Difficulty: Moderate
Wainwright Guide: Book Three – The Central Fells
Fells: Harrison Stickle, High Raise, Loft Crag, Pavey Ark, Pike O’Stickle, Seargent Man & Thurnacar Knott.
The Langdale Pikes is one of the most famous set of peaks in the Lake District. Classically consisting of the trio of Harrison Stickle, Loft Crag and Pike O’Stickle are an incredible backdrop to the Great Langdale Valley. The summits of Pavey Ark and Thurnacar Knott are often considered to be a part of the range. High Raise and Seargent Man, although slightly further afield, are commonly completed in conjunction with the others.
This was our very first Lake District hike with our baby, only 4 and a half months old at the time! More on how we achieved that coming soon. We also had Jonnys brother Matthew with us for the adventure.
As always we came prepared for all weather conditions and eventualities, which also meant packing a million baby supplies as well. We made it work somehow and with OS Maps, our Wainwright Guide and Emi strapped onto Jonny’s chest we were ready to set off.
Where to Start?
We parked by the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel. The Langdale Pikes make for an imposing backdrop and give a taste of the journey ahead. With the hotel on your right head towards a small gate between the buildings.
The path here splits. Head towards the left, through another gate that brings you out by Stickle Ghyll.
The Ascent
Here you have options. You can follow the ghyll up towards Stickle Tarn and have Pavey Ark as the first summit. We chose to head left, towards Loft Crag as our first Wainwright of the day.
This path follows a stone wall for a while that will at first be on your left. After passing through yet another gate it again splits into two. From here you will want to follow the path to the right up the hill.
Keeping to the right will lead you to a stile.
Once again you can choose to go left or right. Head across the grass to the right where the stone steps emerge and the path gets fairly steep.
You gain height here quite quickly and the views of the Great Langdale Valley begin to appear. It is pretty self explanatory from here as the path is easy to follow. Harrison Stickle looms overhead and the path snakes around to the left of the rock face.
The path between Harrison Stickle and Loft Crag overlooks the impressive Dungeon Ghyll. With multiple little crevices this was the perfect place to stop and feed the baby out of the wind. Easier said than done!
Eventually you come to a crossroads. Heading right takes you towards Harrison Stickle, straight ahead leads to Pike O’Stickle and taking the path to the left leads to Loft Crag. You get a good view of the three main peaks from here, as well as the summit of Thurnacar Knott.
Loft Crag
We opted to tackle the Langdale Pikes in a clockwise route, so we headed left towards Loft Crag. This path leads around the inside of Loft Crag to a T junction. Taking the left hand path brings you very quickly to the summit of Loft Crag. Emi’s very first Wainwright!
With fantastic views out towards Windermere it certainly was a fantastic memory!
Pike O’Stickle
Next up we turned around and headed back towards Pike O’Stickle. As we got closer the path turned into a series of steps, then into a bit of a scramble.
The view from the summit was fantastic. We could see all of the other Langdale Pikes, as well as High Raise and Seargent Man further afield. In the other direction the summits of Great Gable and the Scafell range were clearly evident!
Thurnacar Knott
From Pike O’Stickle the path to Thurnacar Knott is pretty obvious, however is does take you through very boggy terrain so make sure you’re wearing appropriate footwear!
The climb is pretty gentle, yet the summit is pretty average. The views are mostly of the summits of the surrounding fells.
There are two summit cairns, yet the accepted summit is to the north of the summit tarn. From here you can easily head over towards Seargent Man and Haigh Raise, or head towards Harrison Stickle.
High Raise
Matthew, Jonny and I opted not to head over to High Raise on the day in question, however I have since gone back with Kay and Andy for company! The path is pretty straight forward. High Raise is easily spotted from Thurnacar Knott. The straight line path is easy to follow.
The summit itself is strewn with rocks with a wind break and trig point making it easily distinguishable. It again has fantastic views over towards the Western Fells, and has the bonus of stunning views towards Derwent. Despite the amazing sunshine we didn’t stay for too long on the summit as the wind was absolutely howling!
Seargent Man
To get to Seargent Man from High Raise, turn back around and instead of heading back on the path you came up, take the path approximately 45 degrees to your left. Sometimes when you’re up on fells like these your surroundings can all look pretty similar but by keeping the landmarks of Pavey Ark and Harrison Stickle in sight you can orientate yourself okay.
The summit is marked by a small cairn. It looks remarkably similar to that of Pavey Ark, however the view is much different. Stickle Tarn is obscured by Pavey Ark but you can still see the Langdale Valley in the distance.
Pavey Ark
To get to Pavey Ark from here you need to snake off towards the right and aim to re-join the path between High Raise and Thurnacar Knott. The track to get there isn’t the most well marked. It’s quite easy to slip off every now and again into boggier bits of land.
Once you’ve re-joined the main path you’ll be looking out for a fork in the road close to the summit of Thurnacar Knott. This path is quite varied in structure. In some places it is easy underfoot and in others is a quagmire.
The summit overlooks Stickle Tarn and Windermere is visible in the distance. You also get a glimpse the final summit, Harrison Stickle.
From Pavey Ark you can descend to Stickle Tarn by heading to the left for a fairly steep decline. Alternatively you can take Jake’s Rake, however this is much better as an ascent up the rock face.
Harrison Stickle
To get to Harrison Stickle you just walk along the ridge from Pavey Ark. There is no defined route but there are a few marked paths. The views of Stickle Tarn on this ridge are phenomenal with the sheer rock face of Pavey Ark very well demonstrated!
As the tallest fell in the Langdale Pikes the view from the top of Harrison Stickle is immense. You can look back on all the other summits from the walk and into the distance in multiple directions. Past the Great Langdale Valley, Windermere and Loughrigg Fell are visible. Many of the other great ranges can be seen looking back in the other direction.
The Descent
There are many options for descent from Harrison Stickle. On my first trip to the Langdales we opted to drop down to the path beside Dungeon Ghyll and head back in the direction we came. This was much easier with Emi in carried on our fronts.
The other option is to head down towards Stickle Tarn and follow Stickle Ghyll back towards the hotel. Either descent provides fantastic views of the valley below. The views of the fells from the tarn provide another size perspective. You can also get a good look at Jacks Rake.
New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel
As always, a pint at the end of a walk is well deserved! With the fells as your backdrop a drink in the beer garden of the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel is a phenomenal way to end the day.
With so many route options and the ability to easily add on fells or leave some out, the Langdale Pikes are a fantastic option for a good days walking in the Lake District.
Have you completed the Langdale Pikes yet? Which route did you take? Let me know in the comments below!
