Hut Bookings by non-members and Kindred Club members
Non-members may only be booked in by a member.
Kindred Club members may book in but do so by emailing the hut warden – Email warden
Location
Raw Head is the FRCC’s hut and cottage in the Langdale valley.
Hut Capacities and Facilities
Barn: this sleeps 21 men and 12 women in 2 separate rooms. The women’s is ensuite with shower and toilets. The men’s washroom is separate, also with a shower and toilets. Downstairs there is a dining/ sitting area with an open fire and a large kitchen with both gas and electric cookers. Ample food storage is found beyond the kitchen.
Cottage: there are two rooms sleeping 6 and one room sleeping 4 giving a total of 16 beds. Washroom facilities are downstairs with both a bath and shower. The main dining/ sitting room has an open fire.
Lost Property
Items left in the barn and the cottage are stored in the plastic box under the signing-in table in the barn. Unclaimed items are cleared at the maintenance meet. Valuable items are stored elsewhere – contact the warden.
Nearest Telephone/Mobile Connection
Mobile phone reception is good with EE who have a mast in Elterwater, for other providers it may be possible to get a signal in some places behind the Barn. The nearest public phone is at Chapel Stile but there is also an overpriced payphone at the Stickle Barn.
Facilities in the area
The nearest shop is the Co-op in Chapel Stile which stocks a good range of produce including local meat and bread. It is open from 9/9.30am to 5/5.30pm. There is also a post office at Elterwater.
Within easy reach of Raw Head there are five pubs. Up the valley are the New Dungeon Ghyll, the Stickle Barn and the Old Dungeon Ghyll (ODG). Down the valley are the Wainwright’s Inn and the Britannia Inn in Elterwater. All the pubs do food and are open all year round.
A bus service (516) runs from Ambleside through to Dungeon Ghyll on a daily basis. Please check times on the Traveline or Stage Coach websites.
Climbing and Walking
Langdale has the advantage of both high and low crags, many having a sunny aspect allowing climbing in all months of the year. Easily reached are Scout Crag, White Ghyll, Raven and Raven Walthwaite. Higher crags include Gimmer, Pavey Ark and Bowfell. There are also crags on Pike O’Blisco, the Crinkles and over in Easedale. The higher crags and gullies give winter climbing and mixed routes.
History
The Raw Head hut comprises two properties, the seventeenth century farmhouse which is a listed building and a converted barn. Early in 1944, the owner of Raw Head farm in Langdale agreed to rent the small farmhouse to the Club for use as a hut and a 20 year lease was arranged. Little conversion was possible and amenities were limited but the building was ready for its official opening in October 1944. Two years later, the owner decided to sell the whole farm property including the barn and outhouses. The finance for the purchase came from loans and donations from members and a generous donation from the London Section which is recorded in a stone engraving above the door of the barn. Conversion of the barn involved major reconstruction work which was complicated by the wartime building restrictions that were still in operation.
The barn was officially opened in April 1950 when the two properties became known separately as Raw Head Cottage and Raw Head Barn. Work continued after the opening with an extension to the barn providing the end kitchen and the washrooms above while the arrival of electricity in 1957 greatly improved the cooking, heating and lighting facilities and opened the way to further ongoing improvements.