I’d seen lots of photos of the incredible main chamber at Cathedral Cave before visiting, but I had no idea there is so much more to this site than the main chamber alone. There are a number of tunnels and passages to explore, which offer a really fun, but easy, Lake District adventure.
Although there are plenty of routes you can take to visit the cavern, we’re sharing the quickest easiest route, leaving maximum time to explore the cave system when you get there.
Here’s how to get to Cathedral Cave via the shortest route.
The shortest walk to Cathedral Cave
The stats
Distance: 0.7 miles (1.1km) each way
Elevation gain: 100m inc climbing to the top of the cavern
Difficulty: Easy
The walk to Cathedral Cave is all along quiet country lanes or well maintained paths. Although it’s not entirely flat, there are never any steep sections. Entering the main chamber is also easy, there’s a tunnel and no scrambling involved.
Exploring further requires negotiating a little bit of rougher terrain, but nothing overly difficult, however dry weather is ideal so the rocks will be less slippery.
The route to the cavern is not signposted, but we have step by step directions below.
Starting the trail
The trail begins from the Three Shires Inn (but you can’t use their car park, we’ve included all parking details below). Continue past the inn, heading west, and you’ll see a signpost on the left after 90m.
Follow the road (Fitz Steps) which is signposted as Tilberthwaite, not recommended for cars.
It’s a quiet country lane, only really used by residents and those staying in holiday cottages (there’s no room to park, which is why you have to park a little further away).
The road heads gently downhill and is surrounded by the beautiful rolling hills of Little Langdale. After just under 500m this road will turn into a gravel lane and parts of it are prone to flooding. Happily there is a raised pavement area, which pedestrians can use even when the road has flooded.
Roughly 100m down the gravel path (650m into the walk), you’ll reach a bridge over the river. After crossing the bridge, take an immediate right.
An optional detour to Slater's Bridge
The walk continues along the river on a flat gravel path. At this point you can choose to make a short (less than 700m total distance added) detour to see Slater's Bridge, a charming ancient pedestrian bridge.
The walk to reach the bridge is flat and it’s well worth checking out if you have a little extra time.
Just before you reach the bridge you’ll need to walk over a stone stile - the kind with the stone that juts out the wall.
You can then walk right the way over the bridge and there are some absolutely gorgeous views over Little Langdale.
If you make the detour, then the quickest route into the cave is to head back in the direction you came from and look for a gate on your right. When you get to the gate (250m from the bridge), cross over the stile and start heading up the hill.
You can’t miss it, and it’s signposted as the Little Langdale Quarries. From the gate to the tunnel into Cathedral Cavern, it’s just a 50m walk uphill on a gravel path.
Into Cathedral Cave
If you’re not making a detour to Slater’s Bridge, continue up the main path for 450m and climb the stile beside the gate, at which point you’re 50m from the tunnel into the cavern. This is the route that we took and it has a well formed path.
There is a second route into the cave, which you’ll see on the left before you reach the gate. It’s a narrow dirt path that leads up to the main chamber, but it’s a more rustic track.
The main trail into Cathedral Cavern
Both trails arrive at a signpost for the cavern and the tunnel that leads into the main chamber. The tunnel is atmospheric, dark and dripping with water, which echoes as you make your way through.
Enough light penetrates that you don’t need a torch, or could just use your phone if you want a little extra light.
Within a minute you’ll be standing in Cathedral Cave’s main chamber.
Exploring the main chamber
The main chamber is lit by the huge opening at the top. It’s an incredible sight, with a craggy wall, cascade of boulders and pops of vibrant green from the ferns and moss that have managed to carve out a home within the light shafts.
Only the boulder area is roped off, otherwise you’re free to walk right the way through the chamber. A small section is water-filled, but unless there’s been an awful lot of rain you can easily skirt round the edge of it. It’s more like a big puddle really.
The echo inside the chamber is impressive and when you look back on the entryway tunnel, it shines golden in the sunlight.
It’s an atmospheric place to explore, especially if you’re lucky enough to get it to yourself.
The magic can definitely be ruined by lots of people all sending echoes around the cavern though - which was our experience until we patiently waited them all out!
The tunnels beyond
You’ll walk through the main chamber and then see a second smaller tunnel. Pass through it and you can begin exploring the other passages.
To do this, you need to scramble up the rocks to the next level in the cavern. This is easy and only a few steps, although it can be slippery when wet and requires care.
Once you’re on the next level you can walk left and get a great view down into the main chamber from above.
There are also two more tunnels, however both had a lot of water in them on our visit.
Not too much to go through in summer, but too much for us on a fairy chilly day in autumn. If it’s the same for you, you can get to the other side of one of the tunnels using a dry route.
You’ll see an uneven and rustic looking staircase leading uphill. It’s a little steep, but takes just a few minutes to climb. As with a lot of the quarry it can be a touch slippery when wet - but not too difficult if you go slowly. It looked like it would be worse than it was.
There is one tiny section as you reach the top of the stairs where you need to walk over a narrow path that has a bit of a drop off to the right.
It was soaked and looked a bit unnerving, however, it was quite deceptive. It’s actually wider and much less slippery than it looks.
At this point you’ll enter an area with lots of ruins and a whole lot of cairns.
Once you’ve had a look around you can continue slightly downhill and you’ll see a private quarry hut. It’s locked, but the bench in front offers some lovely views over Langdale tarn and the surrounding countryside.
Back into the quarry
Once you’ve enjoyed the view from the hut you can head back onto the main path on the right and then you’ll see a right turn and a little stone arch (the remains of another tunnel).
You can follow the cleft in the cliff, which is quite fun in itself, and it also leads to another view over the main chamber.
You’ll see it on the left and once you’ve hopped over a couple of boulders you can stand looking down on the chamber from a less visited vantage point.
You’ll also see the other end of one of the flooded tunnels.
It’s probably more fun to go through the tunnel if it’s not too flooded, but it’s nice to have a good dry option!
Once you’ve explored this area you head back to the quarry hut. The track continues to the left of it, and heads downhill. You’ll then be back at the beginning again having completed a loop of the quarry site.
Although you could complete the loop quite quickly, it’s worth allowing time to explore all the nooks and crannies. We spent over an hour and even then I could have stayed longer.
Once you’re back at the start you retrace your steps to the parking area. This took us less than 15 minutes as it’s pretty much either flat or downhill for the most part.
Parking for Cathedral Cave, Lake District
Unfortunately parking for the cave is a bit of a nightmare. Little Langdale is a tiny village with narrow roads and very little in the way of parking. You cannot park at the Three Shires Inn, even if you are a paying customer at the bar. Only hotel guests can use the car park.
The best place to park is two minutes before the inn at a lay-by. The coordinates for the lay-by are: 54.420449, -3.051141.
There is not much room here, only enough for a handful of cars, and you don’t want to park on the double yellow lines as fines are handed out in this area - you also don’t want to block the narrow country lanes! For this reason it’s best to visit early or late, particularly in peak season and on weekends.
An alternative to this is to use the only car park in the area, which is located at these coordinates: 54.424205, -3.055960.
All day parking is £5 and you need to have cash. They outline where the car park is in relation to the cave on a very basic map on the wall.
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