Sunday 23 October 2016

Guided Walks in The Lake District. The Little Langdale Circuit. Wednesday 19th October 2016.

Last Wednesday was an easy day for us work-wise as we showed a father & Daughter the delights of The Lake District; and we never went anywhere near a mountain top!

Ray and Nicole Palmer had travelled to The Lake District for a break during the October Half Term Holiday and were staying at The Holbeck Ghyll Hotel.

Iain was contracted in to guide the pair around the scenic Little Langdale Valley from Elterwater. Photo one sees the pair in Little Langdale with The Langdale Pikes peeping through the gap between Lingmoor Fell and Blake Rigg where the pretty Blea Tarn is to be found. After a wet few days, the weather was once again perfect for this guided walk.

Iain collected Ray & Nicole from The Holbeck Ghyll at 10am and drove them to Elterwater where we parked up. As the pair had not long since finished breakfast, Iain decided that we would take the long way round before refreshments - walking straight in to Little Langdale via a bridleway which leaves the road south out of the village just opposite the Eltermere Hotel and brings us out on the Wrynose/Blea Tarn road just west of the Three Shires Inn.

We decided to walk the road to Fell Foot Bridge and then took another bridleway to Low Hall Garth - the YRC Club hut. Photo two was taken at Slater Bridge just before we visited Cathedral Cavern - with it's tunnel and massive underground chamber with a skylight - it's well worth visiting if you are in the area and also a venue for our abseiling sessions!

We walked on from Cathedral Cavern by the River Brathay and then on uphill past the footbridge and ford over the river between Tilberthwaite and Little Langdale Village.

Our route took us up the road past Stang End Farm and high Park (photo three) where we'd hoped the cafe might be open for refreshments, but it wasn't - so we'd have to walk on for another hour to reach Chesters at Skelwith Bridge.
At High Park one leaves the road and takes a footpath going downhill through woods to Colwith Force - the roar of this can be heard long before you see it.

The waterfall is definitely worth a visit and is also the site of a curious little Hydro-electric scheme which must be used to provide power for the some the houses in the valley.

From here one walks on along The Cumbria Way Footpath through gently undulating farm land via Park Farm & Park House to get to Skelwith Bridge where great cuisine awaits at Chesters (make sure you've got plenty in your wallet as it's not cheap!). The walk back to Elterwater passes Skelwith Force where the Brathay makes a 15 foot leap in the gorge and then a footpath meanders a further 2 kilometres alongside the river and Elterwater back to the car park from where we started.

All in all, this is a pleasant and easy walk for anyone visiting the Lake District. The total distance is 6.85 (11 km) miles long with a total ascent of 283 metres. However, we can shorten the route and time if you wish! There is a great deal to see and there are a number of excellent refreshment stops along the way. The time to complete this walk depends of course on your walking speed, but typically, this walk should take no more than four hours at a relatively gentle pace. Our price to guide you on this walk is £100 which can be split between 1 & 5 persons. Any additional persons, please add £20 per person up to a maximum group size of ten persons. Please note transport is not included if your group size is over four persons but can be arranged for an additional fee! Contact us here to book your guided walk in The Lake District with us - we look forward to working with you!

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