Crowning the Eastern Fells, the traverse of Helvellyn via Striding Edge and Swirral Edge is a rite of passage for fell-walkers. Featuring Grade 1 scrambling, dizzying drops into Nethermost Cove, and panoramic perspectives stretching to Ullswater, this complete loop pairs Lakeland's most celebrated ridge with the quiet pyramid of Catstye Cam and the valley return through Keppel Cove.
Helvellyn & Catstye Cam via Striding Edge and Swirral Edge
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⚠️ Scrambling Grade Warning
This route involves sections of Grade 1. These grades require the use of hands for balance and climbing. Please ensure you are confident in exposed terrain and have checked local weather forecasts before attempting, as rock surfaces become significantly more dangerous when wet.
A free weekend coinciding with a spell of settled, high-pressure weather is a rare luxury in the fells. Feeling more like midsummer than early autumn, it was the perfect excuse to burn off a week of holiday overindulgence and get some serious miles back into the legs.
Glenridding greeted me with a motionless calm—the exact conditions that make a crossing of Striding Edge an irresistible prospect. As Helvellyn's most legendary arĂȘte, tackling the mountain via the edges is a rite of passage for any fell-walker. It is, quite simply, one of the most sensational ridge walks in the country.
This was my second crossing, and a prime opportunity to test whether I’d developed a better head for heights along its narrow crest. Starting from Glenridding is the logical choice for tackling the arĂȘte from the east, and after leaving the car behind in the village, I set off in pursuit of some high-mountain excitement.
Leaving the village, the trail climbs alongside Mires Beck, tracing the tumbling stream straight up the fellside. This is the realm of Birkhouse Moor—a peak frequently overlooked by hikers focused solely on Helvellyn. The ascent is steady and forgiving, and every glance back over your shoulder rewards you with an ever-expanding view of Ullswater stretching down the valley.
Heading to Rattlebeck Bridge, Birkhosue Moor and Little Cove are ahead
The path alongside Mires Beck to Little Cove
Looking back to Glenridding
A cluster of hazy Far Eastern Fells
Around halfway up, the path emerges from Little Cove, bringing St Sunday Crag into view, and turns to follow a drystone wall in the direction of the summit of Birkhouse Moor. I had noticed on the map a mention of a cairn, away from the summit and overlooking Glenridding, so I set off to see what I could see.
In truth, having made the minor detour, there wasn't anything remarkable about the cairn; the view was a bit lacklustre given the gentle slopes all around. I'm sure, if I could have been bothered, a trip further towards the edge may have been more rewarding. That said, the scene of Helvellyn and Catstye Cam that dominates to the west is a touch distracting, so my attention was probably drawn to that instead.
Beyond the initial climb, a clear path follows a drystone wall across Birkhouse Moor, passing just below its modest summit before dropping slightly to Hole-in-the-Wall. This iconic gap serves as a major trail crossroads for routes ascending from Grisedale and Glenridding. Despite the name, you'll actually find a wooden ladder stile over the wall rather than a physical hole. While the dark flanks of Striding Edge loom ahead, the true drama of the narrow arĂȘte only reveals itself once you reach Low Spying How—the first of several rocky turrets along the ridge.
From here, you can savour the sheer drama of Striding Edge—arguably the most iconic ridge in the Lake District accessible to everyday walkers. Between Low Spying How and High Spying How, the crest remains relatively broad, but beyond High Spying How, it sharpens into a true arĂȘte. This exhilarating stretch typifies the Striding Edge experience: a knife-edge crest narrow enough to straddle, with plunge-line drops on either side that are guaranteed to set the heart beating a little faster.
It was the perfect day for Striding Edge, without any hint of wind, and as it was still mid-morning, I led the charge of walkers right across the top. In my opinion, Striding Edge doesn't actually feel as narrow underfoot as it looks from a distance, and the subtle curve of the ridge before the rock falls away certainly dispels any fears of imminently stepping off. True, this would be a much tougher challenge on a rainy, windy, or icy day, but today was pure walking perfection. I must add, though, that Striding Edge always requires your full care and attention—a fall here would be serious.
On what is probably the narrowest part
Striding Edge
The Chimney – an awkward final scramble
Red Tarn
Crossing Striding Edge, though generally slow going, doesn't take too long, and a final scramble down the chimney at the Helvellyn end marks its termination. Now you are faced with a 100m or so climb/scrabble up onto Helvellyn itself, which lends to some imperious views back to Striding Edge and Nethermost Cove.
Nethermost Cove
Looking back along Striding Edge
Striding Edge
The climb emerges onto the summit at a large memorial to Charles Gough, Helvellyn's first recorded casualty, whom you can read more about here. A short distance away, on the path bound for Nethermost Pike, is a much smaller memorial to the intrepid Bert Hinkler who landed a small biplane on Helvellyn in 1926. There's also the oft-busy summit shelter, the summit cairn and an OS trig pillar to investigate, so plenty to see once you arrive at the top.
After phoning my whereabouts to Sara, it was time to leave Helvellyn behind and make for Swirral Edge, the shorter, steeper neighbour of Striding Edge. Swirral Edge is much less narrow than Striding Edge but presents its own difficulties, especially the steep, scrambling descent. It is often Swirral Edge rather than Striding Edge that claims lives in the winter seasons. It is still possible to remain on the ridge top, which provides a quieter alternative to Striding Edge, which was covered in people by now, forming a continuous (and satisfyingly uniform) line across the top.
Up ahead is Catstye Cam, the quiet sentinel that overlooks Glenridding Common, a place often of solitude compared to the crowded Helvellyn. It's an easy climb up to the summit, which has a magnificent view all around, especially back to the mighty Helvellyn. It was here, away from the throngs on Helvellyn, that I decided to pause for a bite to eat and a few moments contemplating the best way down and back to the car. I decided to descend Catstye Cam's northwest ridge to Keppel Cove and investigate a bit of Lakeland's mining history.
The descent is steep, but an eroded path follows the ridge all the way to the bottom, meeting the dilapidated Keppel Cove dam. The dam, appearing robust and complete when viewed during the descent, actually has a rather large hole in it and is one of two failed dams in Keppel Cove. The other was built up to hold back water from Keppel Cove tarn but collapsed after intense rainfall in 1927, resulting in great damage in Glenridding. The concrete dam was built as a replacement but was breached in 1931, though it stayed largely intact, avoiding another disaster. Keppel Cove tarn is now nothing more than a marshy depression.
A near aerial view of the dam
Glenridding Common
One last view of Swirral Edge
Keppel Cove dam
The warning sign on Keppel Cove dam
The breached Keppel Cove tarn
The breach in the concrete dam
Being an area of historic mining, a wide track leads from the breached dam right the way back to Glenridding and is, in all honesty, a bit dull, despite the looming presence of Catstye Cam. The route leads to the disused Greenside Mine, one of the largest and most profitable mines that existed in the Lake District.
The mine was open until 1961 before it closed, having excavated over 3 million tonnes of ore. Interestingly, the mine lived on for a few years after closure under the watchful eye of the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment – testing the theory of disguising explosions in large underground chambers by muffling the sound of the explosion using the rock. A number of explosions were tested, and the results proved conclusive. After just one short year, the mine was handed back to the Greenside company.
Swart Beck
Ahead is a further long walk along Greenside Road, the track that links the old mine to Glenridding, though I was fortunate enough to be offered a lift by a passing driver whom I had had a brief chat on the summit of Helvellyn with earlier in the day. While not one to usually jump into cars with strange men, it was good to shave half an hour off the walk ahead of the drive to Keswick and the campsite.
I know I've used the term 'classic' before, but this is probably the iconic Lake District walk that encompasses everything that's great about the National Park. It's accessible; it's exciting; it visits one of the most revered mountains in the District; it's not too long, and perhaps most importantly, it's great fun. I would wholly recommend a visit to Striding Edge; just make sure you're aware of the risks that are associated with it.
