The pretty hamlet of
ELTERWATER sees its fair share of Langdale-bound hikers, not least because of its old lakeland pub on the green, the
Britannia Inn (
015394/37210,
www.britinn.co.uk;
₤91-110), and two local YHA
hostels:
Elterwater, just across the bridge from the village (
0870/770 5816,
elterwater@yha.org.uk; dorm beds £11.95; flexible opening Nov– Easter), and
Langdale, a mile from Elterwater (
0870/770 5908,
langdale@yha.org.uk; dorm beds £12.50; closed Nov– Feb), high on the road from Skelwith Bridge to Grasmere.
A footpath from Elterwater (signposted as the Cumbria Way) runs all the way up the valley. Three miles from Elterwater, at Stickle Ghyll car park, Harrison Stickle (2414ft), Pike of Stickle (2326ft) and Pavey Ark (2297ft) form a dramatic backdrop, though many walkers aim no further than Stickle Tarn, an hour's climb up a wide path from Stickle Ghyll. The other car park, a mile further west up the valley road by the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel (see below), is the starting-point for a series of more hardcore hikes to resonant lakeland peaks like Crinkle Crags (2816ft) or Bowfell (2960ft).
The comfortable
rooms at the Victorian
New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel (
015394/37213,
www.dungeon-ghyll.com;
₤91-110) feature dramatic fell views. You can eat here, or at the adjacent
Sticklebarn Tavern (
015394/37356), which has simple
bunk-barn accommodation (£10 per night). However, the best-known accommodation in the valley is the peerless
Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel (
015394/37272,
www.odg.co.uk;
₤91-110), at the end of the B5343, seven miles northeast of Ambleside. Dinner (£20; reservations essential) is served in the dining room, but all the action is in the stone-flagged
hikers' bar, which serves real ales and filling chips-with-everything meals.