Region: English Lake District
Distance/ascent: 8 miles/2,950 ft
Approximate time to complete the route: 6 - 7 hours
Highest point: Helvellyn summit: 3,118 ft
Helvellyn rising above Red Tarn
This fine objective with its evocative name and lofty height is England's most popular mountain and justifiably so. When climbed by either of its rocky Eastern ridges it provides a varied and rewarding hike culminating in excellent and extensive views over the district and the beautiful lakes of Ullswater and Thirlmere. The route described here tackles both of the ridges and is a magnificent day's outing.
The start and finish of the walk is the picturesque lakeside village of Glenridding. Its unusually Scottish sounding name was probably given by Celtic settlers, though most of this part of the Lake District was farmed by Norsemen. The Glenridding Beck is followed to Rattlebeck Bridge. The original bridge of Rattlebeck was destroyed in 1927 when the dam of Kepppelcove tarn, above the Greenside mine, burst its banks. In the dead of night a 6 foot wall of water travelled down the valley and smashed through the village carrying furniture and belongings into the lake. Fortunately, most residents were asleep on upper floors and there was no loss of life. At the stream confluence our route turns to the left to follow the steeper Mires Beck and then ascends a series of well-made zig zags to gain the ridge of Birkhouse Moor. The views north and east open out and the lovely shape of Ullswater draws the eye. The route follows the ridge, gradually closing with a high dry-stone wall until reaching a prominent gap and stile. This is where the route from Patterdale arrives on Birkhouse Moor and marks the start of Striding Edge, though here it is quite broad where it merges with the fellside.
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The Western aspect of Helvellyn......................................................Swirrel Edge and Catstycam
To the right is Red Tarn (not really red at all) a perfect example of a cwm or corrie scooped out by glacial action. Behind the tarn the headwall rises 1000 feet in a glorious sweep to the summit of Helvellyn. The cwm is bounded by the sharp aretes of Striding and Swirrel Edges and by the sensational cone of Catstycam making this a rugged mountain scene of a grandeur which competes on equal terms with much loftier peaks. There is a choice of ways along Striding Edge: a good path follows the arete just below its crest and is safe in wind and rain but, given good weather, the true fellwalker will want to stick as closely as possible to the rocky comb which does require some scrambling. Either way this section seems over too soon and the final zig zag climb begins to the broad plateau and the cross shaped summit shelter and cairn.
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.....The summit above Red tarn ................................................... Catstycam and distant Ullswater
The return route is no anticlimax. Leaving the summit cairn in a north westerly direction a loose pile of stones, hardly a cairn at all, marks the descent to Swirrel Edge. Shorter, but slightly more involved than Striding Edge, this arete ends splendidly in the cone of Catstycam and those with sufficient energy will be well rewarded for the extra effort of an ascent. The main path descends to Red Tarn and thence follows the beck down to Greenside mines which has provided hazardous employment for the local population for almost three centuries. Entering the ravine, created by the aforementioned dam burst, follow the path on the south side of Glenridding Beck back across the slopes of Birkhouse to Rattlebeck Bridge and thus return to Glenridding having completed a classic round of Helvellyn's glorious Edges.
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............. ........................................Striding Edge and Red Tarn
.........To download a 1:50,000 scale of the route click inside this locator map.
