Striding & Swirralling - Photo Gallery

It was another fine morning and it was going to be a warm day; I wanted to make the most the weather again before it returns to normal. I parked in Glenridding and walked up the Greenside Road in tee shirt and shorts; I had a good look at Birkhouse Moor because I planned to come down that way later. I walked past the mine where Swart Beck always looks something between naturally rugged and industrially scarred; the huge tidied-up spoil heaps either side of the beck never look absolutely secure. Just past the mine buildings that have been converted into hostel accommodation, you turn right at the Sticks Pass signpost and then turn left onto an obvious footpath.

The path soon becomes a good track; you should walking along it, staying on the same side of Glenridding Beck and heading straight for the unmistakeable shape of Catstycam. After about a mile past the mine you reach a small cairn where a grassy path goes uphill on the right towards Whiteside; ignore the path and keep going along the track until you reach the old dam at Keppel Cove. The dam is fenced off these days to stop you walking across it; after going down the steep, grassy bank in front of the dam I could see why. The hole in the dam has become much bigger, some very large lumps of concrete have fallen off and it looks as though the whole thing could completely collapse at any time.

I climbed the other side of the banking to where a faint, flattened grass path headed up towards the steep North-West ridge of Catstycam. The grassy slope is quite steep but from this direction you bypass the worst of the erosion at the lower end of the ridge. You eventually reach loose stones and badly eroded gullies, although the angled paths are not too bad to negotiate. You have to cross one particularly badly eroded gully, where you are quite likely to experience a short slide downwards as you cross it. The worst of the erosion is past after that and you meet the more frequently used path; it is steep and rugged with loose stones in places.

The steepness of the ridge means you have a good view down to Keppel Cove almost all of the way to the summit. There are a couple of false summits; by the time you reach the first one the rocks and stones are left behind but the steepness is maintained on grass. The second false summit is more rugged and airy, making a final worthy assault on the neat little summit. I had got that far without seeing anybody but that changed once I reached the summit of Catstycam, apart from the person who was there already I could see several others walking along the crest of Striding Edge.

I descended towards Swirral Edge but instead of climbing it, I dropped down towards Red Tarn and walked up to Hole-in-the-Wall for the start of my outward crossing of Helvellyn. There is a path that takes you to the start of Striding Edge but I always get onto the ridge immediately, it is only slightly more effort than staying on the path and the downward views and prospect of Striding Edge are so much better. The conditions for walking Striding Edge were perfect; dry and sunny with only the slightest breeze, it was a busy ridge. Keeping to the crest in good conditions is the best way of tackling Striding Edge; the only awkwardness is the slightly uneven surface in the narrowest places and having to scramble down to the path a couple of times.

As you approach the bad step at the end of the ridge you can not see it until you are on top of it; staying on the rocky crest is no more awkward than having to climb up off the path at the last moment. Getting down the step can appear to be daunting but if you turn to face the rock you will find holds for hands and feet; you can usually find somebody to guide you down if necessary, it can be quite crowded as people wait their turn. There is one more rock outcrop to get over, or get around if you have had enough of rocky ridges; all you have to do then is climb up to Helvellyn.

You can find a way between the rocks on steep paths with lots of loose stones but in good conditions when the rock is dry I like to climb straight upwards; there are plenty of holds and the steepness is exhilarating. As you reach the top of the eroded rocky slope you suddenly step onto grass near the Gough Memorial; a short walk across a wide plateau takes you to the summit. It was just like a beach; people were sitting and sunbathing, overlooking Red Tarn whilst letting their legs dangle over the edge.

If you walk past the always-busy shelter, up to the summit cairn and carry on walking along the edge overlooking Red Tarn, you will pass a triangulation column and reach a cairn perched on the edge. The cairn marks the top of the exit from Swirral Edge; you quickly descend a steep, eroded, rocky slope to reach a rocky ridge. You can go down to the right on a steep, eroded path but it is no more comfortable than keeping to the ridge and certainly not as much fun. Swirral Edge is a steep, rocky ridge unlike the almost level arete of Striding Edge, it has its exposed moments but nothing too traumatic.

I descended the ridge, more or less, there are a couple of places where you can bypass the top rocks and I allowed myself to do that, knowing that I would soon be back. As the steepness and ruggedness ease, there are a final couple of rocky outcrops on the lower end of the ridge; I went down to the last of the outcrops that I consider to be the bottom of Swirral Edge. I had a short rest before climbing back up the ridge, this time scrambling up the good, dry rock and keeping to the crest all of the way on my return to Helvellyn.

Helvellyn summit was not quite as busy as earlier; I walked over to the Gough Memorial and it feels like you are about to step out into space, it is a very steep drop. The dry conditions are good for climbing, but the dryness means you have to take care on the loose, slippery stones going down; the larger boulders that you use for hand holds can be loose and would come away with a bit of pressure. Getting down from Helvellyn summit to the start of Striding Edge is the most awkward part of the day, climbing up the bad step is easier than getting down it.

It had become a lovely warm afternoon, warm enough to apply some sun screen before setting off back along Striding Edge. Once I got past the arete I kept to the ridge all the way back to Hole-in-the-Wall; the view of St Sunday Crag's rugged face was better that I have ever seen. I could also see an interesting looking path from Grisedale to Nethermost Pike's eastern ridge that I will have to try one day soon. Once you get past Hole-in-the-Wall the broad path takes you almost all of the way to the top of Birkhouse Moor; you have to bear left and follow a faint path to reach it's summit cairn.

I have climbed the east ridge of Birkhouse Moor before and I knew what to expect if I was going to descend that way. A faint path leaves the summit, heading east towards The Nab; it's an easy grassy slope and I was thinking that maybe I would find a proper path this way. There is a good view of Greenside Mine, it really shows how the spoil heaps have been tidied up and piled neatly against the hillside. Suddenly the ground became rougher and dropped away sharply; I picked a line going left to avoid the crags that I suspected were directly ahead. I obviously didn't go far enough to the left because I found some crags; it was steep as I expected and I also expected to be working my way between rock outcrops where juniper trees made it awkward to find something to hold onto.

I reached a point where I was faced with taking an uphill detour or making a desperately long leg stretch to get off the ledge I was on. I went for the leg stretch whilst the juniper was doing its best to discourage me from holding on; I had a little stumble as I made the final step downwards but I was safe. I could now see the wall at the bottom of the slope; the plain, rough grass was nowhere near as steep as the ground above the crags. I came to an obvious path running across my line of descent, should I turn left or right? I thought I recognised the wooden stile on the left as being a barrier that you come across when climbing Birkhouse Moor from this direction; I was right, it was an easy descent from there.

© Andy Wallace 14th April 2007