Height: 718 metres / 2356 feet Grid reference: NY 36344 15974 Category: The Eastern Fells
Birkhouse Moor is usually climbed on the way to Helvellyn (via Striding Edge or Swirral Edge).
Birkhouse Moor summit
Striding Edge, Helvellyn and Catstycam from Birkhouse Moor
Birkhouse Moor, centre, from Helvellyn
Start point: Patterdale (NY 394 160)
Patterdale – Hole-in-the Wall – Striding Edge – Helvellyn – Swirral Edge – Catstycam – Birkhouse Moor – Patterdale
Distance: 8.1 miles Total Ascent: 920 metres Time Taken: 4 hours 30 minutes Start Time: 08:00
Weather: Warm and sunny. 12C
The forecast was making it look to good to miss today and fortunately they got it right. Striding Edge was looking good today, very good in fact with views for miles.
Helvellyn & Striding Edge route map.
Dawn over Patterdale from Kirkstone Pass.
I couldn't resist paying Brothers Water a visit as I passed.
Beautiful reflections and sunrise. On with the walk...
On the road towards Grisedale, the fields are frozen in the valley but the sun is rising now.
Looking into Grisedale, the grass is still frosted in the early sun.
Climbing higher, St Sunday Crag towering above Grisedale.
Striding Edge and Helvellyn from the Hole in the Wall.
Looking along Birkhouse Moor to Ullswater which is under a thick blanket of cloud this morning.
Striding Edge.
A wider view.
StridingEdge on Striding Edge.
Hell's teeth.
The Chimney.
Red Tarn and Catstycam.
Looking down on Striding Edge from the climb to Helvellyn.
Red Tarn and Birkhouse Moor.
A panoramic view from Helvellyn.
The summit plateau - mine, all mine today.
Helvellyn summit.
Nice and clear today looking at Great Gable to Pillar.
Swirral Edge and Catstycam.
Red Tarn panoramic.
Go on Dougal, go for it!
The descent of Swirral Edge.
...and looking back up to Helvellyn from the bottom.
Climbing to Catstycam.
Catstycam summit.
White Side and Raise from Catstycam (nice shadow of Catstycam too) with Skiddaw beyond.
Sun on Swirral.
Helvellyn reflected.
Colour run.
Catstycam from the walk to Birkhouse Moor.
A fabulous view of 'the lot'.
Birkhouse Moor summit.
Glenridding Dodd and Ullswater from the north east ridge of Birkhouse Moor.
Glenridding.
Autumnal Place Fell.
Start point: Patterdale (NY 394 160)
Patterdale – Hole-in-the Wall – Striding Edge – Helvellyn – Swirral Edge – Catstycam – Birkhouse Moor – Patterdale
Distance: 7.8 miles Total Ascent: 925 metres Time Taken: 3 hours 30 minutes
Weather: Fine drizzle and low lying mist. 14ºC.
It seems like an age since I have been out but regular viewers will know why; it has been a lot of hard work for us with setting up the shop and the business. It will all be worth it though hopefully, but it was great to get out in the fresh air again this morning even if the weather was not the best after a week of lovely sunshine and where better to go than Striding Edge?
Come on, we haven't been out for ages!
I don't think we'll have any views today looking at the low lying cloud on Birkhouse Moor and in Grisedale.
Casper in for an early bath in Grisedale Beck.
Birks Crag across Grisedale from the start of the climb to the Hole-in-the-Wall.
Suddenly, a fleeting glimpse of Birks through the mist.
The head of Grisedale.
Saint Sunday Crag.
Grisedale from higher up the climb.
Birks and Grisedale looking towards Patterdale.
Catstycam appears fleetingly from the Hole-in-the-Wall. That was the last time I saw anything of it today.
Heading across Striding Edge.
The Dixon Memorial on Striding Edge, erected 1858.
Billy Big Tongue!
Casper leads the way across Striding Edge.
Striding Edge.
No, that's the wrong way Casper.
Casper fittingly guards The Gough Memorial on Helvellyn. There were no views from here today...
..or from Catstycam...
..or from Birkhouse Moor as the mist and drizzle was set in for the morning now.
Start point: Patterdale (NY 394 160)
Patterdale – Hole-in-the Wall – Striding Edge – Helvellyn – Swirral Edge – Catstycam – Birkhouse Moor – Patterdale
Distance: 7.8 miles Total Ascent: 925 metres Time Taken: 7 hours
Weather: Wet, clearing. 14oC.
Things didn’t look good first thing this morning, the rain was belting down throughout The Lakes and the wind was rattling the windows at home. Normally this would not be a problem, but today was the day of the inaugural StridingEdge.net walk. Would it be ruined? Should we do a low level walk? No! was the answer from the troops meeting at Patterdale. So, onward and upward…
The Grisedale Valley at the start of the climb to the Hole-in-the-Wall. This didn't look good, it was absolutely teeming down with rain.
A glimmer of sunshine? Grisedale and Saint Sunday Crag.
It is bright over on Birks but it's still raining though.
Suddenly the weather looks a bit more promising, here looking to the head of Grisedale.
Looking back to Place Fell from the path to the Hole-in-the-Wall.
Wet and bedraggled, we made it to the Hole-in-the-Wall.
Looking across to Catstycam.
Birkhouse Moor from the climb to Striding Edge.
All is clear over to Ullswater now, looking from Low Spying How.
Striding Edge.
Swirral Edge and Catstycam across Red Tarn. The white dot in the centre of the tarn is a small dinghy.
Descending The Chimney - dogs and all.
Climbing to Helvellyn, the summit shrouded in mist.
Looking back along Striding Edge.
Red Tarn and Catstycam from Helvellyn.
Casper makes sure everyone makes it along Striding Edge safely.
Walking along the Helvellyn summit plateau.
The StridingEdge summiteers - Lesley, Martin, Claire, David, Mike, Andy, Jo, Ann and Roger. Not on the photo are Angela who went east at the Hole-in-the-Wall, Alan who went north and Chris who went south!
A clearing view to Swirral Edge and Catstycam.
Casper lies perilously close to the edge of Helvellyn. Don't roll over!
White Side and Raise across Brown Cove.
Descending Swirral edge.
All is clear over to Skiddaw now.
Ullswater from Catstycam.
Casper and Angus on Catstycam wondering who all those other people and dogs are.
The route walked from Birkhouse Moor - Striding Edge, left, Helvellyn and Catstycam.
Ullswater from Birkhouse Moor.
It's sunny over Glenridding now on the descent from Birkhouse Moor. It is almost unbelievable to think it would end up like this after the start this morning, I didn't think we would see anything today. A great walk in brilliant company - thanks to everyone who joined us today, I really enjoyed it.
Start point: Patterdale (NY 394 160)
Patterdale – Hole-in-the Wall – Striding Edge – Helvellyn – Swirral Edge – Catstycam – Birkhouse Moor – Patterdale
Distance: 7.8 miles Total Ascent: 925 metres Time Taken: 5 hours 30 minutes
Weather: Snowy with blue skies and a light breeze – perfect. 4°C
Wow, what a day today – bright blue skies and crisp white snow made for perfect walking conditions to Helvellyn via Striding Edge and Swirral Edge. Today I was joined by regular contributor to this site, Andy Lang; on the walk we bumped into Graham Thompson and the Trail magazine team doing a feature on Striding Edge and then Andrew Leaney on the summit of Helvellyn. Up on Catstycam we were alone and it didn’t look as though many had trod there today – only a couple of sets of footprints!
![Casper_Sean_Angus[1]](https://www.stridingedge.net/wp-content/gallery/2007-01-25-striding-edge/Casper_Sean_Angus1.jpg "Casper_Sean_Angus[1]")
Start point: Glenridding (NY 385 169)
Glenridding – Keldas – Lanty’s Tarn – Birkhouse Moor (45) – Hole-in-the Wall – Striding Edge – Helvellyn (46) – Swirral Edge – Catstycam (47) – Glenridding
Weather: Warm and hazy.
Back up to higher ground today with a walk to Helvellyn from Glenridding, ascending via Birkhouse Moor and Striding Edge and descending via Swirral Edge to Catstycam.
Birkhouse Moor from the Glenridding path.
Ullswater from the summit of Keldas. At 331m, this summit seems to be an omission by Birkett as it meets the 1000' criteria he sets out in his book. The summit cairn drawn by Wainwright in his Birkhouse Moor chapter has now disappeared.
Looking to Birks across (a very dry) Lanty's Tarn.
Ascending Birkhouse Moor - follow the wall up to the right, then left along Birkhouse Moor to the Hole-in-the-Wall and Striding Edge to the left.
Striding Edge, Helvellyn and Catstycam from Birkhouse Moor summit cairn.
Looking to Swirral Edge across Red Tarn from Striding Edge.
Striding Edge from High Spying How
Looking back to High Spying How from Striding Edge.
Striding Edge looking towards the chimney and Helvellyn summit.
Looking back to the chimney.
Catstycam from the summit of Helvellyn. There were only hazy views to the East today and no views at all to the West as it was covered in cloud and haze.
Swirral Edge from Helvellyn; the initial descent is steep but it is not as bad as it looks.
Striding Edge from Catstycam summit.
Looking back to Catstycam from the descent into Glenridding.
It was so warm today, I couldn't resist having a dip in this inviting pool on Glenridding Beck.
Patterdale – Birkhouse Moor (140) – Striding Edge – Helvellyn – Nethermost Pike (141) – Dollywaggon Pike (142) – Seat Sandal (143) Fairfield – Cofa Pike – Saint Sunday Crag – Birks – Patterdale
Dollywagon Pike and Nethermost Pike from the Grisedale Valley.
View of Ullswater from the climb up to Birkhouse Moor. Glenridding Dodd is on the left with Place Fell over the water.
The Helvellyn ridge from Birkhouse Moor. L-R Striding Edge, Helvellyn, Swirral Edge and Catstycam
...and the same view from Birkhouse Moor summit cairn.
Striding Edge.
View from Helvellyn summit.
Birkhouse Moor and Ullswater from Helvellyn.
Striding Edge from Nethermost Pike summit.
Place Fell and Beda Fell from Nethermost Pike summit.
Dollywagon Pike overlooking Saint Sunday Crag.
Grasmere and Coniston from Seat Sandal summit.
Looking back from Fairfield summit towards Dollywagon Pike, Nethermost Pike and Helvellyn.
Grisedale Tarn from Cofa Pike.
Looking towards the High Street range from the summit of St. Sunday Crag.
The sun descending behind St. Sunday Crag from Birks summit.