a short but steep ridge into Little Langdale.
Pausing at the top of the ridge we have great views up Langdale and Oxendale, before we follow the path round and descend into Little Langdale, passing Blea Tarn on the way. A short road section on the Wrynose Pass road takes us down to Fell Foot Bridge where we head across fields to Slater Bridge and Little Langdale Tarn before we pick up a track back to Elterwater.

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