The walk starts at Glenridding, a small village that
these days thrives on tourism from visitors who are
wishing to trek to the mighty summit of Helvellyn and
play on its magical ridges. Many years ago the Greenside
Mines which you will pass through on the walk were a
thriving place in the valley and the village of Glenridding
was built to accommodate the growing number of workers
at the time.
| 
Glenridding |
Greenside Road |
The pay and display car park in Glenridding just off
the main A592 road from Penrith is the starting point
of the trek. Follow the road from here towards the valley,
you will pass the Travellers Inn, which is great for
refreshments after the trek. Passing the Travellers
Inn you will after a few hundred metres come to a bend
in the road, follow the road to the right and then take
the turn left down Greenside Road which heads past a
few cottages on the right before after a mile or so
reaching the Youth Hostel on the left by the old mine
buildings.
Go through the gates just past the youth hostel and
head down towards the Greenside Beck where a footbridge
crosses the beck. After crossing the bridge head in
a south west direction following the beck up the valley.
From the path a pointy mass starts to appear in front
of you, a lot of first timers on the walk mistake this
at first for Helvellyn but it is actually the ridge
end of Catstye Cam which from this viewpoint looks very
impressive. The path will follow the beck up the valley
and turn left as the beck splits following as it is
now Red Tarn Beck, at this point the path will start
to get a lot steeper as it heads towards Red Tarn at
the point where the Red Tarn Beck leaves the outflow
at the tarns eastern shores. Once you are at the huge
glacial lake take a well earned break and marvel in
the amphitheatre of crags on Helvellyn's eastern walls.
| 
Greenside Beck |
Red Tarn Beck |
The views from this point at Red Tarn are outstanding.
The far end of the glacial lake of Red Tarn is just
a huge mass of craggy rock that is the eastern side
of Helvellyn's huge bulk. On either side of Red Tarn
are the two of Britain's most popular ridges and rightly
so. To the left is the infamous Striding Edge and to
the right Swirral Edge with Catstye Cam at its far end
ass an added bonus. The ridges are quite different,
Striding Edge is more of a long and arduous knife edge
ridge with the odd pinnacle especially towards the last
few hundred metres. Swirral Edge which is your next
target and can be reached now by following the uphill
path in a west to north westerly direction uphill. Swrirral
Edge is nowhere near as long as Striding Edge but can
be much steeper in parts especially on the scrambling
sections which can make it extremely hazardous in winter
or when very wet.
| 
Helvellyn above Red Tarn |
Catstye Cam |
Once you are on the top of the ridge at the col between
Catstye Cam and Helvellyn you can decide whether or
not you wish to climb up to Catstye Cam. I personally
think it is well worth it and it isn't that much of
a slog either, the path is very obvious and not at all
rough. The views down across Ullswater and over Glenridding
are well worth the look and of course it is a wainwright
so baggers will climb it anyway. Now to tackle Swirral
Edge. I would say to approach with caution as it is
a serious ridge in bad weather, but do not be put off
by the usual comments you get from others who have either
decided not to do it themselves or who have done the
ridge and think you are less able than themselves. Make
up your own mind whether you can do it and you'll be
surprised especially in good weather just how much fun
it can be and how quickly you gain the summit plateau
as it isn't very long at all.
| 
Swirral Edge in winter |
Helvellyn Summit Plateau |
Once on the summit of Helvellyn turn left and head
along the surprisingly flat and wide summit plateau
towards firstly the weather cairn and then the summit
itself, below it there is a cross shaped stone shelter
ideal for lunch stop or sheltering from the elements.
The shelter is often busy as this is a popular mountain.
The mountains flat plateau even had a plane land on
it in 1926. After taking in the views from the summit
head back the way you just came over the summit plateau
back to its north western side. Staying on a north west
bearing you sill pass the point at which you climb up
from Swirral Edge, walk past this point and keep going
for another two hundred and fifty metres or so until
you reach Helvellyn's slight summit of Lower Man. To
reach the actual summit of Lower Man you have to turn
slightly north. Carry on now on this north bearing and
go down the obvious ridge path heading towards the col
between Lower Man and Whiteside Bank. The view to your
right should be the beautiful Brown Cove valley where
the old walkway and dam are still visible and a great
view across to Catstye Cam.
| 
Helvellyn Summit Shelter |
Descending Lower Man |
Once you have negotiated the drop down to the col climb
up once again and onto Whiteside Bank. Now on Whiteside
Bank take a north easterly bearing and head in a straight
line towards the bulk of Raise. The path goes slightly
downhill into a col again and then back up for a final
push to the rocky summit of Raise. From Raise you now
need to get to the Sticks Pass, you can get to Sticks
Pass by basically heading north from Raise summit, but
there is a windy little path leads off the summit and
follows an old track down to Sticks Pass which is just
less than a kilometre from Raise summit.
If you look to your right or down the northern side
of Raise you may be surprised to see a ski lift and
a ski hut, you may also be surprised to know there is
actually a Lake District Ski Club founded in 1936 who
use this little ski resort every year! It seems a little
over enthusiastic to set up a ski area in the Lake District
considering the lack of snow fall we seem to be getting
due to climate changes, however this small ski club
do take advantage of these slopes and the amount of
snow that stays on them after a heavy snow fall which
often occurs in this part of the Lake District during
England's cold snaps each winter. I think its fantastic
that this little venture still exists!
| 
Descending Sticks Pass |
Sticks Gill Footbridge |
Once you reach the crossroads at the Stake Pass junction
take the path to the right or east direction. This path
will now head down into the Greenside Valley and eventually
meet up with Sticks Gill. After about a kilometre and
a half you will reach the bottom of the valley and some
old mine workings and dumps, here the path bands to
the right and then goes over a small footbridge over
Sticks Gill. After the footbridge the path will lead
along the old miners routes for about half a kilometre
before starting the zig zag path descent back to the
Greenside Mines Youth Hostel area where you can turn
left back onto Greenside Road and head back to Glenridding
and the start of the walk passing the Travellers Inn
on your way which is well worth a refreshments stop.
|
Duration
: 6.5 Hrs
