BIRKHOUSE MOOR (40) - HELVELLYN (41) - NETHERMOST PIKE (42) -  DOLLYWAGGON PIKE (43)

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I am heading over to the Lakes today to climb what must be one of the most popular fells in Lakeland, Helvellyn. David, from Stockton, is accompanying me again and its my turn to provide the transport so after picking him up, and getting lost in the process, we are soon on our way albeit setting off a little later in the day than I am used to.

Arriving in my beloved Lakeland, we headed for the car park in Glenridding adjacent to the tourist information centre. We set-off at about 10.45 a.m. and followed the bridleway on the south bank of Glenridding Beck to Rattlebeck Bridge and onto the fells. We were making for Birkhouse Moor via The Nab. According to the map, this was a rocky and craggy outcrop ideal for a bit of scrambling we thought but, alas, it was not particularly craggy so not a lot of scrambling although it did turn out to be a bit of a slog and took us longer to climb than we had expected. The fell did offer great views of Glenridding village, Ullswater and a rather menacing looking Place Fell, the scene of my only encounter with a sheep tick!

Birkhouse Moor is one of those fells where you feel the summit keeps moving further and further away! You know the feeling; you climb the rise ahead hoping to see the summit on the other side only to be greeted with another rise, and another and another! Anyway, making our way over a particularly snowy section we eventually reached the cairn on Birkhouse Moor where we stopped for a bite to eat and to take in the awesome views of Striding Edge, Catsycam and Swirral Edge. The cairn isn’t the highest point, this being situated alongside a stonewall on the path leading to Striding Edge, and marked by a small cairn at 2,350 feet (716 metres) according to AW. 

Following the line of the wall we passed the famous ‘hole-in-the-wall’ and continued over the icy Bleaberry Crag and to the start of Striding Edge where the spectacular deep grey waters of Red Tarn came into view set in a hollow beneath Helvellyn. Fantastic! I had heard all sorts of nightmare stories about Striding Edge and the increasing amount of icy patches under foot didn’t help to instil confidence! I needn’t have worried though.

Actually my first up close encounter with Striding Edge didn’t exactly fill me with fear but more of disappointment. Maybe I was expecting too much having read and heard so many horror stories but that didn’t mean I wasn’t looking forward to it. I was more concerned with the final climb up to Helvellyn itself. The rock face looked almost impossible to scramble up but Dave reassured me that it was easier than it looked. I took his word for it and proceeded to take my first tentative steps onto Striding Edge. We decided to scramble across the crest of the ridge with the mountain falling away steeply on either side as opposed to following the less exposed but easier path to the right of the ridge. It was exhilarating to say the least and I was in my element. At one point I was actually running along the ridge jumping from one rock to the next. Ok, maybe not actually running but somewhere in between walking and running!

Passing the first of three memorials on Helvellyn, The Dixon Memorial 1858, which isn’t always seen as its easily missed being perched on a platform of rock on Striding Edge overlooking Nethermost Cove, we reached the awkward rocky step at the end of Striding Edge. This was great fun! I scrambled down ok and then heard Dave shout down asking where it was that I had placed my feet. After capturing him on film perched precariously half way down, I shouted instructions as to where to place his feet but making sure I stood far enough away in case he fell. I didn’t fancy being the person to break his fall. Friends, eh?

It started to get a little busy at this point with people coming down off Helvellyn and a few people gathering at the foot of the eastern flank prior to the final scramble to the summit. Dave was true to his word and it was an easy and very enjoyable scramble through ever deepening snow to eventually reach the Gough Memorial. We then made our way to the four bay wall shelter, which was built in the nineteenth century and restored in 1968, and on to the large stone summit cairn at 3,118 feet (950 metres). From here we walked the short distance to the slightly lower ordnance survey trig column just for the fun of it. The views were fantastic and we decided to head back to the shelter for a bite to eat and to soak up the vista at our leisure.

Suitably refreshed we followed the good path southeast heading for Nethermost Pike, passing the third memorial on Helvellyn along the way commemorating the first landing of an aeroplane on a mountain summit in Great Britain. The summit of Nethermost Pike, 2,920 feet (890 metres), is the cairn situated on the edge of the northern rim and not the next one, which is surrounded by spiky rocks. The summit is quite an extensive plateau of stones and rocks and there are a number of marker cairns stretching out across the top. From the summit the views back to Striding Edge made me realise, a little late I know, how steep it was and how one carelessly placed step could have resulted in a long fall! My carefree attitude whilst crossing the edge now sent shivers down my spine at the thought of what could have happened!

It was getting rather windy and cold on the exposed, snow spattered ridge as we made our way to the next objective of the day, Dollywaggon Pike. Along the way, below Nethermost Crag, we spotted the small expanse of water known as Hard Tarn before becoming momentarily confused when reaching the cairn above High Crag. We thought it was a bit soon to have reached Dollywaggon Pike and a quick check of the map confirmed this.

After a short while we reached a point where we had to leave the main path in order to reach the summit of Dollywaggon Pike. It was a gentle climb up and over a grassy dome to reach a cairn at the neck of a narrow promontory, the far end of which is slightly higher and has another small cairn marking the summit at 2,810 feet (856 metres). It offered a great viewpoint of the surrounding fells, in particular St Sunday Crag and Fairfield, another fine spot for a brief stop and a bite to eat. We now had a decision to make. The original plan was to continue on over Seat Sandal, St Sunday Crag, Birks and Arnison Crag but it was getting rather late in the day and a quick calculation showed that we wouldn’t have had the time to complete it all. I find it so frustrating when this happens especially when Seat Sandal looked so close but, as the saying goes, the fells will be here for another day and here long after we’re not!

With that in mind we reluctantly decided to head down towards Grisedale Tarn and followed the zigzag path down the side of Dollywaggon Pike. The path area looked as though it was being repaired as there were signs asking people to stick to the paths and follow the zigzags and not to take short cuts. There were also large sacks of stones/boulders ready to be used for this purpose, which must have been brought in by helicopter or very strong hikers with large rucksacks!

The view down to the tarn was spectacular and was even more impressive as the path skirted close by to the waters edge. I experienced a real feeling of remoteness and I found myself scanning the area looking for a suitable spot for a bit of wild camping for a possible future visit. I didn’t realise at the time but close by and marked on the OS map, is the Brothers Parting Stone. William and Dorothy Wordsworth said goodbye to their brother John on February 5^th 1800 near Grisesdale Tarn where William carved a few lines on a rock to commemorate the occasion. The present carving is due to Canon Rawnsley and a rusty plaque marks the faded words on the Brothers’ Parting Stone. The Wordsworth's never saw John again. He was captain of a ship called The Earl of Abergavenny, and aged 33 was lost at sea in 1805. I had read and knew about its history but didn’t realise we had passed so close to it. Oh well, I will have to revisit again someday!

From here on it was down hill all the way with Grisedale Beck as our guide and companion for most of it, and watched over by the towering heights of St Sunday Crag up to our right. I couldn’t help looking up and wishing we were walking along its lofty ridge, although the route we were following alongside the beck was pleasant enough. We hadn’t seen another soul since leaving the summit of Helvellyn and as it was getting rather late in the day we didn’t expect that to change until we reached a hut in the middle of nowhere. As we approached the hut it became obvious that there were people inside and as we passed I couldn’t help peeking in where I saw a group of people sat round a fire of some sort. I don’t why but the thought of being mugged entered my mind but only briefly! I now believe the hut to be Ruthwaite Lodge, a climbing hut.

Pressing on we reached a couple of footbridges spanning the beck where the path split into two, one on each side of the beck. We choose to cross the footbridges and follow the path leading into Patterdale as opposed to following the other path leading onto the little fell of Keldas. The light was now beginning to fade and lights shone ever more brightly through the windows of distant cottages arousing feelings of envy as I pictured their occupants all snug and cosy inside.

After quite a long walk the path finally joined a minor road passing through a forested area close to Grasthwaite Howe, and where we now found ourselves dodging the occasional car, headlights blazing, as we made our way along the winding road to eventually reach the A592. It was now just a case of following the road back to Glenridding with pleasing, if darkening views, of Ullswater to our right and hoping my car was still in the car park where I had left it.

We reached the village just after 6.00 p.m. a good 7 ½ hours after setting-off. Dave called into a shop as it was just closing to buy some goodies to boost his energy levels and I bought a couple of post cards with views of the impressive Striding Edge we had crossed earlier in the day. Neither of our mobile phones had been able to get a signal so we made our way to the phone box close to the car park to let our loved ones know we were on our way home. I couldn’t get through to my home number so I tried ringing my 12-year-old daughters mobile but it was switched off. As I walked away from the phone box the phone started to ring and when I answered it, it was my daughter ringing back!

At the car park I found my car wasn’t the only one there but then I remembered that my washer bottle had ran out of water shortly before reaching Glenridding and I could barely see through the windscreen. I was planning on filling my Sigg bottle from the nearby Glenridding Beck but luckily the toilets were still open even though the lights weren’t working! Dave took his Platypus into the gents guided by the light from his head torch whilst I stood guard over the rucksacks outside. Platy filled it was an easy job to transfer the contents to my car washer bottle but only after I had quizzed Dave as to what exactly he had filled the bottle with! We now headed for home after a very enjoyable day on the fells even though we hadn’t bagged all the fells I had planned to. The latter stages of the walk, which were completed in near darkness, had whetted my appetite. I might have to have a serious look at planning a nigh time walk. It seemed to add a new dimension to walking in the Lakes, seeing the dark, silhouetted fells in a new light (no pun intended!). Could be very interesting!

Photographs of the walk