Blea Tarn is a beautiful and quiet spot in between Little Langdale and Great Langdale. We did a circular 3 mile walk, taking in Blea Tarn and Side Pike, which offered amazing 360 degree views.
There is a National Trust car park at GR 296043 on OS map OL6 (try postcode LA22 9PG although don’t rely on Sat Navs in remote areas!)
Leave the car park and follow the footpath in front of you, keeping the tarn to your right. Once you’ve entered the woods, follow the path and cross the wooden footbridge. When you’re here, spare a moment to turn left, through the gate and take in the cascading waterfalls for approx 100 metres.
Return back to the path you were on, and continue walking round the tarn, still keeping it on your right. You emerge from the woods, and will have a clear view of Side Pike, in front of you (the big hill to the right!)
Follow the easy to navigate path to the road, cross over, and follow the path up to the top of Side Pike. The kids loved this bit, as there were lots of rocks to scramble up. Take care here, as it was damp when we went and some of the rocks were very slippy.
Once you get to the very top, take in the breathtaking scenery, with Mickleden to the north west, Langdale to the north and east, and Blea Tarn to the south. Check out the views from the top in our video here:
A word of warning – don’t continue eastwards once you’ve summited, there is a sheer drop in front of you! You should back track approx 100 metres, and then take the lower path south and then east around the crag.
This path will lead you to an exciting “squeeze” through the rocks at GR 294053. See the photos below. Follow the path next to the fence directly down to join the road. Left on the road will lead you back to the car park.
We’d recommend doing this walk in a clockwise direction, as descending anti-clockwise would be quite tricky. Here’s a map of the route we took:
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Categories: >2.5 miles, great views, lake shore, summit, waterfalls
Family Walks and Pubs in the Lake District 