Walking the Wainwrights: 64 Walks to Climb the 214 Wainwrights of Lakeland

Product Information

For each fell, Wainwright includes the preferred routes to the summit, carefully detailing each step with his own idiosyncratic descriptions and hand-drawn maps. The guide has been updated twice since it was first published (mostly to take account of the changing conditions of the fells), but it remains pretty much as Wainwright himself wrote it. More than a half-century later, the guide remains a detailed love letter for the Lake District, its careful notations a marvel of precise observation. If you fancy bragging about bagging half a dozen Wainwrights during your Lake District holiday but don’t feel like your legs are quite up to scaling over 3,000 feet up the dizzying heights of Scafell or Helvellyn and the likes, or if you are coming on holiday with children and are looking for lower, safer summits to conquer without missing out on the spectacular scenery the Lakes has to offer then we’ve put together a list of some the easier, but no less rewarding, fells to climb during your stay. Karen and Dan have been running, walking and orienteering in the Lake District fells for over three decades now. "It's been part of my whole life," says Dan. We caught up with the Parkers to ask for five of their favourite Wainwrights routes. Wainwright One: Gowbarrow Fell (481m) Despite being a low fell, surrounding views mean Gowbarrow can feel quite mountainous. Photo: Getty The publishers announced in 2014 that Clive Hutchby, the author of The Wainwright Companion, was working on the third edition of the Pictorial Guide, with the first volume, The Eastern Fells, published on 26 March 2015 followed by The Far Eastern Fells on 8 October 2015. These revised versions are titled 'Walkers Editions'. [12] [13] Subsequent volumes in the series to have been revised are The Central Fells (published 2016), The Southern Fells (2017), The Northern Fells (2018); The North Western Fells (2019); and The Western Fells (2020). Wainwright felt that, although Castle Crag wasn’t technically a fell, he couldn’t help but include it because of its rugged beauty. And quite right too. There’s something uniquely interesting about it.

Wainwright, A (1955). A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, Book 1: The Eastern Fells. London: Frances Lincoln. ISBN 0-7112-2454-4. You can expect magnificent views, patches of woodland and easy grassy paths. It makes for a beautiful walk that will be manageable for most. We usually take the route straight from our house,” says Dan. “That's from the east side; the Askham/Bampton side. There are several ridges that lead up. The central ridge is nice and gentle and it takes you to the top. There's a trig point at the top, but actually the trig point wasn't there when Wainwright wrote his books, so the Wainwright summit is about 50 metres south of there. Then to come down we would normally go north to Bonscale Pike. That's another interesting hill. There are some cairns, and towers, and good views out over Ullswater.” Wainwright Four: Fairfield (873m) Always a welcome sight; sunshine breaking through the clouds and shining on the fells of the Lake District. Photo: Getty

Castle Crag, Borrowdale

The Lake District’s most famous fell-walker was Alfred Wainwright, the accountant-turned-writer whose seven-volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, published between 1955 and 1966, remains the guide of choice for most fell-walkers. In it Wainwright painstakingly documents 214 ‘official’ peaks, meaning any mountain over 1000 feet (304m) – the only exception being Castle Crag, which comes in a tad shorter at 950 feet (300m). The Wainwright Walks pay homage to the late Alfred Wainwright, a fell-walker, guide book author and illustrator who has inspired many people to explore The Lakes by foot. For some, the challenge is climbing the highest peaks in the shortest time, whilst for others, getting outside, maybe for the first time; and taking in the beautiful scenery, peace and quiet, and sheer scale to get some perspective. How Many Wainwrights Are There? It’s possible to avoid some of the scramblings on the Hall’s Fell route, and the views across The Dodds towards Helvellyn from the summit are reward enough to keep you motivated.

The best route for hill walkers is to start at Ambleside or Rydal and ascend Nab Scar, Heron Pike and Great Rigg to reach the summit of Fairfield. The descent goes like this: Hart Crag, Dove Crag, High Pike and Low Pike to High Sweden Bridge and eventually Ambleside.The next few are slightly bigger in altitude, but don’t let that put you off – they’re still great for beginners... A more challenging route goes from Patterdale going along the lower part of Link Cove and then surmounting Greenhow End and The Step. Worth noting: this is definitely more of a climb than a walk! 6. Helm Crag John Burland, founder of the Wainwright Society, wrote and devised a dramatic presentation of his life and works which was presented at the Wildman Theatre at Ilkley Playhouse as part of the Ilkley Literature Festival on 15 October 2009. During 2010 and 2011 a further 17 presentations were made.

Hopefully, now you have a good understanding of the Wainwrights, their history and whether you’ve got the determination and fitness to climb them or not. It’s a magical feeling to even conquer just one of the beautiful fells; your journey will certainly inspire you and make you even more keen to climb the others. Please feel free to leave a comment below of what your favourite Wainwrights are! He also admitted that Blencathra is “most of all a mountaineers’ mountain”, probably because of its regular stretches of scramble and rough terrain. That being said, it’s an accessible spot near the motorway and is more manageable to non-mountaineers than Wainwright would have you know. There are, for example, varied routes, with Hall’s Fall being a particular favourite among tourists.Combined Indexes to A Wainwright’s Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells compiled by John M Turner (1982) Alfred Wainwright: Grumpy, reclusive and eccentric". The Independent. 2 July 2005. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009 . Retrieved 19 June 2021. The east-west route along Blencathra is also a gentle option, taking you along the main ridge. 2. Castle Crag The Jenkin Hill Path is the best route up to the summit of Skiddaw, made popular by the Victorians as a pony route for tourists. The panoramic views from the summit, however, are some of the best in the Lake District. 8. Scafell Pike What you need is a series of circular walks that connect all 214 Wainwrights together in a series of 59 day walks that includes all the latest route information but that are not exhaustingly long so anyone can complete them and enjoy the experience.

If you’re starting out, though, you perhaps don’t want to be reaching for the highest heights right away. Wainwrights such as England’s highest mountain, Scafell Pike, and the infamous ridge of Helvellyn can be left for another day. For now, why not warm up and ease yourself into it with these easy Wainwright walks? They’re the perfect Lake District walks for beginners! Coast walk tops trek to Everest". BBC News. 23 November 2004. Archived from the original on 4 May 2009 . Retrieved 22 October 2006. Such is the artistry of nature,” pens Wainwright in his characteristically poetic way, “such is the mellowing influence of the passing years, that the scars of disarray and decay have been transformed in a romantic harmony, cloaked by a canopy of trees and a carpet of leaves… Naked of trees, Castle Crag would be ugly; with them, it has a sylvan beauty unsurpassed, unique.”Sitting in the far eastern fells, the hill is part of a 15.1km Fusedale Circuit which features in Karen and Dan's book, with 860m of ascent involved. I printed and laminated all the walks and used them for each fell. The grid references were particularly useful as I mainly use my Satmap GPS on the walks. (I also take a map). A Granada TV series Wainwright Country included Eagle Crag, Great Calva, Knott Rigg, Pike O'Blisco, Stybarrow Dodd, Thornthwaite Crag and Yewbarrow. Wainwright, A (1964). A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, Book 6: The North Western Fells. London: Frances Lincoln. ISBN 0-7112-2459-5. Wainwright, A (1958). A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, Book 3: The Central Fells. London: Frances Lincoln. ISBN 0-7112-2229-0.