Great Langdale Circular
Walk date – 18th May 2026
Weather – lots of low cloud and rain showers, hardly any breeze, mild
Distance – 6.8 miles
An email last Friday afternoon more or less planned the week to come, Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday required us to be at home, (nothing desperate, but just informing us that some planned work had been scheduled for those days). That left us with Monday and Friday where there might be a chance of getting out for a walk somewhere. The weather forecast for the week ahead was poor but Monday seemed the least bad so that was what we opted for. We decided to do a low level walk and went over to Great Langdale starting from Elterwater. As the forecast indicated rain to begin with we didn’t start out very early and eventually arrived in the car park about half past nine. There were still some spaces available and we had no trouble parking. Just as we were about to get out and get our things together it began to rain heavily. Folks who were already kitting up began adding waterproofs whilst sheltering under their car boot lid. One chap, in shorts, braved the rain, walked over to the wall beside the beck and used it for stability while he put his boots on. Hardy souls, we fell walkers, aren’t we? Having said that I’m less hardy than I used to be, especially when we were rained on heavily during our return leg and we got thoroughly soaked.
Route
Elterwater car park (pay & display) – Burlington quarry path – Burlington quarry – path down to Chapel Stile – Baysbrown campsite path – Great Langdale track – Side House – stepped path around Oakhowe Crag – Oak Howe – Baysbrown farm – Baysbrown Wood – Sawrey’s Wood – Elterwater car park
When the rain finally stopped, just a couple of minutes before ten o’clock we put on our waterproof jackets and got ready to go. While J went over to the pay/display machine I took the above photo of the bridge beside the car park area. When J had ‘paid and displayed’ we walked from the car park, over the bridge, turning right immediately after crossing it and made our way up the Burlington quarry road.
The view ahead as we walked up the quarry road and scanned the skyline for the low swirling cloud which had been forecasted. The sky was full of cloud but none of it was low and the skyline seemed clear enough and, although it couldn’t be classed as sunshine, we did have something of a brighter spell along here.
We walked beyond the path leading down to the Chapel Stile bridge to take a look around Burlington quarry, which is now empty of workers. I couldn’t get any nearer to the deep hole left by all the quarrying but I think the above shot shows it well enough.
The former work sheds of the quarry, now firmly locked and shuttered, with all possible entry to them blocked off by humungous old tyres and large boulders. I wondered what the impact of the closing of the quarry has had on the local economy, how many jobs had been lost, and if the former employees had been offered other jobs within the Burlington group. Probably not as Burlington’s history in that respect isn’t great.
AI offered the following explanation after I had pressed it on its original statement that the quarry hasn’t closed whereupon it appeared to change its mind –
‘Burlington Stone holds a legal permit to quarry at Elterwater Quarry until at least 2042. However, the company has “eased” or significantly reduced extraction operations’
‘The company’s primary focus is now on developing the “Elterwater Quarry Experience” in partnership with Zip World. After a lengthy legal battle, the plans for an underground zip wire and heritage attraction were finally approved by a High Court judge in October 2025.’
‘The site is in a holding pattern between its industrial past and its future as a tourist destination.’ and that “regular quarrying has ceased, but construction on the new attraction has not yet visibly begun.’
therefore –
‘it is not closed in the legal sense, it is effectively inactive as a working quarry at this moment.’
Hmm, try telling that to the men who have lost their jobs.
We retraced our steps from the quarry and descended down to Chapel Stile. Along the way we passed between this gap formed by two very large piles of stone waste from all the past quarrying.
Eventually we reached the bridge across Great Langdale beck at Chapel Stile which brought us out in front of ‘The Wainwrights Inn’, a well known pub in the village. From the pub there was a very short walk along the road to the signpost indicating the track to the Baysbrown campsite. We followed the track which led us past Chapel Stile primary school, around Thrang Farm and over to this bridge …..
….. the path crosses the bridge and then turns towards the campsite entrance. There was a short path, steep and muddy, down to the riverside which offered this fine view of the old bridge …..
….. and this view when we were on the bridge. It began to rain again somewhere around here.
A gap in the trees allowed us a view of some of the lower fells above Great Langdale but what we saw didn’t offer much hope of seeing the tops of the higher fells along our route. I think the above shot shows part of the Lang How ridge but with today’s cloudy conditions it was difficult to be certain of anything.
We walked past Baysbrown campsite, where not a lot of camping was going on, and above it were the humps and bumps of Lingmoor Fell.
Oh dear! As we walked across the field to the next bridge crossing it was obvious that today wasn’t going to be the day we would have great views of the Langdale Pikes.
Crossing Great Langdale beck again, this time from a sturdy wooden bridge.
Looking back from the bridge towards Oakhowe Crag at the very end of Lingmoor Fell.
Once across the bridge we kept to the field track rather than walking along the road. This particular field was full of black lambs and their mothers. The lamb in the photo was looking directly at us while Mum completely ignored us. We saw lots of lambs today trying to get milk from their mothers but the ewes were having none of it and just walked away from them. Seems as though the mums know when its time to wean their youngsters off milk and have them start on solid food.
A cloudy view of the tops of the Langdale Pikes although the lower peaks were clear enough so we still had hopes of being able to see all of them without any cloud hanging around.
Walking along the track towards the road and still no clear view of Harrison Stickle and Pavey Ark.
Side Pike was clear of cloud but views along Mickleden and Oxendale didn’t materialize today.
Loft Crag (L) and Thorn Crag (R) and the waterfall in Dungeon Ghyll between the two of them. Cloud was obscuring everything else. From the track there was a very short section of road walking before …..
….. we turned off across the field path towards Side House. Low cloud was swirling around Pike O’Blisco so we didn’t have a clear view of that either.
The field track led us over to Side House and its backdrop of Side Pike. More correctly I should name it ‘One Side House’ to differentiate, as there is a ‘Two Side House’ on the opposite side of the road we’ve just walked along. Both are traditional farmhouses but they are both popular (and pricey) holiday lets nowadays. It began raining again here although it turned out to be just a light shower. The path from Side House, up and then down again, turned out to be another of those stone staircases by which we’d walked up Stone Arthur recently. From its appearance its probably safe to say that it is much older than the ones leading up Stone Arthur. The stones had become very wet thanks to all the rain and I very nearly fell flat on my face when my boot slithered on one of them. Thank goodness I had a walking pole dug in at that moment.
The view back from the stepped ‘staircase’ to Side House and ‘The Band’ on Bowfell. (Its known as the elastic band in our house because it seemingly stretches on forever.) Bowfell’s top is hidden in cloud and the tops of Crinkle Crags, to the left, can’t be seen at all.
From the stepped path a look over to Crinkle Crags, along the centre, with Pike O’Blisco (L) and Bowfell (R). Very murky and cloudy conditions today.
The view back to the still hidden Langdale Pikes. The waterfall dropping down Stickle Ghyll is over on the right of the shot. Stickle Ghyll is the outflow from Stickle Tarn which is located below Harrison Stickle and Pavey Ark, neither of which are on view at the moment.
The view back down the path towards Side House and Bowfell beyond it. Bowfell’s summit now seems to be clear of cloud.
At the end of the stepped path we passed through the gate and stopped for a short break. The cups of hot coffee went down a treat and we had just finished them when the rain began again. It was more than light rainfall now and came down on us quite heavily.
Along the way I managed this shot of a precariously placed slab bridge over a small beck. J decided he didn’t trust it and skirted round it, I did the same and then stopped to take a shot of it. Getting the camera out from beneath the dripping wet waterproof with cold, wet hands took a bit of time, although this view of it doesn’t really show how little of the slab was placed on the stone at the far end of it. I wasn’t wearing my gloves, although I had them with me, because they are leather ones and wet leather isn’t good at keeping hands warm. Meanwhile J had carried on walking and was now wondering why I wasn’t right behind him.
Still raining hard and the murky conditions don’t really do justice to the thousand of bluebells which were in bloom all the way along both sides of the path. Crinkle Crags are clear of cloud now but it looks like Bowfell is about to be smothered again.
The camera was stowed away and I didn’t take any more shots until the rain stopped when we were back down in the valley again.
I just happened to look back as we rounded a bend and saw that the cloud which had been hanging around Harrison Stickle was at last beginning to dissipate so we finally had a view of it. Better late than never!
We turned off at the signpost, which indicated Chapel Stile, and carried on across the fields, gradually reaching the rising path towards the wooded area. Forming the skyline is Lingmoor Fell.
Just opposite the signpost was this traditional style old barn, still in good condition although I don’t know if its still in use as a barn these days.
Wow, a sunny spell occurred even though it was on the opposite side of the valley and we didn’t benefit from it. The old barn in the previous shot is now below us, to the left, and it might even be possible to identify the signpost opposite it.
We’re now well past Baysbrown farm and its campsite and walking through Baysbrown Wood towards Elterwater.
Back at the Elterwater bridge where we’ll turn right into the car park and back into the car. We removed our waterproof jackets which, as they only reach mid-thigh level, and coupled with the fact that we hadn’t worn our waterproof over-trousers, had dripped all the rain onto our walking trousers which, in consequence, were now wringing wet. Ah well, they’ll soon dry out once the heat from the car engine starts coming through. We hung the waterproofs up to dry and then set off for home …..
….. as we were driving out of Elterwater I looked back and saw, to my complete astonishment, the Langdale Pikes now clear of cloud and in full sunshine. J said that I should take a photo of the scene even though we were leaving and he pulled into a gateway beside the road and waited until I’d taken the above shot. It now takes pride of place as the final shot of today’s walk. As I was writing this report J reported that he’d had a ‘phone call to let us know that the work mentioned at the beginning of this report won’t go ahead as planned for this week and will instead be taking place next week so someone seems to have got their knickers in a twist. Sometimes you just feel like throttling someone!