Peak Bagging: Wainwrights: 45 routes designed to complete all 214 of Wainwright's Lake District fells in the most efficient way

Product Information

That round from Patterdale is a wonderful route. It's not the standard route either, so it's slightly quieter than certain other routes, even in the summer.” Wainwright Five: Glaramara (783m) Rosthwaite Fell as seen from Glaramara. Photo: Getty A hike through an enchanting and enigmatic landscape to the Howitzer – an optional scrambling challenge that will separate the lions from the lambs An enticing challenge among avid hikers and trail runners is to conquer all 214 summits—a feat known as peak-bagging—within their lifetime. Each fell, varying in height, shape, and size, offers a different experience. Each Wainwright Fell, ranging from the highest, Scafell Pike, at 3,210 feet, to the smallest, Castle Crag, at 985 feet, presents a unique journey for walkers to explore the Lake District's diverse landscapes. All but one of these fells exceed 1,000 feet in height, lying within the boundary of the Lake District National Park in Cumbria​.

Also included are overview details of Steve Birkinshaw's then-record-breaking sub-seven-day Wainwrights run in 2014 - current record holder Sabrina Verjee completed the round in under six days. 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." Guides, Hiking, Albania, Slovenia A Guide to the Via Dinarica Hiking Trail in Bosnia and Herzegovina Southern Fells18 The Coniston Fells 17.8km19 Langdale West 17.5km20 The Scafells 13.1km21 Langdale South 13.8km22 Borrowdale Fells 16.3km23 Hardknott Round 17.6km24 Encircling Elter Water 20.0km25 Tilberthwaite Round 13.6km26 Above & Below Wasdale Screes 17.1km 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

On each one you will find room to record which mountains, peaks and hills you have climbed (or 'bagged') and offer mouth watering inspiration for your next walk. There were no specific criteria to select the 214 distinctive peaks that would be (intimately) chronicled in Alfred Wainwright's seven-volume pictorial guide. Rather, their inclusion was based on Wainwright's appreciation for their prominence and character within the landscape. A hiker descending from the highest Nuttall, Snowdon in Wales' Snowdonia National Park (Image credit: Getty) Peak-bagging the Munros – the one for those who love remote, rugged, wild terrain

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.” Note the there are no qualification criteria for Wainwrights, the author sometimes gives a summit location that is not the highest point of the fell. Our policy is to take the location intended by Wainwright. The list is not subject to revision.) Start with the smaller peaks such as Castle Crag, Latrigg and Loughrigg and work you way up to the big ones. Peak Bagging’ is a term that describes walkers trying to summit as many hills or mountains on a list as possible. Therefore Wainwright Bagging is trying to summit all 214 Wainwrights. For some people, completing the Wainwrights can take a matter of weeks whereas other people will take years.Compiled in the 1890s by peak surveyor extraordinaire Sir Hugh Munro, the ‘ Munros’ are an iconic list of Scottish mountains over 3,000ft. There are 282, including many of the UK’s most dramatic and remote mountains, and completing the list is a lifelong ambition of all self-respecting British peak-baggers. For the truly intrepid, you can also combine the Munros with the Corbetts (Scottish peaks between 2,500ft and 3,000ft, with 500ft of drop on all sides), and the Grahams (Scottish peaks between 2,000ft to 2,500ft, with 150m of drop). Wansfell is a popular peak, just make sure you climb it the right way (Image credit: James Forrest) This section showcases the culmination of Alfred Wainwright's deep appreciation for the Lake District's fells and meticulous labour of love. These eight guides, including the seven-volume Illustrated Walking Guide and the Outlying Fells book, offer in-depth insights into the scenic landscape of the Lake District's fells. Alfred Wainwright completed a seven-volume series called A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells , in which he detailed the 214 Lake District Fells now known as The Wainwrights. What is interesting about this selection of Fells is that they were not chosen for their scale or grandeur… they were chosen because they were his favourites. What Are The Wainwrights

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. A classic Lakeland day outing, starting with a boat ride across Derwentwater before a hike to the top of Cat Bells and peek at Peter Rabbit’s scrumping ground 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 What is a Wainwright? We explain this ubiquitous term in English hillwalking, and offer some tips for peak bagging the Wainwrights

Peak Bagging: Wainwrights

Stuart is a Scottish travel writer, and editor of the Much Better Adventures Magazine. 2022 Travel Media Awards Finalist: 'Young Travel Writer of the Year', 'Sustainability Feature of the Year'. Central Fells14 The Langdale Pikes 11.6km15 Above Thirlmere 21.4km16 Grasmere Common 17.2km17 Stonethwaite Fells 17.9km 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 There are 214 Wainwrights that range from small hills to major mountains (Image credit: Alexander W Helin)

You've also got Aira Force at the bottom, which is one of the most popular waterfalls in the Lake District. So it's a great place to go, both as a short walk, or as part of a longer trek. In the book we do Gowbarrow and then a couple of the other, adjacent lower hills - Great Mell Fell and Little Mell Fell. But Gowbarrow is the nicest in the area. If you have completed all of the Wainwrights, you can apply to be listed on a register held by the Long Distance Walkers Association (Image credit: David C Tomlinson) Digital Reads A Curse For True Love : the thrilling final book in the Once Upon a Broken Heart seriesIf you're new to Komoot use our Advnture voucher code to get an offline region map bundle for free.Head to www.komoot.com/g and enter the code ADVNTURE. Valid until December 31, 2021. The Wainwrights don’t necessarily have distinguishing characteristics such as all being above a certain height, however they are all mountains and they are all within Lake District National Park (Image credit: fotoVoyager) Born in 1907, Wainwright spent much of his life in the Lake District of North West England, which inspired his detailed guides and meticulous hand-drawn maps. My method of Wainwright Bagging is being methodical and geographical. I aim to complete my Wainwrights a book at a time, focussing on an area. You can find all my walks below. Who Should Walk The Wainwrights