Helvellyn Walk via Striding Edge and Swirral Edge

From the car park, head back to the main road (A592), turn right across the bridge and then turn immediately right again. This is clearly signposted ‘Public Bridleway, Mires Beck, Helvellyn’.

Follow this road, with Glenridding Beck (steam) on your right, past some houses and into a wooded area where the road forks. Head right, signposted Helvellyn, continuing to follow the stream.

Soon you will pass Gillside camping and caravan park and upon reaching a small country road, turn left and then take the path on your right that runs alongside a traditional stone wall. Continue for a short distance until you reach a wooden sign post and two metal gates on your right hand side.

Stay on this trail as it veers slightly left, following signs to Helvellyn via Mires Beck. The path leads you sharply to the right and shortly to a wooden gate. Once through the gate, turn immediately left.

Climb to Birkhouse Moor

The trail on this initial climb is relatively steep and continuous as you work your way towards the summit of Birkhouse Moor, the craggy southern slopes of which sit imposingly above and to your right.

After climbing for approximately 1 km along this south-westerly section of the Helvellyn walk, the trail veers westerly upon reaching a stone wall. A few hundred metres further on and higher up the ridge, the path deviates away from the wall and climbs towards the summit ridge of Birkhouse Moor.

As the route swings south-westerly once more, the trail plateaus and your goal comes into sight for the very first time. You now get to see the dramatic entirety of the horseshoe walk that you are about to embark on!

Hole in the Wall

With the most physically demanding section of the Helvellyn walk behind you, it is now a nice, pleasant, relatively flat section that leads you to the ‘Hole in the Wall’.

Striding Edge Walk

As you make your way along Striding Edge, you will quickly realise that there is nothing uniform about this section of the walk. The ridge is fairly wide in places and seconds later, there is barely a metre of rock underfoot, with significant drop-offs on either side.

For those of you who are keen to enjoy Striding Edge without taking the heightened risks of walking the ridge top, there is a path that runs along the side of Striding Edge for the majority of its length.

Helvellyn Summit

Upon arriving at the top, you now have the opportunity to look back along the full length of Striding Edge and marvel at your achievement.

To reach the trig point at the summit of Helvellyn, follow the ridge in a northwesterly direction across the broad plateau.

Swirral Edge

From the summit plateau of Helvellyn, it’s a steep drop down onto the craggy and exciting Swirral Edge.

After approximately 200 metres of picking your way down and along the rocky ridge, you will find yourself back on a pleasant footpath. Follow this for around another 300 metres, where the path now forks. Keep straight ahead to the summit of Catstye Cam, as we did.

Catstye Cam

The climb to the summit of this 890 metre fell from where the paths split takes around 10 minutes, so it’s well worth the extra effort to tick off another peak in our opinion.

From the summit, take the trail that winds its way south-easterly down the mountainside. The descent is steep and your knees will be very grateful when you finally intercept the far more sedate stone path that lies up ahead.

Helvellyn Walk - Homeward Bound

When you reach the main trail, turn left and follow the path as it meanders its way towards the valley, following Red Tarn Beck that sits immediately off to your right-hand side. As you descend, you will reach a small wooden footbridge taking you across Red Tarn Beck which soon after runs into Glenridding Beck.

Follow the trail along the right-hand bank of Glenridding Beck for approximately 700 metres, at which point a small hydroelectric plant appears on your left, preceded by a bridge across the stream. Here you have a choice:

1. Continue along the same path that runs parallel with a stone wall off to your left, until it leads you back to the wooden gate that you passed through at the start of the walk. From there, simply retrace your steps back through Gillside campsite and to your starting point.

2. Cross the bridge, turn right and follow the path through the site of the former Greenside Lead Mine and then past the youth hostel. Follow Greenside Road past some cottages on your left and then take the next right turn signposted ‘Gillside Farm’.

Follow this road and immediately after the bridge crosses Glenridding Beck, turn left into Gillside camping and caravan park. Shortly, you will be back at the starting point.

We chose option 2 as we were craving some solid, uniform paths underfoot for our tired and aching legs.