At 950 metres (3117 ft) Helvellyn is the third highest peak in England and often described as the most famous and most climbed and walked of all the Lakeland fells. The eastern aspect is by far the most dramatic and the summit is encircled by Striding Edge and Swirral Edge, one of the most popular ridge walks in the lakes.
The summit of Helvellyn is remarkably flat and in 1926 John Leeming and Bert Hinkler landed an aeroplane on it, and then took off again. In the natural hollow bordered on three sides of Hevellyn lies Red Tarn, a clear glacial pool which freezes over in winter. An interesting and varied climb, Helvellyn has an aura of romance and is immortalized in Wainwright's ‘Pictorial guide to the Lakeland fells’.
