Catstye Cam Wainwright: Height, Character and Views

Catstye Cam is one of the clearest-cut summits in the Helvellyn group, a steep-sided, pyramidal fell rising above Red Tarn and Keppel Cove. At 889.6 metres, it is no minor satellite: its pointed profile, close views of Helvellyn’s crags and airy connection by Swirral Edge give it a character quite distinct from the broader tops of the main ridge.

A sharply defined fell

Catstye Cam stands north-east of Helvellyn, between Red Tarn and Keppel Cove. Its compact, pyramidal form is unusually easy to pick out from the country around Glenridding and from the eastern shore of Ullswater. The southern face falls steeply towards Red Tarn, while the northern side drops into Keppel Cove. These converging slopes give the fell a much more pointed outline than many of the rounded summits along the Helvellyn range.

The summit reaches 889.6 metres (2,919 feet), making Catstye Cam the tenth-highest of the 214 Wainwrights. Its top is small and exposed compared with Helvellyn’s broad summit plateau. The close prospect of Helvellyn’s eastern crags is the defining view, with Red Tarn directly below and Striding Edge clearly seen across the corrie. To the east, the view opens over Glenridding towards Ullswater and the far eastern fells.

Part of the Eastern Fells

Alfred Wainwright included Catstye Cam in The Eastern Fells, the first of his seven Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells. The volume centres on the long Helvellyn range and its eastern ridges, where high ground rises abruptly above the valleys leading in from Ullswater. Catstye Cam belongs unmistakably to that landscape, but it sits to the east of the principal north–south watershed rather than on the main ridge itself.

Its neighbouring Wainwrights show the structure of the group. Helvellyn lies immediately to the south-west, joined across Swirral Edge. Raise and White Side continue along the main ridge to the north, while Nethermost Pike stands beyond Helvellyn to the south. Catstye Cam’s separate summit and steep eastern profile keep it visually distinct even when seen among these high, broader uplands.

Swirral Edge and Red Tarn

Catstye Cam is best known for its place at the end of Swirral Edge, one of the two narrow ridges enclosing Red Tarn. The other is Striding Edge, on the opposite side of the corrie. Together they form the familiar eastern architecture of Helvellyn, and Catstye Cam provides the strong northern point of that composition.

This association can make the fell seem like an appendage to Helvellyn, yet its status as a separate Wainwright is supported by a summit with an unmistakable identity. The contrast is part of its appeal: broad high-level ground nearby, a neat summit underfoot, and steep Lakeland terrain dropping away on either side. Few fells in the Eastern Fells combine such height with so compact a form.

Where Catstye Cam stands

Summit at grid reference NY348158 · open full map

The real Catstye Cam

Walking Catstye Cam

We make artwork, not route guides — these are the guides we'd point a friend to:

• Catstycam walk - Birkhouse Moor - walks from Glenridding (andrewswalks.co.uk)
• Lanty's Tarn, Birkhouse Moor, Red Tarn, Catstycam (walklakes.co.uk)
• Catstye Cam from Glenridding Walk, Lake District (walkingbritain.co.uk)

Weather on Catstye Cam

Conditions estimated at summit height (890 m) via Open-Meteo. For a walker's forecast, use the Mountain Weather Information Service.

Catstye Cam on your wall

Catstye Cam’s crisp profile and its relationship with Helvellyn, Red Tarn and Swirral Edge make it a compelling Lakeland subject. Our AI Art Personas have painted this landscape in varied moods, offering a considered way to bring a familiar piece of the Eastern Fells into your home.

Own “Sunlit Ridge of Catstye Cam” — our painting of Catstye Cam → or browse all Fells & Mountains artwork

Neighbouring Wainwrights in The Eastern Fells

• Helvellyn 950 m
• Nethermost Pike 891 m
• Raise 883 m
• White Side 863 m

Part of our guide to all 214 Wainwrights — see the full index.