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The must do walk of any trip to the lakes. We recommend to ascend from Patterdale, as the climb up to Hole in the wall is short and relatively painless! On the way up don't forget to look behind you at the splendour of the dale and the magnificence of High Street and Place Fell
Once at hole in the wall turn left for the awesome striding edge. Watch out if it’s busy as in some places there isn’t much room to step off the path to make room for people coming the other way! Be aware that it can be treacherous in poor weather so if you’re unsure just head for red tarn instead – once there if you can see the summit in front of you it should be OK!
Once you complete “the edge” look back and you’ll feel a unique sense of achievement!
From the summit look down at Red Tarn – for a glacial lake it looks like a big inviting swimming pool!
From the summit take the time to explore the panorama – on a clear day the views stretch to the coast in the west, to Scotland in the North and across the lakes in the east and south
Come back down via the “gentle” Swirral edge and then stop off at Red Tarn for a rest before meandering down to Glenridding via Greenside mine. All in all a grand day out!
Helvellyn Route from Patterdale
Distance: c.21 km (13 miles)
Total Ascent: 1329m (4359 ft)
Time: c.9 Hours
Maps OS Landranger 90
OS Explorer OL5
