Wainwrights

Wainwrights
Name	Wainwrights
Location	Lake District National Park
Highest	Scafell Pike
Elevation	978 m
Listing	Fell list

Wainwrights are a canonical set of 214 fells in the Lake District National Park of Cumbria, England, described and popularised by the guidebook author Alfred Wainwright. The collection forms a definitive walking challenge that links specific summits such as Scafell Pike, Helvellyn, Skiddaw, Blencathra, and Fairfield and has influenced hillwalking, outdoor publishing, and local tourism in destinations including Keswick, Ambleside, Windermere, Grasmere, and Coniston. The Wainwrights combine topographical description, hand-drawn maps, and personal observation, and remain central to hill lists, fell-bagging communities, and conservation debates involving bodies like the National Trust, Lake District National Park Authority, and outdoor organisations.

Overview

The Wainwrights are defined by Alfred Wainwright's seven-volume "Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells", published between 1955 and 1966, covering 214 summits across regions such as the Central Fells, Eastern Fells, Far Eastern Fells, North Western Fells, Southern Fells, Western Fells, and Northern Fells. Each entry combines a route description, elevation, and hand-inked maps; iconic summits include Helvellyn (straddling the Striding Edge and Swirral Edge routes), Scafell Pike (the highest point in England), Great Gable (near Wasdale Head), and Catbells (overlooking Derwentwater). The guides intersect with other hill lists such as the Munros of Scotland, the Hewitts, the Nuttalls, and the Marilyns, and have inspired modern guidebooks by publishers including Cicerone Press, Wilderness Press, and Trailblazer.

History and Classification

Alfred Wainwright, an author and illustrator associated with Kendal and Blackpool, compiled the guides using personal reconnaissance, hand-drawn maps, and pen-and-ink sketches. The works were serialized regionally: Volume 1 (The Western Fells) through Volume 7 (The North Western Fells), framing a classification that is both literary and topographical rather than strictly metric. The Wainwright list differs from metric-based lists like the Nuttalls (2,000 feet criterion) and administrative lists used by Ordnance Survey and conservation agencies. Additions and subtractions proposed by later authors and clubs — for example lists produced by the Long Distance Walkers Association and editorial projects in periodicals such as The Fellrunner — have debated summit criteria, prominence, and access rights. Wainwright's influence also intersected with personalities and institutions including Alfred Wainwright's contemporaries and successors, local councils such as Cumbria County Council, and national organisations like English Heritage.

List of Wainwrights

The canonical 214 include major and minor tops from the Howgill Fells fringe to the Western Lake District, arranged by Wainwright's seven volumes: notable entries are Scafell, Scafell Pike, Helvellyn Lower Man, Helvellyn, Skiddaw Little Man, Skiddaw, Blencathra (Saddleback), Allen Crags, Bowfell, Great End, Lingmell, Saddleback (Blencathra), Pike of Stickle, Gable, and Crinkle Crags. The list is used by hillwalkers, fell-runners, and mountaineering clubs such as the British Mountaineering Council and local clubs including the Keswick Mountain Rescue volunteer groups. Wainwright's non-metric choices mean some summits are excluded from lists by UIAA or metric prominence standards; nonetheless the Wainwright list remains a discrete cultural and navigational corpus.

Routes and Popular Ascents

Classic routes described by Wainwright include the Helvellyn ridge traverses via Striding Edge and Swirral Edge, the Scafell Pike ascent from Wasdale Head or Seathwaite, and circular walks from Ambleside to Loughrigg and Fairfield. Popular long-distance itineraries combine multiple Wainwrights on rounds such as the Cumbria Way and bespoke challenges like the full Wainwright round completed by ultra-distance athletes and members of organisations such as British Athletics-affiliated clubs. Mountain rescue incidents on items like Striding Edge and wild-weather exposures near Eskdale have involved coordinated responses from services including Mountain Rescue England and Wales and local volunteer brigades. Guidebook publishers and mapping authorities such as the Ordnance Survey produce route maps used in conjunction with Wainwright's narrative lines.

Cultural and Recreational Significance

Wainwrights have shaped outdoor culture, inspiring literature, photography, and events centred on peaks like Great Gable—a focal point for commemorations such as memorials to George Mallory and mountaineering heritage. Fell running races (for example those in Borrowdale and around Blencathra), organised by bodies like the Fell Runners Association, and walking festivals in Keswick and Ambleside draw participants who reference Wainwright's pages. The guides have influenced artists and writers linked to the Lake District tradition, from associations with William Wordsworth and the Romantic poets to contemporary outdoor writers featured in periodicals like The Guardian travel pages and Countryfile programming. Tourism impact touches local enterprises including National Trust tea rooms, Stagecoach bus routes that serve trailheads, and accommodation providers in market towns such as Grasmere.

Conservation and Management

Management of Wainwright fells involves stakeholders including the Lake District National Park Authority, National Trust, private landowners, and conservation charities such as Friends of the Lake District and Cumbria Wildlife Trust. Issues include erosion on popular ascents (notably on Helvellyn and Catbells), footpath repair programmes funded by partnerships with organisations like the Heritage Lottery Fund, and access negotiations under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. Visitor management strategies employ waymarking, parking controls by local councils, and education initiatives delivered by visitor centres in Keswick and Windermere. Ongoing debates involve balancing recreation, biodiversity protection for species recorded by Natural England, and cultural landscape conservation recognised by the UNESCO World Heritage Site designation for the Lake District.

Category:Lake District