Bagging the Wainwrights

Reducing one of the greatest adventures to be had to these three words feels uncomfortable. Whilst in essence this is what is happening when setting out to climb all 214 Wainwright fells in the English Lake District, there is much, much more to it than your tick-list. Words and pictures by Greg Hackett.

Halfway through my objective it feels like I'm reading the best book ever written and I'm already trying not to think about the day I finish it.

Yesterday, coming off Burnbank Fell, a less trampled and undramatic hill next to Loweswater, I paused to open the app in which I am recording my progress with this project. Gavel Fell, Blake Fell and Burnbank will take me to 128 which in case you are wondering is 59% of the way there. It's always a satisfying moment. But I'm distracted by trying to figure out why Wainwright didn't include Carling Knott in his list, which rises above Burnbank and is the much more obvious target when coming off Blake Fell. I take this thought with me to the car park at Maggie's Bridge, where looking back to where I'd just been, Carling Knott again stands out as the main feature of this area. What was he thinking of? With the Wainwrights, there's always an expert somewhere who can answer your question.

These are the kinds of puzzles that are part of the Alfred Wainwright legacy. If Orrest Head was the fell that inspired him when he first visited Lakeland all those years ago, why not include that also? Why include Mungrisdale Common, the most unloved of them all? It's a boggy mound hidden in the depths of the Northern Fells (although the pinched view through to Derwentwater isn't bad). And is it true that he used to turn his back on other walkers and pretend to have a pee?

The Man Himself

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Jane King, stepdaughter of Alfred Wainwright and daughter of Betty at the Wainwright Prize event in London. She had just descended from the stage where she had talked about AW's books and how this Nature and Conservation Prize is such a fitting way to keep the Wainwright name associated with this genre. His books were not nature-writing as such, they are of course guidebooks for walkers, meticulously handwritten and illustrated. But it is clear they have been created by a nature-lover and his love of the landscape shines off every page, enhanced by writing which is sometimes ironic, teasing, perhaps even sarcastic, but always wonderfully Northern and packed with wit. Jane was clearly fond of her step-father, but I didn't get the impression they did much walking together back in the Kendal days.

So this is the first thing you can think about when Bagging the Wainwrights - the man himself.

When I'm not pondering AW and his many idiosyncrasies, I'm often reminding myself of why I am doing this. And if you are about to embark on this journey, I would encourage you to do the same, before you set out. Because, let's face it, you are only going to do this first, once. You may repeat the journey, but getting it right first time will matter to you. So why are people Bagging the Wainwrights and what are the best ways to go about it?

Why am I Bagging the Wainwrights?

There is invariably more than one reason, but primarily the driver will be one of these: to incentivise regular exercise, just to tick it off, the challenge, to connect with a community, or as a structure for exploration. At one time or another, each of these drivers has been of importance to me, but ultimately, I think that climbing all the Wainwrights means that you travel to places you would not otherwise have visited and see things that you would not otherwise have seen. In the end, Wainwright was an explorer, and his books encourage us to explore.

I recently talked to Alastair Humphreys about his book 'Local' which by coincidence was shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize. In it, he uses the grids on a map around his house as a structure for exploration - over the course of a year choosing a square at random and heading there to explore. Each day out was followed up with some internet research so he could expand the day's learnings. It's an approach which can be repeated anywhere, unlike the geo-specific Wainwrights, but the principle is the same. My friend David not long ago (don't email me - it's the traditional archaic spelling!) 'compleated' the Scottish Munros, in his words, "To be sure I've seen the whole land".

The Wainwright volumes themselves of course suggest an order for exploring. You may choose to follow in AW's footsteps and start with all the Eastern Fells and conclude with the Western. This way, you may end up finishing your round on Starling Dodd as he did, which would be an odd choice as your final photo will involve a pile of twisted, rusty metal...

Wainwright began in the east, as most people will as these are the nearest to significant neighbouring populations. And the quieter Western Fells was his concluding volume, the seventh.

He was a stickler for order and symmetry. Each book is of a similar length and he has made efforts to balance the books. The Northern Fells, for example, includes fells that seem to be making up the numbers. Binsey is a bit of an outlier, and we talked about Mungrisdale earlier. Also, Blencathra enjoys an extraordinary 36 pages of forensic examination. A complex mountain, of course, but surely Helvellyn with its famous Striding Edge is its equal, but only gets 26 pages. The Eastern Fells perhaps have more going on than the Northern.

And if you are in a hurry of course, you can join the Fell Running Community, some members of which have managed to run all the Wainwrights in one go, an immense 352 miles. Currently the men's supported record (FKT) is held by John Kelly and for women its Sabrina Verjee, both having made it in under just six days!

Size isn't Everything

The breadth of experience is the second thing that occupies me as I walk the fells. I mostly go out on clear days to enjoy the views, and being able to see the skylines of the other hills and massifs that you have visited is endlessly fascinating. You begin to attribute different characteristics to each area, and its hard not to measure individual fells up against each other.

The smallest of them all is Castle Crag, so let's spend a little time here as an example of what can be found when applying the 'size isn't everything' rule.

Wainwright describes it as 'magnificently independent', and notes that it is the only fell in his series of books that is below 1000 feet but is awarded the 'full treatment'.

The fell is notable for its dramatic views over Borrowdale and its quarries, where slate was extracted for years. The quarry spoil still forms a steep path leading towards the summit, adding a rugged character to the climb. At the top, remnants of an Iron Age hillfort can be found, hinting at the crag’s strategic significance in ancient times.

The crag also has a more recent historical layer: last century, a hermit named Millican Dalton lived in a nearby cave on the fell’s slopes, retreating from city life to embrace a more self-sufficient existence. He styled himself as the “Professor of Adventure” and spent summers guiding visitors around the Lake District, advocating for the simple life. Castle Crag is also a poignant site of remembrance, with a memorial plaque for local men who lost their lives during the First World War, adding yet another layer to this storied peak.

Steeped in History and the Unexpected

And here is another walking theme - history. Where else are there so many stories? The Lake District and its fells boast a unique combination of geography, culture, and human activity over thousands of years. Wainwright Baggers are treading on treasured ground.

You may stumble across famous places, plaques, memorials and even aircraft wreckage that may lead you to some internet research on returning home, or if you are the kind of person who likes to know more about where you are about to visit, then Wainwright's Pictorial Guides feature all of these things and more.

I bumped into a chap on Glenridding Dodd the other day and we had a chat about our adventures - he had finished his first round in 2016 and was at it again. Something he said has stayed in my head. "It's the fells you expect to be boring that can surprise you". He was thinking of a buzzard that followed him off Sour Howes. I was thinking of a celebrity I said hello to on Holme Fell, and also an MBA bothy I randomly discovered in the Northern Fells.

These things can happen in other mountain ranges of course, but there just seems to be an extra dusting of magic on the Wainwrights.

So where to start and where to finish?

Most people will have already climbed at least one Wainwright before making the decision to complete the list. If like me, you grew up in the North and made many trips to the Lakes you might have forgotten the fells you have climbed in which case you may want to start from scratch. I decided to begin my record with Scafell Pike which I climbed as part of the National Three Peaks on a work team outing about 10 years ago.

Since then it's been fairly random, as visits, company and weather are all factors. But as time has gone on and my climbed list has lengthened, so my unclimbed list has shortened and I spend a significant amount of time thinking about where I will finish my journey.

There are a number of things to consider. Firstly, who will be with you? You might make it an easy one so more people will want to come, and you might want to be near a place with plenty of accommodation like Keswick. Dodd and Latrigg are good examples of hills that can be kept back for this special occasion - they have great views and are set aside from other peaks so you can easily steer clear of them until the big day. Something like Cat Bells for example, is on a ridge and you are unlikely to miss it early on in your campaign.

Or maybe you would prefer a big finish. I think this is where I am leaning. A bit of me wants to do it on my own, be selfish and leave something memorable and personal to the end. Great Gable, for example, so magnificently in view from Innominate Tarn on Haystacks, AW's resting place. Or maybe Robinson with its views of Buttermere.

Bag the Wainwrights! There is a community of fell lovers out there you can connect with on various social media sites, or join the Wainwright Society, and you can also find other fellwalkers in the pubs and hostels of Cumbria, always happy to talk. Leave no trace. These fells are for everyone and everyone must look after them, not only the wonderful people from Fix the Fells or other organisations caring for our countryside. Be safe. The Mountain Rescue Teams of the Lake District do a magnificent job, particularly with the unusual strain of millions of visitors every year, but this doesn't mean you should want to meet them. Equip for the mountains properly, be weather-aware, know your limits and mind your step.

When I do finish, one thing is for sure. As with my Coast to Coast walk. It will be emotional.

Footnote: LMFF in Cumbria

Our festival has a special relationship with the Lake District. Last year Community Events were held in Broughton-in-Furness, Askham, Ireby, Caldbeck and Oxen Park, raising money for community spaces, local charities and Mountain Rescue Teams. And since 2016 our parent business Top Munro has sold its Wainwright Trumps and Hillbaggers Playing Cards in gift and outdoor shops from Windermere and Coniston and Ambleside to Keswick.

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