Great Langdale. Great Langdale is a valley in the Lake District National Park in North West England, the epithet Great distinguishing it from the neighbouring valley of Little Langdale. Langdale is also the name of a valley in the Howgill Fells, elsewhere in Cumbria. It is a popular location for hikers, climbers, fell-runners and other outdoor enthusiasts who are attracted by the many fells ringing the head of the valley. Among the best-known features of Great Langdale are the Langdale Pikes, a group of peaks on the northern side of the dale. England's highest mountain, Scafell Pike, can be climbed by a route from Langdale. Langdale has views of, in particular, Dungeon Ghyll Force waterfall, Harrison Stickle and Pike of Stickle. Great Langdale was an important site during the Neolithic period for producing stone axes, and was also one of the centres of the Lakeland slate industry. Great Langdale is known to archaeologists as the source of a particular type of Neolithic polished stone axe head, created on the slopes of the Pike of Stickle and traded all over prehistoric Great Britain and Europe. It also supplied stone for some Bronze Age items, including stone wrist-guards. Neolithic cup and ring marks are found on the Langdale Boulders at Copt Howe. The mouth of the valley is located at Skelwith Bridge, which lies about two miles west of the town of Ambleside. The Langdale valley contains two villages, Chapel Stile and Elterwater, and a hamlet at High Close. Great Langdale is a U-shaped valley formed by glaciers, while Little Langdale is a hanging valley. Great Langdale and Elterwater were centres of the Lakeland slate industry. Two slate workings, Elterwater Quarry and Spout Cragg Quarry, have been more or less continually working using modern methods. Elterwater is the larger of the two, and like Spout Cragg, is operated by the Burlington Stone company. There are various other local quarries now fallen into disuse, such as Lingmoor, Banks, Thrang Crag and Colt Howe. Main article: Langdale axe industry Great Langdale had a productive stone axe industry during the Neolithic period. The area has outcrops of fine-grained greenstone suitable for making polished axes which have been found distributed across the British Isles. The rock is an epidotised greenstone quarried or perhaps just collected from the scree slopes in the Langdale Valley on Harrison Stickle and Pike of Stickle. Among the best-known features of Great Langdale are the Langdale Pikes, a group of peaks on the northern side of the dale. From below, they appear as a sharp rocky ridge, though they are precipitous only on their southern side; to the north, the land sweeps gently to High Raise, the parent peak of the range. The Pikes themselves include Pike of Stickle, Loft Crag, Harrison Stickle and Pavey Ark. Main article: Pike of Stickle Pike of Stickle, also known as Pike o' Stickle, reaches a height of 709 metres. The rearward slopes show evidence of the Pavey Ark Member, pebbly sandstone and breccia. The Langdale face displays several strata: from the top The Lingmell Formation, Crinkle Member and Bad Step Tuff. These are composed, respectively, of tuff, lapilli-tuff and breccia; rhyolitic tuff and breccia; and rhyolitic lava-like tuff. Despite the peaked profile the summit is wide enough for a sizeable cairn surrounded by a small level area. Loft Crag and Gimmer Crag steal the attention in the foreground while Bowfell impresses across Langdale. A wide swathe of the Southern Fells is in view, whilst even distant Skiddaw puts in an appearance. Main article: Loft Crag Loft Crag has an altitude of 2,238 feet. It lies between Harrison Stickle and Pike o' Stickle and is usually climbed in conjunction with these two peaks. The fell has a small sharp summit, below which rises Gimmer Crag, which is one of the top rock climbing venues in the Lake District. The crag is made of Rhyolite rock and was pioneered in the early 1880s by the father of British rock climbing Walter Parry Haskett Smith. Main article: Harrison Stickle Harrison Stickle is the high point of the Langdale Pikes and its crags fall south and east from the summit, presenting an arresting view from the valley floor 2,000 ft below, or from further afield. To the north, the main ridge of the central fells passes over Thunacar Knott before climbing to High Raise. The craggy eastern face of this ridge continues north as far as Harrison's near neighbour, Pavey Ark, visually the most impressive face in the area. The south-western border of Harrison Stickle is formed by the deep ravine of Dungeon Ghyll, which cuts through the parapet of the Langdale Pikes and into the lower hinterland of Harrison Combe.
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