A late night in October, a few hours after we’d left Liverpool, we were driving in Langdale Valley, Lake District Region, northern England. It was dark and misty; we would need to wait till the morning to marvel at the beauty of this area. We pulled over to a narrow parking spot beside the road to get a few hours of sleep. Definitely not warm, but not freezing either… a fair night it was. We were roused by the first light of the dawn. The astounding beauty of the valley was now visible, and it was time to explore it. We planned a nice walk on the spot. We’d head for Stickle Tarn, Pavey Ark, and Harrison Stickle. Off we set.
We stopped by a place called Brambles Cafe in Chapel Stile village to have breakfast and wait for the rain to subside. It fell strong continuously since the morning, but we trusted the forecast that said it’d stop by noon. Indeed it did, fortunately. Accompanied by a concluding soft drizzling, we got back in the car and drove further into the valley. The thick fog began to dissolve gradually. Vapor strips slid gently over the slopes on either side of the now broadly revealed green meadows. Soon we made it to a parking lot (coordinates: 54.4481, -3.0875) in a small locality known as New Dungeon. This is where the trail to Stickle Tarn begins.
Stickle Tarn is a small and amazingly scenic tarn (lake) in a cirque by the foot of Pavey Ark and Harrison Stickle summits. The tarn was enlarged artificially in 1838 by means of a stone dam. It now supplies water for the majority of Langdale’s inhabitants. It is among the most popular destinations for hikers in the Lake District.
The trailhead to Stickle Tarn is located beside New Dungeon Ghyll lodge, at an altitude of 100 m. Coordinates of the trailhead: 54:4489, -3.0891.
We went past a few wooden gates defining the boundaries of the pastures, and over a couple of small bridges across the gurgling brooks in the purlieu of the settlement, and we began ascending. It was a pleasing route alongside an impetuous stream known as Stickle Ghyll. It was still cloudy overheads but the fog had mostly withdrawn at ground level. Impressive views of the valley below accompanied our way. It was Saturday and the trail was rather busy. The sheep lingered along the trail and regarded the numerous hikers dispassionately.
Having walked for about a mile, we soon made it to the shore of Stickle Tarn at 470 m AMSL. The air was chilly but motionless. The figures of the peaks loomed imposingly and gravely over the utterly calm surface of the lake. Only the constant plash of the stream and the occasional mumbling of the hikers’ parties were to be heard. We had our lunch and headed further up.
Most of the other walkers went only as far as the lake. So our way thereon was especially quiet. We followed the trail running along the eastern shore of the lake and moved on along the tarn’s feeding stream called Bright Beck for some 200 m. Then we headed off to the left and began ascending once again.
That’s when we got a fair dose of sunshine. Most clouds dissolved and only some cottony cumuli remained, traveling speedily across the broad sky, concealing and revealing the sun at irregular intervals.
The climb was a short one. Soon enough we’d made it to the high plateau overlooking the tarn and the elongated valley below. Some snowcapped peaks gleamed brightly before the horizon while a patch of the Irish Sea was also faintly visible in the west.
We reached Pavey Ark summit (coordinates: 54.4620, -3.1053) at 700 m AMSL and continued west and south along the ridge. Half a mile later, we reached Harrison Stickle summit (coordinates: 54.4620, -3.1053) at 732 m AMSL. This is the highest peak in the area, as well as the best viewpoint of the valley. The sky was at its best when we made it there. The sun occupied a patch of clear blue sky above the western horizon and bathed the charming valley of Langdale in ample warm light. Absolutely breathtaking views.
Now we needed to rush back down before all light disappeared. We headed straight down west from Harrison Stickle, crossed the Dungeon Ghyll gully, and followed the trail back down to the valley along the ridge.
We were back in the car right before sunset and drove off straight away. The next day, we were to climb Scafell Pike: England’s highest mountain.
Photo Gallery
View (and if you want use) all my photographs from Stickle Tarn.
Stickle Tarn Map
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Read more
- Stickle Tarn, Langdale – Wikipedia
- Pavey Ark – Wikipedia
- Harrison Stickle – Wikipedia
- Stickle Tarn trail – National Trust
- Langdale, Jack’s Rake, Pavey Ark, Thunacar Knott, Stake Pass and Mickleden – Walking Englishman
- Stickle Tarn Walk from Langdale – Britain Express
- WALKING THE LAKES – DUNGEON GHYLL TO STICKLE TARN – Webtogs
