Short version

The Wainwrights are 214 mountains and hills in the Lake District in north west England. Walking the Wainwrights means climbing all of them.

Slightly longer version

Alfred Wainwright was born in 1907. He was from Blackburn in Lancashire. In 1930, at the age of 23, he went on holiday to Windermere in the Lake District. He took a short walk to a local viewpoint called Orrest Head (here is my panorama from Orrest Head) and from here he looked north for his first view of the hills of the area. He fell in love with the beauty he saw. In 1941 moved to Kendal just outside the Lake District, to be closer to it.

The Lake District is the highest area in England and is renowned for its stunning scenery. It is a national park and fits in a rectangle roughly 25 miles by 30 miles. The highest mountains in England are all in the Lake District and there is no land above 3000ft outside the Lake District. Of the highest 30 hills in England 27 are in the Lake District. It is worth pointing out that these hills are a lot lower than those in Scotland. Scafell Pike is the highest point in England at 3209 feet. This would be number 141 on a list of Scottish hills! Even in Wales it would only be number 7.

Many of the hills in the Lake District are of similar heights to each other, are quite close together and none are covered by trees. These facts make the area very picturesque and suitable for hill walking. On a clear day you can see the whole area from the tops of the higher fells. There is a mixture of rocky mountains and soft grass covered hills. There are low steep ones and high flat ones. The area also contains many lakes, tarns and man-made reservoirs. It is one of the most beautiful areas in Britain. The main downside of the area is the weather which is frequently overcast or wet. The summits are quite often in low cloud which locals and walkers refer to as "clag".

In 1952 Alfred Wainwright began working on a fell walking guide. "Fell" is the word used locally, rather than hill or mountain. It comes from the Norse word fjallr meaning mountain.

Wainwright divided the Lake District into 7 areas and over the next few years he published seven guides detailing fell walks in each. His books are unique because they have many hundreds of hand drawn pictures showing routes up the hills, views, key features and so on. Wainwright usually described a few different routes up each fell, so walkers can choose suitable paths depending upon their starting point and ability. Other walking guides always feature photographs of course but they do not compete with the Wainwright guides in many people's opinion. Wainwright is accepted as an authority by all who walk in the area.

An example of Wainwright's style.

Here is part of one of my panoramas showing the same view.

Wainwright described 214 fells in his guides. He made it easy to make a list because each fell has its own chapter. So if you want to climb High Crag turn to the chapter called High Crag. These 214 fells are now officially known as Wainwrights.

The aim of walking the Wainwrights is to get to the top of all of them. Other than that there are no rules. You can start where you like and travel how you like. You can take as long as you like or try to do them all as quickly as possible (the record is about 6 days of continuous running with short sleep breaks). I did my first when I was about 12 but really got going on them properly in 2018.

Many of the Wainwrights are linked together by ridges of land so you can sometimes tick off several in an afternoon. Others have to be walked by themselves. Some are on horseshoe shaped ridges which is very convenient as it lets you easily walk back to your start and pick up your car. Some are local to towns like Keswick and Ambleside while others are more remote. They include most of the highest hills in England including the top three Scafell Pike, Scafell and Helvellyn. They also include several much lower and easier fells, the sort of place where people spend an hour walking their dog.

Like most mountains the Wainwrights all have names. Many of the names are interesting and have stories behind them or describe the fells appearance. "Haystacks" is supposed to resemble piles of hay bales. "High Street" was used as a route by Roman soldiers. "Pillar" towers over a huge pointed rock. "Steeple" has a pyramid shape.

Confusingly some names are used twice to describe two different fells (Red Pike, Harter Fell, Tarn Crag, High Pike and High Raise are each used twice) and others have very similar names (Whiteside/White Side, Grey Crag/Gray Crag etc). Repetition of names of other things like lakes and waterfalls is very common in the area.

Wainwright's choice of which fells to include in his guides has sometimes been criticised. Some higher fells have been missed out. For example Ill Crag, near Scafell Pike, is 3068 feet high and the fourth highest mountain in England but it is not a Wainwright. Ironically Orrest Head is also not a Wainwright. Others are quite low or are a peak on the side of a higher fell but have been included as a distinct fell. Mungrisedale Common is one often criticised - it is a large, almost flat, boggy area and has a summit that is barely a few feet above the surrounding land.

Never the less the Wainwrights list of 214 fells has never been changed and after his death in 1991 it never will.

Tim. 24th April 2023