My first time hiking the Langdale Pikes
Driving up the Langdale Valley towards them, the Langdale Pikes somehow looked a lot an awful lot bigger than I remembered them. I think I saw them differently knowing that this was the day I was actually going to climb them.
I’ve admired them from so many places over the years, but always from below, whether that’s from the Langdale Valley, Blea Tarn, Side Pike, Mickledon or Lingmoor Fell. The Langdale Pikes dominate the surrounding area and provide a magnificent focal point for so many photos and views.
Over time the feeling that I needed to get up to the Langdale Pikes and see those views the other way round had grown ever stronger. However, as someone who can get lost going up even the smallest Lake District fell I didn’t like the idea of bumbling around and hoping to find the right route.
Hiking the Langdale Pikes is very doable if you are fit and healthy, but it’s important not to take safety lightly. I found Rob Green Guiding was leading a group walk on the Langdale Pikes and so I booked on straight away as I really liked the idea of being guided up for my first time. I then joined a gym to lose some weight and build up my fitness as I didn’t want to be bloke at the back holding everyone else up.
Stickle Tarn
It was just as well that I did, the 12th of August was the hottest day of the year and the climb up to Stickle Tarn from the car park at New Dungeon Ghyll was pretty hard work, like walking up many hundreds of uneven stairs.
From the photo of Stickle Tarn below you can see that there was absolutely no breeze. With the heat and the climb we had just done the water looked very inviting but we settled for filling our caps with the cold water from the Tarn and having a bit of a breather.
Pavey Ark
From here we followed the path to the end of the tarn and then turned left and up around the side of Pavey Ark (leaving the challenge of Jakes Rake for another day!). After another steepish climb we got to the top of Pavey Ark, our first Wainwright of the day. This presented us with a fantastic view back down over Stickle Tarn, with Lingmoor Fell and Side Pike looking pretty small behind Stickle Tarn.
Harrison Stickle
From there we made our way across to Harrison Stickle, our second Wainwright of the day. Rob picked a route that avoided dropping down and having to climb back up. I really enjoyed the fact that someone else was responsible for navigating and I could fully concentrate on my walking and the views. The image below is looking back to Harrison Stickle.
Pike of Stickle
We dropped down a little from Harrison Stickle and then headed across to Pike of Stickle, with it’s distinctive domed shape. We paused to take a look down the rather steep gully into the valley way below, before scrambling up to the top of our 3rd Wainwright.
Loft Crag
We returned to the gully in the photo above for our lunch break before aiming for the 4th and final Wainwright on this route, Loft Crag.
The view across to Loft Crag from Pike of Stickle is absolutely stunning with the Langdale Valley floor way below. Blea Tarn in Little Langdale is just visible in the distance (to the side of Lingmoor Fell),
The walk across to Loft Crag is easy going, but the views from there back to Pike of Stickle and down into Mickledon are truly spectacular.
From Loft Crag we started the steady descent back down to New Dungeon Ghyll for some well-earned refreshment at the Stickle Barn.
Final thoughts
The Langdale Pikes are as impressive close up as they are from distance, and I am really looking forward to my next visit in the Autumn. I can’t wait to see them under different conditions and to take in some of the other nearby summits like Thunacar Knott.
I’d also like to take my big camera and tripod up there, so l think I will have to keep going to the gym between now and then.
It would also be nice to be able to spend more time taking photos enjoy the Langdale Pike summits and views without being harassed by great clouds of flying ants on every one of the peaks…
Footnote – Ants and the Wainwrights
Arriving at the summit of Pavey Ark we noticed a lot of ‘flies’ that on closer inspection turned out to be a swarm of flying ants, so many that we couldn’t really stop and take photos from there and had to drop down a few feet to some nearby rocks.
The same thing happened at the top of each of Harrison Stickle, Pike of Stickle and Loft Crag. Several square metres near each summit cairn of each of the Langdale Pikes was literally carpeted with ants. The odd thing was that this was only on the actual Wainwright summits and just a few feet away there were no ants at all. It was as if they knew where the Wainwrights were and were guarding them.
All I can think that perhaps they were nesting in the summit cairns, but it remain a bit of a mystery to me. If anyone can explain why they were there I’d be very interested to hear.