Little Langdale is a green valley characterised by pastureland. Subtle traces of 18th-century slate quarrying are part of its landscape. Public footpaths at lower elevations offer views of the surrounding area.

Walking Trails and Route Details

The National Trust walking trail from Elterwater to Cathedral Quarry is 3.04 kilometres long. This trail offers views of Little Langdale Tarn and the surrounding fells. A different route length applies to the High Tilberthwaite to Little Langdale Ford and Slater Bridge bridleway: it is 3 kilometres each way and passes through spoil heaps and old quarries at Tilberthwaite and Hodge Close before reaching Little Langdale Ford and Slater Bridge.

The two distances should be read differently: the Elterwater trail is listed as 3.04 kilometres, while the bridleway is 3 kilometres each way. Bear this distinction in mind when comparing the figures for your planning. The landscapes described also differ: one trail offers views of the tarn and fells, while the other passes through traces of earlier quarrying.

Cathedral Quarry and Traces of Quarrying

Cathedral Quarry, also known as Little Langdale slate quarry, is a disused slate quarry that Beatrix Potter gave to the National Trust. A single natural stone pillar stands in its large main chamber. There are no facilities at Cathedral Quarry or at the car parks, including toilets, a café or rubbish bins. This is worth bearing in mind if you are planning a break right at the quarry.

Traces of quarrying are not limited to slate. Remains of copper-mining facilities can be found at Greenburn Mine in Little Langdale. A Roman road also ran through Little Langdale, linking Hardknott Fort in Eskdale with Galava near Ambleside. A gently sloping hill behind Fell Foot Farm is known as a “ting mound” and is associated with meetings of a Norse assembly.

Historic Buildings and Their Details

The Farm Buildings at Fell Foot stand at the foot of Wrynose Pass. Their north wing dates from the 16th century, and the main building from the 17th century. These different construction periods give the building complex two points of reference in time.

Inside The Bield is a 17th-century timber-framed window with a central mullion. Both a cupboard and a panelled partition are dated to 1714. This means that one building has a 17th-century window alongside two interior features dated precisely to a single year.

Birk Howe Farmhouse is a whitewashed, two-storey stone building from the 17th century, with a slate roof and a large chimney. Dale End, with its adjoining barn, is a whitewashed 18th-century building; the stone barn is built into the hillside. The examples therefore differ both in their period of construction and in their form, ranging from a two-storey stone house to a barn set into the hillside.

Discover more destinations: Pooley Bridge, Wigton, Gamblesby, Backbarrow, Silloth, Silecroft, Westward, Askham.

For the broader travel overview: Cumbria.