Little Langdale
Getting there, parking, where to stay and the fells you can walk straight from Little Langdale.
Swirl How today: Marginal · Poor visibility — nav risk
10°C at the summit, gusts 33 mph
Scored for 11 September by the site’s own scorer · all 214 todayThe sun reaches the Three Shires Car Park start about 07:18 in September · sunrise 06:45
From the terrain around the start (Copernicus GLO-30), mid-month · how we work it outThe 517 stops at Little Langdale, outside Three Shires Inn
Times on bustimes.org, which is better than ours for live boards · the bus mapLittle Langdale at a glance
Little Langdale is the small valley south of Great Langdale, separated from it by the long ridge of Lingmoor Fell, with the Coniston fells on its other side and Wrynose Pass at its head. The River Brathay runs down it through Little Langdale Tarn to Elterwater, and a scatter of farms and one pub — the Three Shires Inn — is the whole of the village.
It is famous for three small things rather than one big one: a packhorse bridge, a quarry cavern and a tarn. They are all within a mile of the pub, which is why the valley is so much busier than its size, and why it has nowhere to park.
Quick facts
| Where | Between Great Langdale and the Coniston fells; the lane from Skelwith Bridge and Elterwater runs through it to Wrynose Pass |
| Famous for | Slater Bridge, Cathedral Cave and Little Langdale Tarn |
| Parking | Almost none in the valley. The National Trust's advice, and ours: park at Elterwater or Tilberthwaite and walk in |
| Bus | The 516 Langdale Rambler to Elterwater, a mile and a half away |
| The walking | Lingmoor Fell, Wetherlam and Swirl How, and the low-level circuit by the tarn and the bridge |
| Photograph | This page does not yet have a photograph of its own; one will be added when it does |
Where is Little Langdale?
The district’s layer · every place page carries this
Little Langdale near Ambleside, in the Lake District. Zoom and pan to explore.
The three things
- Slater Bridge — a slate packhorse bridge over the Brathay below the tarn, two low arches and a slab, on the path between the valley road and the old quarries. A quarter of an hour on foot from the Three Shires Inn, and the most photographed thing in the valley.
- Cathedral Cave — a quarry cavern in the slate workings above the bridge, a tall chamber with a window of light, reached through a short tunnel from the quarry track. It belongs to the National Trust and is open to walk into; take a torch for the tunnel, keep out of the side workings, and check the Trust's own page for any closure before you come.
- Little Langdale Tarn — the small lake in the middle of the valley. It is private, with no public access to the shore and no swimming; the pleasure of it is the view from the path above, with Wetherlam behind.
Parking, honestly
The valley has almost no parking: a short verge at the western end under Blake Rigg, and nothing at the pub for walkers. The lane is single-track and a car on a passing place blocks it. The National Trust's advice is the right one: leave the car at Elterwater (National Trust, pay and display) or Tilberthwaite (the quarry car park on the Coniston side) and walk in, which takes half an hour from either and is a good walk in itself. The car parks nearest the village are listed below with what they charge, and the parking map shows all of them.
Fells & walks near Little Langdale
Straight-line distances from the centre of Little Langdale — the nearest summits with a full guide on this site.
All walks from Little Langdale → — every route and fell within about 5 km, ranked, with today’s conditions.
Parking near Little Langdale
All the car parks around Little Langdale on the parking map →
Straight-line distances from the centre of Little Langdale. We publish whether a car park charges, and who runs it, but never the price — tariffs change and a stale one is worse than none, so check the sign or the operator’s own site on the day.
Vehicles are left entirely at their owner’s risk. We list places people park; we cannot vouch for any of them. Judge it on the day: take valuables with you, leave nothing on show, and if a spot feels wrong when you get there, park somewhere else.
Can you stay overnight?
- Blea Tarn (NT, paid) — run by National Trust, which does not permit overnight parking. “We don't allow overnight parking due to the impact on nature and wildlife, staff resource and visitors.” (checked 2026-08-05)
These are the land managers’ own published positions, quoted. Where a car park is not listed here we have found no published rule for it, which is not the same as permission.
How long from Little Langdale?
| Route | Distance | Ascent | Estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blea Tarn (Little Langdale) | 2.7 km | 34 m | 0.6 hrs |
| Black Sails & Great How | 10.8 km | 773 m | 3.4 hrs |
| Slater Bridge & Cathedral Cave | 2.2 km | 92 m | 0.6 hrs |
| Stonesty Pike, Great Knott & Wrynose Fell | 13.6 km | 1033 m | 4.4 hrs |
Routes starting within about 2 km of Little Langdale, or on its doorstep at one of the car parks above. Estimates are moving time for a steady walker and take no account of stops, conditions or daylight — they are a guide, not a schedule.
Getting there without a car
Without a car: The nearest stations as the crow flies are Windermere (12 km away) and Staveley (17 km away); the 517 stops at outside Three Shires Inn, 0.9 km from here (times on bustimes.org). The bus map has every stop we hold.
The 516 Langdale Rambler from Ambleside stops at Elterwater, from which the valley road and the riverside path reach Little Langdale in a mile and a half. The times are on the bus map and the fells by bus collection, from the operator's data.
The Three Shires Inn
The one pub, and a few rooms above it, in the middle of the valley. The name is the meeting point of the three old counties — Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire — at the Three Shire Stone on Wrynose Pass at the valley's head. It is named here for the reader's convenience; its own site has the hours and the prices.
The walks
- The low-level circuit — from Elterwater or the Three Shires, down to Slater Bridge, up through the quarries past Cathedral Cave, and back along the road or the path above the tarn: two hours, the three things in one walk: Slater Bridge and Cathedral Cave.
- Lingmoor Fell — the ridge between the two Langdales, climbed from the valley road; the Blea Tarn end gives the shortest way up and the best of the view over Great Langdale.
- Wetherlam and Swirl How — the big Coniston fells, from Tilberthwaite or by Greenburn from the valley: a full day with the Coniston ridge at the top.
- Elterwater to Little Langdale — the riverside link past Colwith Force and Skelwith Force, the waterfall walk for a wet day.
The box below lists the fells nearest the village with a line about each.
Frequently asked questions about Little Langdale
Where is Little Langdale?
Can you swim in Little Langdale Tarn?
Where do I park for Little Langdale?
Is Cathedral Cave open?
How long does it take to walk to Wetherlam from Little Langdale?
Events across the Lake District
The district’s layer · every place page carries this
Planning a trip around a show or festival? See our Lake District events & festivals guide for what's on near Little Langdale — traditional Lakeland sports, agricultural shows and seasonal events, month by month.