Langdale

Some of the most beautiful scenery in the Lake District can be found in the Langdale Valley, a collection of picturesque villages set in a dramatic landscape dominated by giant fells that are perfect for high fell walking.
 
The jagged outlines of Crinkle Crags, Bow Fell and the Langdale Pikes at the head of Great Langdale are an awe-inspiring sight when seen against the dramatic U-shaped trough of the valley. This stunning landscape was forged by an ancient volcano, sculpted during the Ice Age and slowly tamed by humans over the centuries. On the other side of Lingmoor Fell is the much gentler terrain of Little Langdale – a pastoral valley gently scarred by 18th-century slate workings. Imagine a scene of white-washed farmhouses tucked in at the bottom of the fells, valley fields encased by dry stone walls, pockets of coppice woodland and herds of Herdwick sheep contentedly grazing on the lush pastures. Yes, we like it too.  
 
At the top of the volcanic Langdale Pikes is probably Europe’s largest Stone Age axe factory, the discarded chippings that make up the debris-strewn screes the most telling clue that Neolithic people valued the slate to make tools and weapons.
 
At the entrance to Great Langdale are the green-slate villages of Chapel Stile and Elterwater. Both villages developed on the back of gunpowder manufacture and slate extraction. Nowadays, Elterwater exudes the charm of a typical English rural village with a picturesque country inn overlooking an attractive green.

Culture & Heritage

Formed by volcanic activity some 450 million years ago, the hard rocks of the Langdales were very much in demand during the Neolithic Age (roughly 4000 to 2000 BC). Extruded lavas overlain with ash deposits and squeezed into alternating bands of slate and tuff were easily ‘knapped’ into sharp edges, perfect for making stone axes and adzes.

Pieces of tuff were quarried from the rock face and roughly hewn into the approximate shape of an axe head. The rough-outs were then taken to coastal or lowland sites for fashioning into smooth axe tools. Examples of these rough-hewn and polished stone axes can be seen at the Ruskin Museum in Coniston and at Tullie House Museum in Carlisle. Neolithic people also carved the strange petroglyphs that can be seen at Copt How near Chapel Stile.
 
The Romans didn’t much in the area, but they did drive a road through Little Langdale that linked Hardknott Fort in Eskdale with Galava at Ambleside. It was the arrival of the Vikings in the 9th and 10th centuries that really had an impact. Their longhouses were the forerunners of today’s farmhouses, but perhaps their most telling legacy is a linguistic one: topographical features like pike, dale, beck, gill and how all come from ancient Norse. Behind Fell Foot Farm is an unusual flat-topped mound known as a ‘ting mound’ (or meeting point of a Norse council), conspicuously sited at a junction of ancient routes linking west and central Cumbria.

Slate was the local building material. Farmhouses, dry stone walls, packhorse bridges and even churches were all built out of this distinctive green stone. Quarrying started in earnest in the mid-18th century, and at its peak there were around 30 active quarries. Today, only Elterwater Quarry is still in production, but the scars of slate extraction are still visible on the southern flanks of Little Langdale giving rise to an almost alien world of massive spoil heaps, gaping tunnels and arching caverns. It was not only slate that was extracted but also copper and iron ore. At Greenburn mine in Little Langdale it is possible to wander among the remains of the copper workings and imagine how the mine operated.

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Surrounding Areas

Elterwater - Elterwater means ‘swan lake’ in Old Norse. This pretty little village is the gateway to Great Langdale. A recommended approach to the lake for walkers is through the forests that surround the western side, which leads downstream to Skelwith Force.

Skelwith Bridge - The village of Skelwith Bridge is situated between Ambleside and Elterwater. A well-trodden walking path runs parallel to the River Brathay providing a low-level and relaxing walk to Elterwater further into the Langdale valley.

Little Langdale - On the other side of Lingmoor Fell is the much gentler terrain of Little Langdale - a verdant, pastoral valley containing the softened scars of 18th-century slate workings.

Blea Tarn - This popular gentle walk is a favourite with visotrs and locals alike, who want to experience the beauty of the area.

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Did you know?

LANTY SLEE

Lanty Slee, a quarryman at Tilberthwaite, was notorious for running several illicit whisky distilleries – the best-known being at Betsy Crag Quarry above Little Langdale Tarn. He was caught on several occasions, but continued to supply his customers with high quality whisky until his death at Greenbank in Little Langdale in 1878.

CONVERGED COUNTIES

The counties of Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire once converged at the summit of Wrynose Pass, each county identified by stones marked with a C, W and L. In the centre of the three stones is a vertical monolith to William Field of Cartmel, a staunch Lancastrian, who inscribed one side with ‘Lancashire’ and inserted his initials and the date of 1816 on the other.

TING MOUND

An unusual raised mound behind Fell Foot Farm that functioned as a ‘thing moot’ or meeting point of a Norse council. The flat-topped mound with terraced sides is the only surviving example of a ‘moot’ in England.

HARDKNOTT AND WRYNOSE PASSES

The famous mountain passes of Hardknott and Wrynose are two of the steepest in England with gradients along this winding pass reaching 1 in 3 in places. There are parking spots along the route, enabling you to take in the breathtaking views along the way.