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| Above Cathedral Quarry looking over Little Langdale |
I was sitting on a hill above the Cathedral Quarry in Little Langdale, looking over the open jaws of the Cathedral to Langdale and beyond, the Helvellyn Range provided the horizon. I have been here many times before, and it always gives me a deep sense of belonging. As do so many locations within a couple of miles of Chapel Stile in Great Langdale. Slater's Bridge and the Cathdral in Little Langdale, High Close Youth Hostel, the circular walk to Skelwith Bridge and Elterwater via Colwith, the Britannia Inn, the Old and New Dungeon Ghyll pubs, Loughrigg Fell, Silver How, Elterwater Quarry and the Great Langdale Beck. It may be because I was conceived in the Langdales Hotel, when my parents honeymooned there. It is now Wainwright's Bar, part of the Langdale Estate where we have taken a week's holiday for the past 43 years.
As a young child, we visited Langdale a couple of times a year in a hired car. We had a family holiday when I was a 16 year old at a nearby campsite on Neaum Crag. I swam in the River Brathy and made my first solo hillwalk from Silver How to Blea Rigg and the Langdale Pikes. I was down at the New Dungeon Ghyll to buy my first pint of beer in a pub before noon, I was thirsty.
The following year, on my first holiday with friends, we stayed at the High Close Youth Hostel. On a glorious July evening, we listened to records on the lawn where I was captivated by a girl from Leeds and we arranged several rendezvous over the next week as we walked over the fells between hostels.
During university days, I visited Langdale to climb on Gimmer Crag with two of my friends who had joined their university climbing clubs. We climbed most of the high fells, sailed in Windermere and spent a New Year at the Bowder Stone cottage and saw in the New Year with Beryl Burton. On moving to Glasgow, my journeys to Lancashire would usually involve a diversion through the Lakes, very often to Langdale to climb the fells.
We bought a timeshare at Langdale in 1984 and on the first visit when the children were 2 months, two and three, we took them on an ambitious walk up the Langdale Pikes, Gregor strapped to Aileen and me carrying and cajoling our daughters, it was probably a mistake. In the following years they learnt to swim in the pool, climbed many of the lakeland fells and visited all the sights as we swamped them with Beatrix Potter and Wainwright. We have only missed two years, both owing to my work commitments.
We watched our family grow and fledge,we walked almost every path, and visited most pubs. I climbed all the Wainwrights and hope to complete a second round soon. Langdale is a favourite place, where I started life, it is my all weather playground and where memories of life's journey teeter over each other.
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| Langdales Hotel now Wainwrights |
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| Langdale Beck by Langdales Hotel |
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| High Close Youth Hostel |
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| Lodge for 43 years |
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| View from our Lodge |
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| Happy days |
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| Brtannia Inn |
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| Family on Loughrigg Fell |
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| Slater's Bridge |
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| Poo Sticks? |
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| Aileen on Slater's Bridge |
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| The gate to Rydal Terrace |
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| Grasmere from Rydal Terrace |
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| Langdale from Loughrigg Fell |
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| Inside the Cathedral |
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| Langdale Pikes from the Quarry |
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| Elterwater Quarry |
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| Gregor and me on the Colwith to Skelwith Trail |
