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The Wainwrights are the 214 fells (hills and mountains) described in A. Wainwright's seven-volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells (1955–66). Over two million copies of the Pictorial Guides have been sold worldwide since their publication.
Contents
- Book One The Eastern Fells
- Book Two The Far Eastern Fells
- Book Three The Central Fells
- Book Four The Southern Fells
- Book Five The Northern Fells
- Book Six The North Western Fells
- Book Seven The Western Fells
- References
Visiting all 214 Wainwrights is a common form of peak bagging. The Long Distance Walkers Association maintains a register of walkers who have completed the Wainwrights; in November 2007, there were 459 people on the list, of whom 40 had completed more than once. Dave Hewitt estimates that the total number of completers could be over 50% higher than the LDWA's figure. The Ramblers Association reported in 2008 that a boy of six years, four months and 27 days had become the youngest person to complete the Wainwrights.
The first continuous round of all 214 Wainwrights was completed by Alan Heaton between 29 June and 8 July 1985 starting and finishing at Keswick Moot Hall, with a total time of 9 days and 16 hours. Joss Naylor set a new record of 7 days 1 hour between 26 June and 2 July 1986. This was beaten by Steve Birkinshaw between 14 and 20 June 2014, who completed the round in 6 days and 13 hours. Steve Birkinshaw's route was around 320 miles (515 km) with 118,000 ft (36,000m) of ascent.
The term is occasionally extended to include the fells mentioned in Wainwright's supplementary volume The Outlying Fells of Lakeland (1974), although this article only lists the original 214 fells. The said fells are listed here by book, sorted in descending order of height. See also List of fells in the Lake District for a full list in height order, and List of hills in the Lake District for more Lakeland hills.
Book One: The Eastern Fells
The Eastern Fells are centered around Helvellyn and they primarily consist of a north-south ridge running between Ullswater and Lakeland's Central Valley.
Book Two: The Far Eastern Fells
The Far Eastern Fells occupy a broad area to the east of Ullswater, Kirkstone Pass and are bordered by the M6 motorway.
Book Three: The Central Fells
The Central Fells are situated in the heart of the Lake District, surrounded by the other ranges. The range extends from the ridge between Derwentwater and Thirlmere in the north, to the famous rock peaks of the Langdale Pikes in the south.
Book Four: The Southern Fells
The Southern Fells occupy a large area to the south of Great Langdale, Borrowdale, Wasdale and include Scafell Pike, the highest peak in England.
Book Five: The Northern Fells
The Northern Fells cover a circular area north of Keswick. The range is bordered to the west by Bassenthwaite Lake, the River Greta in the south and Caldew river bounds the eastern edge of the group, flowing away toward Carlisle. It is the smallest group by total number of hills.
Book Six: The North Western Fells
The North Western Fells occupy an oval area beneath the Buttermere and Borrowdale valley systems.
Book Seven: The Western Fells
The Western Fells are centred around Great Gable and form a triangular area between Buttermere and Wasdale.