Little Langdale walks: Baysbrown Wood, Oak Howe and Great Langdale Beck

We love exploring the fells around Little Langdale, but you don’t always have to go uphill to have a good walk. This loop takes you over to Little Langdale’s big brother Great Langdale via some lovely native woodland with delightful views to the high fells of Pavey Ark and Harrison Stickle. It is mostly on very good paths, with only one slightly rough section through the woods.

The Three Shires Inn to Baysbrown Wood

From the inn, turn right along the road and head slightly uphill, passing the lane going downhill to the left (signposted to Tilberthwaite). After a short distance you reach another lane heading right with a fingerpost to Ambleside (with ‘challenging option’ in brackets on the sign). Walk along here, passing Dale End farm (which often has a few chickens clucking about on the lane outside the house). The tarmac turns to gravel and the lane begins to head downhill to a gate into the woods.

Baysbrown Wood to Oak Howe

Through the gate the track splits in two, with one strand going slightly uphill and the other going downhill. Follow the uphill track through the beautiful oak woodland. As the path narrows between dry stone walls you’ll glimpse a nice view of Stickle Ghyll, Pavey Ark and Harrison Stickle through the trees. The path then drops quite steeply downhill to a tarmac road and house. This is the only rough section of path, but watch your step.

Turn left (away from the house) and keep following the tarmac road through the woods until you get to Baysbrown Farm. Ignore a path on the right (signposted Cumbria Way and Chapel Stile) and continue past the farm (signposted Great Langdale and Oak Howe). The gravel path then heads up into the woods and an obvious, rather incongruous, road sign to Great Langdale and Dungeon Ghyll.

Stay on this path as it emerges from the woods and then turns sharply right down to a stone barn. At the barn turn right (signposted to Great Langdale) and follow the path around the barn and past Oak Howe house down towards a footbridge.

Oak Howe back to Chapel Stile

Do not cross the footbridge, but stay on the path beside the river. Follow this through Baysbrown Campsite to where it does eventually cross the river via another bridge with a cattle grid. The path then passes buildings on the left as you enter Chapel Stile. Where a path leads left directly to the road head straight (signposted to the village centre) on a path between two walls.

The path takes you past the rear of the primary school and then drops down to the road by the Wainwright’s Inn.

Chapel Stile to Little Langdale

Keep walking past the pub to a blue sign to Elterwater and Great Langdale. Follow the sign over a bridge and continue straight, going uphill through old mine workings and then the working slate mine operated by Burlington Stone. The track then leads back to the road and house in the woods.

Pick up the path you descended before, heading quite steeply up through the woods.This takes you back to the gate and track towards Dale End farm. If you like you can retrace your steps back via Dale End to the road and then turn left back to the Three Shires Inn. However, for a bit of variation, you can walk back towards Dale End and take an obvious track through a gate on the left heading through a tussocky field. Follow this downhill to reach Wilson Place farm and the road, where you can turn right back towards the inn.