Our first walk in the Lake District during our week in June 2024 was a 7.5 mile circular walk from Tilberthwaite to Little Langdale and back via the remains of the Hodge Close quarries. We took two cars and drove for about 7 miles from our holiday house in Hawkshead. We parked in the Tilberthwaite National Trust parking area which was technically free although there was an app to download where you could leave a £5 donation.
From the car park we set off along the road towards High Tilberthwaite Farm and then took a stony track behind the farm towards Little Langdale.
We saw many foxgloves which are common in woodlands and on verges during the summer however they are deadly poisonous! If you eat any part of this plant it can result in nausea, headaches and even heart and kidney problems!
We continued along the stony path through the scenic fells.
We walked past buttercup fields and next to a couple of cottages.
We had to walk for a little way along a single track road where the occasional vehicle went past. However we went too far along the road having missed a turn towards Blea Tarn. We had to backtrack along the road until we reached the signpost to ‘Blea Tarn and Great Langdale’.
As we headed up a fairly steep grassy hill we began to see more picturesque views open up before us. We stopped at this point for small energising snacks with a view.
After fairly easy terrain so far, the next part of the walk got trickier… this was a clamber through dense bracken, some of it about 5 feet high! Following the stone wall to our right, the path through the bracken was narrow, rocky at times and uneven. And we couldn’t see too well through the bracken where to put our feet. We had a couple of small streams to cross over and then scramble up up the bank so this part of it felt like a mini adventure.
The bracken seemed to go on for ages as we made our way along the base of Lingmoor Fell until eventually the path became clearer and we started to descend down towards Little Langdale village.
Temperatures for June were below average at around 15 degrees all day but we were fortunate to have escaped any rain and actually, for this type of moderately demanding walking, we were thankful the weather wasn’t hot.
Hurrah! The pub! At last we entered the small village and immediately came across the long awaited Three Shires Inn, a “traditional country inn within the heart of the Langdale Valley”.
While still a bit on the chilly side, the weather was fine and we sat outside in the pub garden for lunch.
After lunch we made our way towards Little Langdale Quarries along a tiny road which was unadvisable for cars to use. Which was great for us as we didn’t have to keep dodging them.
We came to a wide ford stretching across the original inadvisable road.
The quarries are also called the ‘Cathedral Quarry’ as the first chamber is a huge cavern! Records of quarrying in this area date back to the 16th century and have shaped the local landscape.
Cathedral ‘Cave’, which is actually Cathedral Quarry is a 40 feet high chamber. This one is well lit by two openings although there are more tunnels you can explore.
Climbers and abseilers climb and abseil the vertical walls surrounding the quarry. Apparently divers explore the quarry pool which is over 30 m deep in places.
The quarry was at its busiest during the 19th century with a high demand for slate to use for house building. Slate was dragged down the valley to nearby Coniston by horse and cart. This quarry was purchased in 1929 by Beatrix Potter who then gave it to the National Trust.
From the quarry we followed a woodland track back towards High Tilberthwaite Farm and the cars.
Summary
This was a fabulous scenic walk with a mix of terrain, a good pub in the middle and the Little Langdale Quarries to explore which added another element of interest. The sky clouded over and we had light rain towards the end of the walk but thankfully by then we were almost back to the cars.
The rain continued throughout the evening but this wasn’t an issue as having had a meal in the Three Shires Inn, we had already decided to stay in the holiday house and have a few drinks and snacks. With warm clothes and the heating on as the temperature had dropped to 12 degrees. In the middle of June…
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