Helvellyn by bus
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NY315169
From Grasmere centre (or Swan Inn) take 555 bus to Swirls Car Park (hourly, takes 13 minutes). Cross into the main Swirls Car Park east of the road. Ignore a track at the back right, and instead take a signed path from the back-left corner. The path is well built and well used. It crosses the lively Helvellyn Gill and goes up to the left of it, recrossing higher up below a waterfall gorge. The path zigzags up the bracken spur to the right of the gill. At the 700m level the spur steepens and the path threads between small outcrops, to arrive on the level spur above Browncove Crags. (Oddly, Brown Cove itself is 1km to the east, on the eastern side of the main Dodds ridge.)
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NY331157 The wide path slants up to the right but instead keep ahead up the spurline to Lower Man, a grand viewpoint including to Swirral Edge.
A wide path leads down south to a col where you rejoin the main path, but as before fork left up the spurline to the cairn at the top of Swirral Edge. Follow big drops on the left past Helvellyn’s trig point and its small summit cairn to the cross-shaped shelter just below.
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NY342150 Here the main path heads south, slanting down the Thirlmere flank; but again bear left on a smaller path close to the drops on the left, to pass the masonry cairn at the top of Striding Edge. Keep following the tops of the eastward drops, down to a saddle where the main path is rejoined. Again bear left up a smaller path to the cairn of Nethermost Pike. Keep south across the stony plateau to Nethermost’s south top, and head down beside drops on the left to the next col.
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NY343132 Once again (you guessed it) bear left off the main path to follow the drops on your left over a small top and then bending left to the summit of Dollywaggon Pike. Drop south, to rejoin the big, main path just below. Follow it down in wide zigzags to Grisedale Tarn, and turn left to its outflow.
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NY351121 Here the energetic could switch into the following route towards St Sunday Crag, to attempt the rare feat of three of Trail’s listed summits in one walk – one for longer summer days perhaps. For now, turn right along the tarn side, on a path which slants up to the pass at Grisedale Hause. (Following the path down ahead is now a shortcut down to Grasmere). On the right, a steep, zigzag path leads up the face of Seat Sandal, with a broken wall on its left. Where the slope eases, follow the broken wall to the summit cairn.
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NY343115 Head down south-west, with no path, to a small shoulder at 450m with a view over Grasmere village and lake. Bend left a little, south down an open ridge. A crossing wall has a small gate. A faint path continues down the ridge crest to right of a wall to a gate on the left. Through this, head down past a stone hut to a gate onto a rough track above Tongue Gill. 7
NY339098 The track runs down above the wooded gorge of Tongue Gill to A591. Cross into the lane opposite. Across River Rothay turn left, and in 1km turn left again, to cross Easedale Beck into the edge of Grasmere. At once take a footpath just to the right of the street. It bends away to the right, through parkland, to the village centre.