A difficult route in Lake District. Check the GPS track on Outdooractive for full details of the route, waypoints, and terrain.
Starting Point: Patterdale Car Park (NY 395 159)
IMPORTANT — MOUNTAIN SAFETY: This is a serious and demanding Lake District mountain walk of 20 kilometres with over 1,000m of ascent. Striding Edge is a famous Grade 1 scrambling ridge requiring good scrambling ability, a head for heights and confident movement on exposed terrain with steep drops on both sides. It should be avoided in high winds or icy conditions. Side paths below the crest are available for those less confident on the ridge. Full mountain kit is essential. Check the weather forecast carefully before setting out.
One of the great Lake District days and one of the great walks in this entire collection. Helvellyn via Striding Edge is a classic for very good reason — the combination of the long approach under Birkhouse Moor and over Grisedale Brow, the drama of arriving at the Hole in the Wall and seeing the full length of the Edge laid out ahead, the concentrated focus of the scramble itself and the explosive reward of Helvellyn's summit make for an experience that simply cannot be replicated on easier ground. The encounter with three young women in flip flops and tutus heading sensibly back down provides a moment of light relief. The southern ridge to Nethermost Pike and Dollywagon Pike is a superb extension that most walkers miss entirely, delivering views across the Scafells and down the Grisedale valley from three summits in quick succession. The descent via Grisedale Tarn and the Glenamara Park Trail is long but enjoyable, and the grin that starts somewhere around Dollywagon Pike is, on the evidence, still there by the time you reach the car. An absolutely brilliant walk.