INDY SAYS: A good climb early in the morning before it got hot. A bit rocky, but OK. Then an easy ridge and a long swim in Grisedale Tarn.
The descent was worse than the ascent, and it was getting really warm.

A challenging hike of Helvellyn and the Nethermost / Dollywaggon Pike ridge. We descend to Grisedale Tarn for lunch and a good swim for Indy. A long descent and return

After a couple of rest days, Helvellyn here we come. Of all the Lakeland fells, Helvellyn has the most compelling name.
Our route from Swirls takes us along the Helvellyn Ridge from North to South, descending via Grisedale Tarn.

As we leave the car, there are clouds around the summits

True, but slightly understated...

Indy insists on greeting every member of this group ascending behind us

But we soon leapfrog and leave them behind as we start the climb

The zig zag rocky path about half way up the climb to Helvellyn. Come on !

In the direction of Nethermost Pike there are clouds

But the summit of Helvellyn Lower Man is clear

Light clouds rolling in

The summit of Helvellyn, looking down to Red Tarn
We take a good break here, water and snacks, coffee for me.
As well as a thermos I'm carrying a heavy load of five water containers today (mainly for Indy), lunch and all the other rucksack essentials

The clouds of 30 mins ago have lifted and we have a clear view of our route to Nethermost Pike (LH path)

Nethermost Pike, then on to Dollywaggon

This post is a good landmark coming off Dollywaggon Pike.
It is referred to on the OS Maps as 'Post'.

Today there are lots of fellrunners

and this Herculean chap who assured me that carrying his bike up would be worth it for the ride down

Looking down to Grisedale Tarn

Indy can't contain her excitement as we approach - and in!

Soft lapping water. The weather is warm and sunny, breezy

After a good long break, lunch and a play, we take a last look back at Grisedale Tarn.
Although all our climbing is over, we face a tricky long descent towards Dunmail Raise and a lengthy walk back parallel to the road

The path down looks OK but it is relentless

and the stones are loose. There are a lot of tricky steps

Half way along the return path through woods we met up again with a couple and a dog who we had seen earlier in the morning.
They were hiking a similar route to us, in the opposite direction. They too had hoped that the path through the woods would be shady and cool but it was largely exposed and in the full sun...

10.43 miles, 6.18 h, Ascent 3,455 ft
Route maps from Ordnance Survey are scaled 1:25000 unless mentioned otherwise.
Km, hike time and metres of ascent as supplied by OS. Planned route