Last Updated on February 8, 2024 by Natalia
Blea Tarn is home to some of the most beautiful yet relatively undiscovered scenery in the Lake District, thanks to its remote location in the Langdale valley. It’s an incredibly picturesque spot with nearby mountains, including the Langdale Pikes, serving as the backdrop to the tarn. The isolated location of Blea Tarn means it is mainly accessible via some extremely narrow country roads, but this helps earn its place as one of the hidden gems of the Lake District. It’s definitely worth the effort to get there, as you’ll be rewarded with some truly spectacular scenery. Find out everything you need to know before you visit with this guide to the Blea Tarn walk in the Lake District.
Blea Tarn Parking
The Blea Tarn car park makes parking nearby nice and easy. Situated across the road from the lake, it’s a relatively small car park, with around 20 parking spaces. As parking space is limited, the car park can get full quite quickly.
Due to the remote location of Blea Tarn, the car park is only accessible via some very narrow, single-track roads with passing points.
There is no cost for parking at the Blea Tarn car park for National Trust members, with prices for non-members being £5 for 2 hours, £6.50 for 4 hours or £7.50 for the day. It’s important to note this is a cash only car park, so you’ll need change in order to pay for your parking space. Unfortunately there is nowhere nearby to get change, so make sure to plan ahead.
Blea Tarn car park postcode – LA22 9PG
Walking Routes
Blea Tarn Circular Walk
The circular walk of Blea Tarn offers amazing views of the lake and the towering Langdale Pikes. It’s a relatively short walk, coming in at just under 2 miles and taking less than an hour at a reasonable pace.
Cross the road from the car park and go through the gate towards the lake. Straight away you’ll have some wonderful views of Blea Tarn on your right, with mountains looming above in the background.
Walk along the footpath for around 5 minutes and then go through the gate leading into the woodland area in front of you. Follow the footpath over a small footbridge and then take the path to the right.
This path leads you through the woods for a few minutes before you emerge at the other side of the tarn. The footpath then continues onwards towards the road for around 10 minutes.
Go through the gate and you will be able to admire stunning views of the Great Langdale Valley, best known for the Langdale Pikes. After you have enjoyed the views, use the road to loop back to the car park to complete the circular walk of Blea Tarn.
As you make your way back you can enjoy views of the Little Langdale Valley and the Coniston Fells. It should take around 15 minutes to walk back to the car park from where the footpath joins the road.
In total the Blea Tarn circular walk should take around 45-60 minutes, depending on your pace and how long you stop to enjoy the views.
You can follow this circular route of Blea Tarn by clicking here and viewing it on AllTrails!
Blea Tarn and Cathedral Quarry Circular Walk
Our preferred route combines both Blea Tarn and Cathedral Quarry in one walk. Start by crossing the road by the car park, and go through the gate onto the footpath by the lake.
Almost as soon as you go through the gate you’ll have incredible views of Blea Tarn and the Langdale Pikes on your right side. The mountains tower above the lake, creating a scenic backdrop for this beautiful spot.
Continue along the footpath towards the wooded area, and then go through the gate into the woods. Follow the path for a short while longer, and just after a bridge you will find another gate on your left.
Go through the gate and follow the footpath, which leads you through the valley alongside a small river. After a little while the path leads away from the river, but continue on this route until you reach the road. The path can be uneven at times, but it’s a relatively easy going walk and is slightly downhill for most of the way.
When you reach the road, turn left and walk along the roadside for approximately 10 minutes. Shortly after you pass Fell Foot Farm you should come to a gated public footpath along Tilberthwaite Road.
You want to continue along Tilberthwaite Road for the majority of the rest of the walk, and you will pass through a few gates on the way. There are a couple of paths which turn off the road at times, but continue on the path you’re on which will lead you in the direction of Low Hallgarth Farm.
As you approach Cathedral Quarry you will get some lovely views of Little Langdale Tarn on your left side. Continue on the path past Low Hallgarth Farm, and a short while later you will come to a split in the road.
Take the path leading slightly to the right, and then shortly after turn right again. At this point you will have reached the tunnel leading into the main chamber of the quarry, known as Cathedral Cave. This spot is particularly impressive due to the large ‘window’ letting in light which illuminates the cave.
For more information on this unique spot, make sure to read our guide to Cathedral Quarry in the Lake District!
After you’ve finished exploring Cathedral Quarry, walk back to Blea Tarn by following the same route but in reverse. Alternatively, you can take a path that leads you to the other side of Little Langdale Tarn and walk along the road back to Blea Tarn from there.
The Cathedral Quarry and Blea Tarn walk should take just over 2 hours round trip from the car park if you walk non-stop.
As with most walks in the Lake District, we recommend downloading maps.me – an offline map app which has walking routes well marked. Make sure to download the ‘North West England – Lancaster’ map before you arrive, as that way you don’t need to rely on mobile data once you’re there and can easily follow the route using the app.
Alternatively you can use AllTrails which is a great app for navigating hikes and walks and is our preferred hiking app. Click here to see the Cathedral Quarry and Blea Tarn hike!
Tips for visiting Blea Tarn
Wild swimming – Blea Tarn is one of many wild swimming spots in the Lake District. It’s easy to walk down to the tarn from the footpath, which makes swimming here easy and convenient. The water at Blea Tarn can be quite cold though, so we recommend wearing a wetsuit if you’re going to try wild swimming here.
Site of Special Scientific Interest – Blea Tarn is listed as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) as the tarn’s sediment is undisturbed since the last Ice Age.
The Witcher – Part of season 2 of the Witcher was filmed here at Blea Tarn. There are a few other filming locations nearby if you are a fan of the series and want to check out other places they visited.
Hiking – If you’re looking for a bit more of a challenge, it’s possible to combine your visit to Blea Tarn with a hike up Side Pike or Pike of Blisco. Both offer some wonderful views of the Langdale Valley, but you’ll need to allow at least a few hours if you’re planning to do either hike.
Additional tarn walk– If you’re looking for another tarn walk to enjoy then we recommend visiting High Dam Tarn near Windermere. Find out more about this lovely spot with our guide to the High Dam Tarn circular walk in the Lake District!
Check out our other favourite places to visit in the Lake District – Gummer’s How and Rannerdale Knotts!
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