Catstye Cam

2025-07-11T18:04:36Z

92.40.200.237: /* Ascents */Added notable ascents

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Short description|Mountain in the English Lake District, Cumbria, England}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Catstye Cam
| photo = Catstye Cam from Helvellyn.jpg
| photo_caption =
| elevation_m = 890
| elevation_ref =
| prominence_m = 63
| prominence_ref =
| parent_peak = [[Helvellyn]]
| listing = [[Hewitt (hill)|Hewitt]], [[Nuttall (hill)|Nuttall]], [[List of Wainwrights|Wainwright]]
| location = [[Cumbria]], [[England]]
| range = [[Lake District]], [[Eastern Fells]]
| coordinates = {{coord|54.53326|N|3.00909|W|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| grid_ref_UK = NY348158
| topo = [[Ordnance Survey|OS]] ''Landranger'' 90, ''Explorer'' OL5
| map = United Kingdom Lake District#United Kingdom Eden
| map_caption = Location in the [[Lake District National Park]]##Location in [[Eden District|Eden]], [[Cumbria]]
| label_position =
}}

'''Catstye Cam''' is a [[fell]] in the English [[Lake District]]. It is an outlier of [[Helvellyn]] in the [[Eastern Fells]].

==Name==
The name of the fell is also given as 'Catstycam', a spelling preferred by [[Alfred Wainwright]] in his influential ''[[Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells]]''. A third variant, 'Catchedicam', is also quoted by him. Other guidebooks such as Collins Landranger<ref name="richards">Richards, Mark: ''Near Eastern Fells'': Collins (2003): {{ISBN|0-00-711366-8}}</ref> and Birkett <ref>Birkett, Bill: Complete Lakeland Fells: Collins Willow (1994): {{ISBN|0-00-218406-0}}</ref> follow Wainwright with 'Catstycam', although the maps of the [[Ordnance Survey]] always use 'Catstye Cam'.

==Topography==
The [[Helvellyn range]] runs broadly north to south for about 7 miles, remaining above {{convert|2000|ft|m|sigfig=1}} throughout its length. Helvellyn itself sits near the centre of this ridge and displays the characteristic form of many of these fells, namely smooth grassy slopes to the west and shattered rock to the east. Helvellyn sends out two eastward [[arête]]s, razor-thin ridges between deep mountain [[Cirque|corrie]]s. The southerly spur is [[Striding Edge]], easily the most famous ridge in the district, and its northern partner is Swirral Edge. From the summit plateau of Helvellyn a rough slope drops to the start of Swirral Edge, and this narrow ridge curves gracefully down and then back up over half a mile, terminating at Catstye Cam.

Taking on the classic mountain shape of a [[pyramid]], Catstye Cam draws the eye in any view where the overtopping bulk of Helvellyn is hidden behind. As Wainwright said ''"If Catstycam stood alone, remote from its fellows, it would be one of the finest peaks in Lakeland. It has nearly, but not quite, the perfect mountain form with true simplicity in its soaring lines, and a small pointed top, a real summit that falls away on all sides"''.<ref>[[Alfred Wainwright]]:''[[A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells]]'', Book 1: {{ISBN|0-7112-2454-4}}</ref> Even with the connection to Helvellyn, Catstye Cam still has a [[prominence]] of over {{convert|200|ft|m|sigfig=1}} due to the pronounced bow of Swirral Edge. High Spying How on Striding Edge, by comparison, is nothing but a rock turret, an independent peak in almost no-one's estimation.

[[Image:Catstye Cam Map.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Map showing Catstye Cam and surrounding features from 1925.]]East of the summit the ridge declines quickly to Red Tarn Beck, whilst there is a third ridge to the north west, giving Catstye Cam a triangular plan. To the north, between the two descending ridges, is an area of crag. The other two faces are steep but smooth.

South of Catstye Cam, nestling between the encircling arms of Helvellyn's two edges, is Red [[tarn (lake)|Tarn]]. This pool is named for the colour of the surrounding screes rather than its water, and contains brown trout and schelly, a fresh-water herring. The depth of Red Tarn is now about {{convert|80|ft|m}}, although in the mid-19th century it was dammed with boulders to increase capacity.<ref name="blair">Blair, Don; ''Exploring Lakeland Tarns''; Lakeland Manor Press (2003); {{ISBN|0-9543904-1-5}}</ref> This was carried out to provide additional water to the [[Greenside Mine]] in Glenridding, the water race still visible as it crosses the slope of [[Birkhouse Moor]].

A second tarn once existed in Brown Cove to the north at Catstye Cam, but this is now reduced to a couple of small pools widening the stream. Brown Cove Tarn was another creation of the Greenside mine, a stone faced dam being built in about 1860. The dam is still in place but water now leaks through the base, the extended tarn-bed a smooth patch of luxuriant turf. A water leat passing beneath the north face of Catstye Cam to Red Tarn Beck can still be traced although it is now in ruins.<ref name="blair"/><ref name="adams">Adams, John: ''Mines of the Lake District Fells'', Dalesman (1995); {{ISBN|0-85206-931-6}}</ref> Water from Brown Cove and Red Tarn unites at the base of the east ridge to form Glenridding Beck, flowing on through the village to [[Ullswater]].

==Geology==
The principal rock type is the [[dacite|dacitic]] [[lapilli tuff]] of the Helvellyn Formation.<ref name="BGS">[[British Geological Survey]]: 1:50,000 series maps, ''England & Wales Sheet 29'': BGS (1999)</ref>

==Summit==
The summit of Catstye Cam is small and neat, bearing only a tiny [[cairn]]. The view is extensive and even the looming Helvellyn only adds to the drama by showing its eastern face in close detail. Striding Edge is also seen in profile across Red Tarn, lines of pilgrims frequently queueing at the bottlenecks. By contrast Catstye Cam is often almost completely deserted.<ref name="richards"/>

==Ascents==

Catstye Cam is normally climbed from Glenridding, either by its east or north west ridges. Both are steep, but there are no technical difficulties. A fair path also climbs via Red Tarn to the midpoint of Swirral Edge, from where a brief detour back to the summit can be made. By far the best option is a circular tour via Striding and Swirral Edges. This takes in Birkhouse Moor, Helvellyn and Catstye Cam, one of the most breathtaking walks in the country.

The fastest known time of getting to the summit of Catstye Cam from Red Tarn was set by Jonathan Jarman of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire on 11th July 2025. He made it to the summit in 9 minutes and 55 seconds by taking a direct route straight from Red Tarn.

{{wide image|Catstye Cam by nagualdesign.jpg|1000px|A [[panoramic image]] of Catstye Cam, on the approach from Glenridding following Red Tarn Beck (not pictured). [[White Side]] can be seen to the right, overlooking Keppel Cove.|center|dir=ltr}}

==References==
<references/>
{{commons}}
<gallery>
Image:catstye.jpg|Catstye Cam and Swirral Edge
Image:cats-tarn.jpg|Catstye Cam and Red Tarn
Image:catstye2.jpg|Catstye Cam
</gallery>

{{Eastern Fells}}

[[Category:Hewitts of England]]
[[Category:Fells of the Lake District]]
[[Category:Nuttalls]]
[[Category:Patterdale]]

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Catstye Cam