Little Langdale is a small, secretive valley in the central Lake District, with a hamlet of slate-roofed farms, a tarn and a stream, and it feels as if the rest of the world had been forgotten. The valley lies at the foot of the Wrynose Pass, and the road you ride in on climbs from the head of the valley to the pass, past a stone known as the Three Shires Stone, where the old counties of Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire once met. The stone is a simple marker, but standing at a point where three historic counties joined is a pleasing small thrill.
The Wrynose Pass is narrower than Hardknott, with steep gradients and tight, blind bends, and the Little Langdale side drops at around one in four. The road runs in a single track for much of its length, with passing places, and meeting a car head-on at a bend is a daily event, so use patience and good manners. The surface is generally good but can be wet and gritty, and it is not a road to rush. In winter, ice and snow can make it dangerous, and the pass is sometimes closed.
The landscape is classic Lakeland, with grey-green fells, drystone walls and Herdwick sheep, the hardy local breed with grey wool and white faces, which Beatrix Potter, a farmer as well as an author, helped to preserve. The slate that roofs the houses was quarried in the hills, and old quarries and tunnels honeycomb the area, with the remains of a few workings visible near the road. A packhorse bridge, Slater Bridge, crosses the river Brathay on a path, a graceful old structure of slabs, and it is a gentle walk from the hamlet. The Langdale Pikes rise above to the north.
A pub in the hamlet serves food and local beer, popular with walkers and riders, and the garden looks over the fells. Weather can change in minutes, so carry waterproofs, and note that the roads can be slow in summer with walkers and cyclists. When you finish, the soft light on the tarn in the evening makes it hard to leave.