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

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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. 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 Wainwrights have become a right of passage for many Lake District locals, as well as being a draw for ramblers all over the UK. This collection of Fells offer an incredible variety with the Wainwrights walks encompassing some of the best views in the Lakes. Walking the Wainwrights has become a challenge for many with walkers using the Wainwrights list to ‘bag’ as many as possible. What Is Wainwright Bagging? 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 Possibly the Lake District’s finest horseshoe hike, this rugged ramble takes in a handful of Wainwrights The Wainwright Outlying Fells comprise 116 smaller hills and tops mentioned in the 1974 book 'The Outlying Fells of Lakeland' by Alfred Wainwright and published by The Westmorland Gazette. 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 15.9kmBorn 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. Peak Bagging the Wainwrights is a way of discovering and experiencing new mountains, peaks, tops and hills that you might have not otherwise thought of walking on - often in glorious solitude well away from the crowded honeypots. 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. Unlike, say, the munros of Scotland, which are mountains over a certain height, the Wainwrights are simply a list of peaks – better known locally as fells – that were outlined in British walker and author Alfred Wainwright's seven-volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells which were published between 1955 and 1966. 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."

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. 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. 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)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.) 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). 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.” Digital Reads A Curse For True Love : the thrilling final book in the Once Upon a Broken Heart series

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 These ‘Wainwrights’ have now become the definitive list for anyone wanting to visit the summits of all the fells in the Lake District,” writes endurance athlete Steve Birkinshaw, who ran all of the Wainwrights in 2014, in the introduction to ' Peak Bagging: Wainwrights'. The new guidebook, written by Karen and Dan Parker (sister and brother-in-law of Steve) and published by Vertebrate Publishing is a complete guide to climbing all 214 of Wainwright’s Lake District fells in the most efficient way - with 45 routes included in the book. Wansfell is a popular peak, just make sure you climb it the right way (Image credit: James Forrest)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. 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. 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.

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​. What is a Wainwright? We explain this ubiquitous term in English hillwalking, and offer some tips for peak bagging the Wainwrights Hive Store Ltd 2020. (hive.co.uk) is registered in England. Company number: 07300106. VAT number: 444950437.

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

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 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) Wainwrights - Hills & mountains of the Lake District volumes 1-7 of Wainwright's A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. 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." Guides, Hiking, Albania, Slovenia A Guide to the Via Dinarica Hiking Trail in Bosnia and Herzegovina