Lingmoor Fell & Side Pike

Walked on 22/03/2024

Walking Diary 2024

Start Point: Blea Tarn Car Park (NY 296 043)

Blea Tarn – Bleatarn House – Lingmoor Fell – Lingmoor Tarn – The Squeeze – Side Pike – Blea Tarn

Distance: 5.7 km Total Ascent: 365 metres Time Taken: 2 hours Start Time: 10:10

Weather: Cold wind, clear spells, 5°C

This is a great little walk, the scenery is fabulous throughout with the Langdale Pikes dominating the scene for most of the time. The view from Side Pike is possible the best view you can get of the Langdales and well worth squeezing through ‘The Squeeze’ to get to it. Blea Tarn is ever popular and offers great views with an easy path around it.

Lingmoor Fell and Side Pike route map.

Straight from the car park above Blea Tarn, there is a great view of the Langdales from the Side Gates road.

Heading a little further down the road towards Bleatarn House, there is a large stone next to the road known as the echo stone.

Looking across Blea Tarn to Blake Rigg on the eastern side of Pike o' Blisco.

Bowfell and The Band.

A fabulous view to Mickleden and the Langdale Pikes from the larches looking over Bleatarn House. Blea Tarn and Bleatarn House are described in Wordsworth's 1814 poem 'The Solitary' (which itself is part of a longer poem 'The Excursion': ...to the south Was one small opening, where a heath-clad ridge Supplied a boundary less abrupt and close; A quiet treeless nook, with two green fields, A liquid pool that glittered in the sun, and one bare Dwelling; one Abode, no more ! It seemed the home of poverty and toil Though not of want: the little fields, made green By husbandry of many thrifty years, Paid cheerful tribute to the moorland House.

Side Pike with the Langdales beyond.

Fletcher basking in the sunshine.

Blake Rigg and Pike o' Blisco across Blea Tarn. Crinkle Crags are silhouetted beyond.

Looking south to the Coniston fells with Wetherlam dominating and the long ridge of Wet Side Edge leading to Great Carrs.

Looking directly along Mickleden - what a view!

It doesn't look as though I am alone of this fell today! I passed this large group on the final part of the ascent,

Lingmoor Fell summit.

The Langdale Pikes and Lingmoor Tarn, the next target.

Down at Lingmoor Tarn.

The Langdlae pIkes are looking larger as I descend.

The 'Great Wall of Lingmoor' leads to Side Pike. It looks impenetrable from here but there is a way to get through.

Getting closer.

Looking back to Lingmoor Fell.

This is the key to climbing Side Pike - known as The Squeeze for obvious reasons. This is taken from the far side of it; it required bag removal and a deep breath to get through here!

A great view of Blea Tarn from the path skirting the foot of Side Pike.

Pike o' Blisco seems close from here.

There is probably the best view of the Langdale Pikes from Side Pike.

From Bowfell to Esk Pike.

A wide view of Oxendale and Mickleden.

A beautiful panorama from the top of the Blea Tarn Pass.

The Langdale Pikes across Blea Tarn.

Footnote: A then and now photo - Fletcher sitting on the very same stone that Mr A.Wainwright himself sat on in 1990!

Wainwright photo © Chris Butterfield/Estate of Kenneth Shepherd.
Check out Chris Butterfield’s fantastic Alfred Wainwright Books & Memorabilia website, it is a mine of useful information about all things Wainwright related!

Lingmoor Fell

Walked on 05/07/2006

Start point: Blea Tarn Car Park (NY 296 043)

Blea Tarn – Brown How on Lingmoor Fell – Lingmoor Tarn – Side Pike – Blea Tarn

Distance: 5.7 miles Total Ascent: 602 metres Time Taken: 5 hours

Weather: Very hot and still. 28oC.

It was even hotter today than yesterday, the heat was stifling with barely a hint of a breeze for a walk up to Lingmoor Fell – and of course it was very hazy. We were accompanied by Roger and Ann Hiley with their dogs Harry and Bethan today – the Loweswater team were on tour in the south Lakes!

Roger, Ann and the dogs head off down the road at Side Gates, the Tilberthwaite fells beyond.

Blake Rigg from Side Gates.

The Coniston fells and Little Langdale from the steep climb to Lingmoor Fell.

Little Langdale Tarn and Great Intake, Wetherlam behind.

A hazy view of Elter Water and Windermere.

Hot, hot, hot on Lingmoor Fell.

Come on in, the water's lovely!

The wall that crosses Lingmoor Fell and divides Little Langdale from Great Langdale.

Pike o' Blisco, Crinkle Crags, Bow Fell and the Langdale Pikes from the summit of Lingmoor Fell.

Heading down to Lingmoor Tarn.

Cooling off in Lingmoor Tarn with the Langdale Pikes as a nice backdrop.

Bow Fell across Lingmoor Tarn.

The wall continues to Side Pike.

A tight squeeze for Roger, but at least the hat makes it through the gap in the rock on the way to Side Pike.

All four still at once! Angus, Bethan, Harry and Casper have a rest on Side Pike.

Bow Fell and The Band with Mickleden to the right from Side Pike.

Great Langdale.

The Langdale Pikes.

...and closer up.

Pike o' Blisco - where we were yesterday.

Looking back to Side Pike on the way to Blea Tarn.

Cooling off in Blea Tarn.

Blea Tarn, the Langdale Pikes and Side Pike.

Lingmoor Fell

Walked on 16/08/2004

Start point: Blea Tarn Car Park (NY 296 043)

Blea Tarn – Brown How on Lingmoor Fell (138) – Side Pike (139) – Blea Tarn

Weather: Showers with sunny spells.

Today’s walk is a lovely circuit of Lingmoor Fell taking in Side Pike and Blea Tarn. There are magnificent views of the nearby Langdale Pikes from here; in fact it is arguably the best view you can get of them.

There is a car park conveniently situated for this walk on the Side Gates road adjacent to Blea Tarn. From the car park, I turned left and followed the tarmac until just above the lower cattle grid, a grassy track bears left over a low wooden barrier and follows the contour for some distance. The first obstacle was a beck; I crossed it and followed the path to the right, following the wall along the contour until the sharp ascent up to Lingmoor began.

Little Langdale Tarn and Wetherlam from the ascent of Lingmoor Fell. Once onto the ridge, the path passes some old mine workings; the stone wall leads all the way to the summit from here.

The summit ridge and the wall leading to Brown How, the summit of Lingmoor Fell. The Langdale Pikes are behind. There is a stile to cross on the summit fence and the large summit cairn lies beyond.

The Langdale Pikes from the summit of Brown How on Lingmoor Fell.

Lingmoor Tarn...

and Blea Tarn from Lingmoor Fell. The path carries on from the summit and descends quite sharply to a shoulder beneath the large, rocky knoll of Side Pike.

Pike O' Blisco emerges from the clouds from Lingmoor Fell.

Side Pike looms ahead along the wall. From the shoulder, the path bears left, behind a narrow rock flake (breathe in!) and then ascends to the summit of Side Pike. It feels as though you can touch the Langdale Pikes from here.

The Langdale Pikes from the summit of Side Pike.

Mickleden from Side Pike with The Band, left, Rossett Pike at the Head of the valley and the Langdale Pikes to the right. I descended to the main road, across by the cattle grid and then followed the path to the little wood behind Blea Tarn. Once through the wood, the path leads around Blea Tarn to the start point of the walk.

The Langdale Pikes and Side Pike across Blea Tarn.