Thirlmere (Swirls), Birk Side, Helvellyn, Browncove Crags, Cumbria.
[12.8 km] Wed 28 Aug 2013

OS Grid Ref: NY 3161 1732
Lat/Long: 54.546550, -03.058653

Today is a very special day. It is the 80th birthday of my friend Eric Bell and he asked me months ago if I’d walk to the summit of Helvellyn with him to celebrate it. He’s a keen walker and goes out most days but only on flatish local walks. He hadn’t climbed a high mountain for quite a while so setting a steady pace was essential to make sure he enjoyed the walk. The weather forecast was gloomy with morning mist but the main thing was no rain. We started about 8am just north of the Swirls car park by Thirlmere. We’d parked in the abandoned part of the old road as the nearby lay bye and car park charged £7 a day. We headed south along the forestry track through the trees. I was here a few weeks ago and it was raining. Thankfully it wasn’t today.

After a mile the trees thinned and we had an impressive view down towards Thirlmere Reservoir and the Straining Well building. It is a Victorian castellated structure marking the point where water gravitates from the reservoir and enters a tunnel under Dunmail Raise then into pipelines and culverts all the way to Manchester. Half a mile on we reached the memorial bench to the two young cyclist who were killed by a coach driver in 2010. We sat on the bench to admire the view of the reservoir. The cloud level was still low but it didn’t take away the magnificence of the view. We also used the rest stop to have a drink and some food ready for the long climb to the summit which would start soon. When we reached the turn off from the track and the steep path up to the summit I suggested that Eric set off on his own while I waited for 10 minutes before setting off to follow.

That way he would be walking at his own steady pace and not trying to keep up with me if I was going too fast. Adjacent to Comb Crags is an old ruined shepherds hut and we arranged to meet there. When I set off I could see Eric up ahead through the mist and by the time he reached the ruin I’d caught him up. We stopped to have our sandwiches and another drink. Although it was misty the temperature was still relatively warm so fluid loss could be a problem. There wasn’t a problem as I’d brought extra drinks with me. After our early lunch we carried on with the same arrangement. Eric set off and I followed about 5 minutes behind. When we reached the path from Nethermost Pike the cloud cleared briefly and we had a nice view across to Striding Edge but the clouds soon rolled back again. The summit wind shelter was almost in sight but before we got there we stopped briefly to have a look at the memorial stone to the first landing of an aeroplane on a British mountain in 1926.

A few minutes on we were at the summit wind shelter. It is a short way below the actual summit but is a welcome stone structure where you can sit out of the wind. We sat next to a couple who had just arrived. We had a b it more food and drink and enjoyed the feeling of success even though the walk was far from over as we still had to get down. It was also 10 years to the day when we were both here to celebrate Eric’s 70th birthday.

That was a different occasion because at the time he was the Mayor of Chorley and we did the walk with several of Eric friends. We’d also brought a spare set of Mayoral Robes and Eric put them on for a summit group photo. Today we celebrated with a can of energy drink but then it was a bottle of champagne. The cloud still hadn’t lifted so we pressed on to the summit trig post. The temperature had dropped to 10deg C but the wind wasn’t too strong.

As we left to start the descent we mad a short detour to Brownrigg Well where we could top up our water bottles. The waster issues from a spring, is crystal clear and continues at a steady pace throughout the year. We descended the steep path down across Lower Man and Browncove Crags. We descended below the cloud and had a good view of the surrounding fells. We could also see many people coming up the path from the Swirls car park far below. It was an excellent path and we descended steadily down to get back to the car about 13:45. I shook Eric’s hand to congratulate him on his great achievement. Then he said we should return to do the walk again in 10 years time to celebrate his 90th birthday. I don’t think that will happen. But I hope I’m wrong.