Blea Tarn above Langdale
Blea Tarn lies high above Great Langdale on the pass to Wrynose. Only Blea Tarn House a few hundred metres away is near enough to keep it company. On a cold and wet winter's day it feels more remote than it really is.
Blea Tarn House is thought to be the 'one bare dwelling' mentioned in William Wordsworth's poem 'The Solitary'.
At the end of the Great Langdale road where most people have already got to their destinations carry on round the sharp left turn at seemingly the end of the road and climb the single track, steep hairpin bends. Passing a white painted cottage: Blea Tarn House, one finds a body of water below to the right, and a car park on the left. Incongruously it is a National Trust pay and display. This is our starting point for a short circular walk around the tarn.
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Paul and Beth
Blea Tarn, Langdale
50K: 
- Terrain:
- 1 - easy
- Bog Factor:
- 1 - none
- Tech Diff:
- 1 - easy
Some on road walking and gravel paths. - Dog issues:
- You may encounter cattle.
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Route Description
Return to the car park entrance and turn right along the road. You soon pass Blea Tarn House. Carry on along the road and cross the cattle grid. Immediately turn left to drop down to the gate. Go through the gate onto the rough track. You are now heading back towards the tarn.
Blea Tarn House, and Side Pike
Blea Tarn, Langdale
Continue to the stand of trees beside the tarn, go through the gate into the trees. Along this section there are some wooden benches from which to admire the view. Reaching the footbridge over the outfall, turn left to cross the bridge and continue along the path. Go through another gate and continue on the path back towards the road. Go through the gate and cross the road to the car park.
Blea Tarn, Langdale
Blea Tarn, Langdale
If you like this walk then why not try one of our other nearby walks:
| Name | Rating | Starts |
|---|---|---|
| Rossett Pike, Angle Tarn, Esk Pike and Bowfell | | 2.0km (1.2 miles) away |
| Bowfell, via Worneyside Force, Hell Gill, and the Great Slab | | 2.0km (1.2 miles) away |
| Crinkle Crags | | 2.0km (1.2 miles) away |
| Lingmoor Fell and Side Pike | | 2.0km (1.2 miles) away |
| The Langdale Pikes: Pavey Ark, Thunacar Knott, Pike of Stickle, Harrison Stickle | | 2.0km (1.3 miles) away |
| High Raise, Sergeant Man, and Blea Rigg from Langdale | | 2.1km (1.3 miles) away |
| Cumbria Way - Dungeon Ghyll to Keswick | | 2.1km (1.3 miles) away |
| A Journey from Dungeon Ghyll over the Fells to Ambleside | | 2.1km (1.3 miles) away |
| Cold Pike and Pike of Blisco | | 2.4km (1.5 miles) away |
| Great Carrs and Grey Friar | | 2.5km (1.5 miles) away |
| Waterfalls and the Cathedral Cavern, from Elterwater | | 3.2km (2.0 miles) away |
| An Elterwater Stroll | | 3.2km (2.0 miles) away |
| A visit to Cathedral Cavern from Tilberthwaite | | 3.5km (2.2 miles) away |
| Steel Edge and Wetherlam Edge, from Tilberthwaite | | 3.5km (2.2 miles) away |
Unless otherwise stated the text in this walk is the copyright of Hug Solutions Ltd trading as The Hug and the photographs are the copyright of Elizabeth Oldham. Hill data is derived from Database of British and Irish hills which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Maps contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2011 and paths © OpenStreetMap Contributors,CC-BY-SA, 2011