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Glenridding - Birkhouse Moor - Striding Edge - Helvellyn - Helvellyn Lower Man - White Side - Raise - Gleridding
With a plan to complete my Wainwrights set for next weekend (I hope this glorious weather holds out
) I was loathed to let the lack of a summit bag stop me getting out in the good weather so we planned Helvellyn (mainly to stop John pestering me as he has done now for well over 12 months).
In the last 3 years of walking with Damson we still hadn't done Striding Edge either despite having done it many times as a kid in all weathers.
However when Saturday morning came I awoke to an voice text message that John had been at the re-opening of his local public house and was feeling a little worse for wear. Admittedly, he didn't use flowery words and as it was in an automated female voice, it sounded a little like a cross between Stephen Hawkings & Jo Brand.
Anyhoo, it was back down to just Damson & I so we set off early and arrived and got booted near The Travellers Rest Pub at about 9:15. There were plenty of others following my route up past the campsite and onto the flanks of Birkhouse Moor.
The sun was very warm already and plenty of stops and water breaks were required as we trudged up the clear path following Mires Beck. The views back to Ullswater were slightly hazy in the sunshine but no less beautiful.
View back to Ullswater and Glenridding from side of Mire Beck
Glenridding under Place Fell
Sheffield Pike & Glenridding Fell from Mires Beck path
View over Glenridding Fell to Ullswater
We reached the top of Birkhouse Moor in little over an hour after taking our time on the hot ascent and were both grateful of a light breeze and a halt to the gradient for a while as we followed the wall over towards Red Tarn and the start of Striding Edge.
Summit of Birkhouse Moor looking to Helvellyn
Damson feeling the heat on Birkhouse Moor
Catstycam, White Side & Raise (showing decent down zig zag on right)
Zoom on our descent path
View to Ullswater from Birkhouse Moor summit
We joined a steady stream of people on the climb up to Striding Edge and decided to do the edge in sections, knowing that if we joined the queues for the entire length we could have been there for some time.
Approach to Striding Edge
Looking down on Red Tarn
We decided to queue jump the actual start of the Edge at Low Spying How by taking the lower path around its right hand side and then climbing back up to get in front of the line we had followed up towards the top. We then covered the middle section following the edge itself up to High Spying How and the drop down into what I believe is called the chimney
Striding Edge to Helvellyn
Behind Low Spying How
Striding Edge, Helvellyn, Red Tarn and Swirral Edge from Striding Edge
Catstycam across Red Tarn from Striding Edge
The climb down from High Spying How
Then comes the scramble up the final slope onto Helvellyn itself, tackled by staying on the clear path rather than over more of the rock face like some of the others around me and finally onto the summit itself visiting all its landmark plaques, cairns & trig point along the way.
Final stretch from Striding Edge onto Helvellyn
We stuck to the path on left rather than over rock face as others shown here
Damson looking back over Striding Edge
Striding Edge from below Helvellyn summit
Looking back to Birkhouse Moor from Helvellyn flank
St Sundays Crag from Helvellyn
View to White Side & Raise from Helvellyn summit cairn
Swirral Edge & Catstycam from Helvellyn summit cairn
Red Tarn from Helvellyn summit cairn
View over Swirral Edge to descent path down flanks of Raise
Flat summit of Helvellyn from summit cairn
My posing pooch on Helvellyn Trig Point
And another as she was such a good girl !!
Looking down on Swirral Edge
The original plan was to descend via Swirral Edge but I noticed a few geocache points along the ridge out to Raise and decided to grab them whilst there. This took us over Helvellyn Lower Man & White Side before the climb up to Raise.
Path out to White Side & Raise from Helvellyn Lower Man
View over Brown Cove Crags from Helvellyn Lower Man
Skiddaw Range from Helvellyn Lower Man
View over Thirlmere from White Side
The wind started to pick up as we made our way along the ridge making things slightly easier as the temperature cooled down a little. We pushed on up to Raise grabbing 4 caches along the way before Damson got back into posing mode (without me even asking this time
).
Damson on Raise summit
We descended down towards the zig zag path over the grassy flanks instead of following the true path back the way we had come and soon picked it up for the long descent back down to Glenridding.
A few photos were taken about half way down the zig zag path back towards Helvellyn and Catstycam.
Catstycam, Swirral Edge, Helvellyn & Helvellyn Little Man from path from Raise
Catstycam & Swirral Edge
Catstycam & Keppel Cove Dam
The descent followed Glenridding Beck to just above the Youth Hostel at Bell Cottages where we crossed the stream using the footbridge and round the southern side of the Gillside Plantation to head back to Glenridding campsite and our starting position.
A great day out in the sun and yet another day where Helvellyn has been kind to me regarding the weather.
Pity John wasn't with me as he would have enjoyed this !!
