Helvellyn - Topography

Topography

The peak of Helvellyn is the highest on the north-south ridge situated between the Thirlmere valley to the west, and Patterdale to the east. This ridge continues north over Helvellyn Lower Man, White Side, Raise, Stybarrow Dodd, Great Dodd and Clough Head, and south leads to Nethermost Pike and Dollywaggon Pike.

The eastern side of the fell is geographically the most dramatic. Two sharp arêtes lead off the summit, Striding Edge and Swirral Edge, either side of Red Tarn. The knife-edged Striding Edge provides one of the best-known scrambles in Lakeland, while the Swirral Edge ridge leads to the conical summit of Catstycam.

Nestling between the encircling arms of Helvellyn's two edges is Red Tarn. This pool is named for the colour of the surrounding screes rather than its water and contains brown trout and schelly, a fresh-water herring. The depth of Red Tarn is now about 80 feet (25m), although in the mid-19th century it was dammed with boulders to increase capacity. This was carried out to provide additional water to the Greenside lead mine in Glenridding and the water race is still visible as it crosses the slope of Birkhouse Moor.

A second tarn once existed in Brown Cove between Swirral Edge and Lower Man, but this now is reduced to a couple of small pools widening the stream. Brown Cove Tarn was another creation of the Greenside mine after a stone-faced dam was built around 1860. The dam is still in place, but water now leaks through the base and the extended tarn-bed is a smooth patch of luxuriant turf. A water leat passing beneath the north face of Catstycam to Red Tarn Beck can still be traced, although it is now in ruins. Water from Brown Cove and Red Tarn unites beyond Catstycam to form Glenridding Beck, flowing on through the village to Ullswater.

The western slopes are relatively shallow and partially forested, with many gills leading down to the Thirlmere valley.

The summit of Helvellyn takes the form of a broad plateau about 500 metres (1,640 ft) long. The highest point is marked by a cairn and a cross-shaped dry stone shelter; to the north is an Ordnance Survey, slightly lower than the summit at 949 m (3,114 ft).

There is a subsidiary top, Helvellyn Lower Man, about a third of a mile to the north-west. Its summit is small compared to the plateau of Helvellyn and offers better views north-westward, as the ground falls steeply away from it on this side.

According to Ordnance Survey maps there is a bridleway along the full length of the Helvellyn range taking in a number of Wainwrights. This can be traversed by mountain bike and the usual route is South to North starting from Mill Bridge. This challenging six-hour circular route is 16 miles off road and 10 on road.

Geologically, the summit area and Striding Edge are formed by the Deepdale formation of the Borrowdale Volcanic Group. This consists of volcaniclastic sandstone with some intercalcated tuff, pebbley sandstone breccia, and lapilli-tuff. Underlying this is the Helvellyn formation of dacitic lapilli-tuff.