My walk up Lingmoor Fell starts conveniently at the National Trust campsite at the head of Great Langdale. I don’t even have to move the van and take full advantage by having a lazy breakfast. This may be my first walk of book four but it certainly won’t be my last from this location as Great Langdale is the launch pad for some of the big ones and a place I will get to know well over the coming months.
From the campsite the path climbs through woodland and then a newish looking snaking path snakes (obviously!) up the lower slopes of Side Pike avoiding a walk up the road, not that you are likely to meet much traffic on this quiet route to Little Langdale.
The road is joined at the top of the pass and I branch off deciding to follow Wainwright’s advice and take in Side Pike as an appetiser prior to the main course of Lingmoor Fell.
It’s a steep and occasionally rocky path but as promised by AW the views opening up across the valley to the Langdales and Bowfell are well worth the effort. A false summit leads to a small downhill and then a final climb takes me to the top.
The knobbly ridge to Lingmoor Fell heads south but more impressive is the view north of Great Langdale. The flat valley floor looks verdantly green and fresh in the morning sunlight, I can imagine people playing bowls on it and it contrasts nicely with the bracken brown and rocky Langdales stretching upwards on the other side of the valley.
Crags surround the top of Side Pike so I have to retrace my steps to pick up the path that skirts underneath them but miss it, lose height and end up scrabbling around in waist high ferns, battling back up to join the path coming from the road. Eventually, mildly annoyed at the extra work I had given myself and puffing like a steam train I get back on track at the wall that follows the ridge to Lingmoor Fell.
The path follows the wall closely, first to its right but then crossing over to the left where a path to Lingmoor Tarn branches off. As upward progress is made Blea Tarn comes into view down in the valley below and there is a short steepish section up some craggy outcrops next to the wall where hands are needed.
This doesn’t last long however and at the top of the last outcrop the summit can be seen about five hundred metres away, the trail bumping its way along the ridge through the heather.
Lingmoor fell is of modest height but punches above its weight for views. The Langdales, Bowfell and Crinkle Crags are all there but I’m more excited to see the close proximity of some of the hills that I’m going to get acquainted with over the coming months. Wetherlam, Swirl How and Grey Friar curve around the bowl of Greenburn and Pike of Blisco is close enough to touch across the valley. That old favourite, the seemingly ever present long blue streak of Windermere is still there however to reassure me I am indeed still in the Lake District.
I have the summit to myself and apart from one man who was way behind me on Side Pike I haven’t seen a soul all morning. There is much talk about Lakeland being too ‘full’ and without doubt there are honeypot locations and hills, busy Langdale just a short distance away being one of them. But you haven’t got to go far to get away from the crowds and here on Lingmoor Fell, after a busy couple of walks on the Langdales it feels good to embrace the silence again and enjoy the peaceful solitude of the mountains.
Dropping down from the summit I reach a little hollow which has a copse of Larch trees mentioned by Wainwright as a good viewpoint for the Langdales.
Crossing over a stile I make my way down through the bracken, with views of Blea Tarn and Pike of Blisco across the valley and join the road at Blea Tarn House, a grade two listed building and said to be the ‘solitary abode’ mentioned by Wordsworth in the second book of his lengthy nine volume poem The Excursion.
Once on the road it’s a slow and steady uphill back to the head of the pass, marked by a cattle grid on the OS map. The weather has been a bit up and down but the sun has come out again and I’m treated to a glorious view of the hills of Great Langdale sandwiched between the green grass and the blue cotton wool clouded sky.
I snake my way back down the snakey path and enjoy lunch in the van before heading home.
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Ah that looks great. The cloud shadows scudding across the fellside too
Thank you Ruth, yes scenes like that are special 😀
Fantastic, I really enjoyed this one. The photos are just superb and you show off the breathtaking views perfectly. It is a long time since I was on the Lake District and reading your post makes me miss it all the more. Thank you for this one, I have enjoyed it immensely 😊
Thank you James, it means a lot to me to know that people are enjoying my posts and photos so thank you for telling me and I’m really glad you enjoyed it. Maybe a weekend in the Lakes is on the cards for you? 😀
You are very welcome Jim. The last time I did anything in the lakes was Fairfield Horseshoe with a hangover. It was a birthday party and I kept thinking ‘I will be ok..it can’t be that bad’.. but it was. I don’t know if you have done that one but it is really steep and I struggled…but once I was on the top (and had sobered up) it was enjoyable. I always fancied Blencathra and the ‘Bad Step’ but at the moment my car is off the road… maybe when I get another in the New Year I will consider it…
I’ve done Fairfield Horseshoe , not with a hangover though! 😀 hopefully if you get a car you can make it up there next year.
The drystone wall on the top of Lingmoor (“The Great Wall of Lingmoor”) is amazing, the way it snakes up and down along the ridge. What a job building that
Thanks Mike, I was saying to someone a week ago how marvellous these walls are and the fact that they have been there for decades, maybe centuries is a testament to the men (probably mostly men) who built them
Such a beautiful trail although it looks like the terrain is very steep and rocky and the climb up and around Lingmoor Fell offers a challenge with rough paths. But I love how this trail offers beautiful views as you make your way to the summit of Lingmoor Fell. I’d say it is a wonderful area to explore when the heather is in full bloom. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
Thank you Aiva 😀 yes the views from Lingmoor Fell are beautiful and although the path is a little rough it’s worth it. Hope you have a good day also 😀
Fabulous!
Thanks Malc 👍
Stunning views and amazing that you seemed to have them to yourself.
Thanks Tim. It helps if it’s in the week rather than the weekend but there are plenty of places where people are few and far between 😀
Beautiful views while enjoying superb weather for a hike. 😀
Thank you Bruce/Linda, I’m a fair weather hiker these days, too many years of rain and summits where I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. And it helps for my blog and photography to be able to see the landscape 😀
The penultimate photo is wonderful. I prefer the moody grey skies to the clear blue ones, which is probably just as well. 🙂
Thanks Tony, clouds certainly add something to a picture, hopefully the ones where rain isn’t pouring out of them 😂
Lovely views, Jim, and it looks like one I might be capable of, but I did smile at you puffing your way through the bracken. Off piste is something I’m very familiar with! Happy weekend!
Thank you Jo, even with GPS it’s remarkably easy to lose your way if not paying attention so I only had myself to blame😀 hope you’re having a nice weekend also, we’ve had it freezing but it’s due to warm up in the coming days
It’s still around 20C in the afternoons, Jim, but cooler mornings and evenings. Several friends are returning to the UK this week so there’ve been a number of very nice farewell lunches.
Stunning photos Jim and I love that you’re honest about your occasional mistakes, but still make it out – encouraging for those who more often end up in the bracken of life 🙂
Thank you Aud, oh I make more than occasional mistakes! Some I even admit to 😉
You’re right of course, walking reflects life, sometimes we ignore the map or think we know a better way and end up in the bracken, sometimes the map becomes unreadable because mist, rain or cloud has descended on us and we can’t see the way and end up in the bracken. Maybe the key, in walking or life is not to stop but keep moving forward until eventually we will reach easier ground
So nice that you had those gorgeous views to yourself. Your picture stunning and the clouds add to the rugged terrain. Maggie
Thanks Maggie 😀
Stunning place.
Thank you Sofia, and thank you for the follow, I came across the lens-artist challenge and it has intrigued me so I may try taking part once I have got my head around it 😀