How to Start the Wainwrights: A Practical Guide

Alfred Wainwright spent 13 years walking and drawing all 214 fells in his Pictorial Guides. People now come from Japan, Germany, the US, and Australia specifically to complete them. The Wainwrights are one of the most popular long-distance challenges in the world, and one of the least talked about outside the people who do them.

If you are thinking about starting, here is the honest version of how to go about it.

Do Not Start With Scafell Pike

Everyone wants to start with the highest. It is the obvious choice and it is the wrong one. Scafell Pike is 978 metres, 5 miles return from Wasdale with 900 metres of ascent on rough ground. If you are not already comfortable on the fells, starting there sets you up for a hard day and possibly puts you off.

Start with something you will enjoy. Catbells above Derwentwater is the classic beginner fell for a reason. 451 metres, easy path, extraordinary views. It takes two hours and leaves you wanting more. That is the right way to start a 214-fell project.

The Seven Books

Wainwright divided the fells into seven books by area. Book One covers the Eastern Fells, including Helvellyn. Book Two the Far Eastern Fells. Book Three the Central Fells. Book Four the Southern Fells, including Scafell Pike. Book Five the Northern Fells. Book Six the North Western Fells. Book Seven the Western Fells.

Most people do not work through them in order. They start in whatever area they know best and fill in gaps over years. Some people adopt a strategy of doing the fells by area to minimise travel. Others just tick whatever they fancy each trip. Both approaches work.

Keeping Track

The original Wainwright books each have a tick list at the back. A lot of people still use these. There are also several apps (Wainwright Walks, Walking Highlands) that let you log completions with GPS evidence. The Wainwright Society maintains an official register and issues completion certificates if that matters to you.

How long does it take? If you do a Lakes trip twice a year and bag 10 fells each time, you are looking at over 10 years. People who live closer and go more often can complete in two or three years. There is no right pace.

The Fells That Get Ignored

About 30 of the 214 fells are what completionists call the awkward ones: low summits in obscure corners, bogs with no view, hills that require a long drive to reach. You will do the good ones naturally. The awkward ones require deliberate planning. Build them into your later trips rather than saving them all for the end.

What You Actually Need

• →The Wainwright books (or the app) to know what you are counting
• →A 1:25,000 OS map for each area, or the OS Maps app
• →Decent boots, waterproof jacket, navigation skills
• →A log of completed fells (paper or digital)
• →The willingness to go on a bad-weather day occasionally
• →Realistic expectations about the awkward fells at the end

The first completion feels significant. People cry, apparently, at the top of the last fell. I have not done mine yet, so I cannot report back on that. But I understand it. These things accumulate meaning over years.