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With that said, most people take their time when walking them as it is a much better experience to take in all of the beauty that the Lake District has to offer. The fells are perfect places for creative souls; there is so much to sketch, photograph and write about; countless amounts of people have created beautiful works from their inspiration of the fells.
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. Though not easy, bagging the Wainwrights is a popular pastime in part because the majority of the peaks are relatively accessible. If you want to get started, here’s what we recommend:
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Central Fells14 The Langdale Pikes 11.6km15 Above Thirlmere 21.4km16 Grasmere Common 17.2km17 Stonethwaite Fells 17.9km North-Western Fells32 Wythop Wanderings 19.9km33 Grasmoor & More 15.7km 34 Dale Head Horseshoe 15.4km 35 Coledale Horseshoe 14.5km 36 A Newlands Round 15.9km Indeed, if you are really dedicated - you could easily complete all 59 Walk the Wainwrights walks in a single year - something very few people manage and an achievement to be truly proud of. 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
It's one of the quieter hills,” says Dan. “Even though it's in the heart of Lakeland, south of Ullswater and Borrowdale. So many people set off from Seathwaite and head up Scafell Pike, and don't really consider other options. You come up Thorneythwaite Fell from Seathwaite, and then you do a bit of a scramble up to the top. The descent, over Rosthwaite Fell, is also great. Again, it's a knobbly ridge.”
The routes are split into seven sections, reflecting Wainwright’s seven Pictorial Guides, and to simplify logistics, all of the featured routes are circular with an emphasis on making practical links between the summits. If you’re looking for more of a challenge, then Yewbarrow and Middle Dodd are where you’ll want to head. Although they are not the highest at 628m and 654m respectively, the ascents are steep making them a real physical challenge. Over fifty years ago, renowned British hillwalker and guidebook author Alfred Wainwright described 214 peaks in the English Lake District in his seven-volume illustrated Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. Like the Munros in Scotland, bagging all the Wainwrights has become a popular and significant challenge for walkers and runners, often taking many years in fits and starts because of the absence of a clear plan for how to link them together. With this problem in mind, Peak Bagging: Wainwrights by Karen and Dan Parker features forty-five routes designed to link up these iconic fells so you can enjoy the challenge of completing them at your own pace – over years, months or even just a few weeks. Like the Munros in Scotland, bagging all the Wainwrights has become a popular and significant challenge for walkers and runners, often taking many years in fits and starts because of the absence of a clear plan for how to link them together.
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! Their favoured path? "Hall's Fell is a good route,” says Dan. “There's a bit of scrambling - though you can avoid it if you'd like - and then there's nothing too exposed. The key thing is that you pop out straight at the top. Then you’re able to look south, along The Dodds towards Helvellyn."When I first started winter fell walking with Dan and his family, we went up Fairfield,” says Karen. “It was actually the first time I had ever been out and about in the winter. I almost didn't know that you were allowed to go up proper mountains at that time of year. It was just very memorable for that! There was snow everywhere, and I think that changed my view of walking in the mountains.” Blencathra is obviously a very popular hill,” Dan says. “It's very accessible from the motorway, so a lot of people stop there en route to somewhere else, or go there because it's easy to get to. But it's also got so much variety. There's the standard five tongues leading off it, each of which you can go up, and there's the excitement of Sharp Edge and Hall's Fell. There's a bit of scrambling, too. Then there's the sort of northern routes; with a mix of smooth and bobbly terrain."
Furthermore, using our professionally produced walk routes, you can Walk the Wainwrights and avoid the potentially vertigo inducing arétes of Sharp Edge and Striding Edge if you want to. We also have available a series of Seven Area Maps showing the locations of all 214 Wainwright fells with an outline of the 59 Walk the Wainwrights walks. Our 'Walk the Wainwrights - The Central Fells' planning map - along with over 50 sample walks and GPS Waypoint data files - is available FREE from a link in the current issue of our monthly Newsletter. My only issue with the book is the use of the Jones Ross formula for working out the timings, as an inexperienced walker will assume they’re in the ‘walker’ category. This however sets a pace of 5 kmph which is quite fast. Walk the Wainwrights in 59 Walks - The huge cairn on Bleaberry Fell in the Lake District Central FellsLook after the planet. Use buses or boats to make linear walks (Wainwright did most of his walks using public transport). Or if that doesn’t work for you, car share if you can and make sure you park your car considerately. A person who summits all the Wainwrights doesn’t have a special name, and in fact, Alfred Wainwright probably never considered that doing so would become a significant feat to others. However, it is a popular pastime and if you have completed all of the Wainwrights, you can apply to be listed on a register held by the Long Distance Walkers Association. 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). As there are so many Wainwrights to explore, it means there is a real variety of fells in terms of terrain and incline level which is great as it means there really is something for everyone. Some of the more popular fells that people of an average fitness level can enjoy include Catbells, Hallin Fell and High Rigg, Binsey. Latrigg is one of the lowest fells, and so it's a great walk for almost everyone that still boasts beautiful views. Karen continues: "It's a good example of one of the fells that people probably wouldn't bother to go up if it wasn't a Wainwright. So it's great that it encourages people to get up something different." Wainwright Two: Blencathra (868m) Looking out over the Lake District from Sharp Edge, Blencathra. Photo: Getty
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