Walking guides
Guides to the Wainwrights
Lists of fells worth walking together: the ones you can start from a town, the ones with a tarn on top, the gentle ones and the ones to save for winter.
Town guides
The Wainwrights you can walk from each Lake District town, with parking and buses.
Town guide · 12 fells
Wainwrights from AmblesideTwelve Wainwrights start on foot from Ambleside, including all eight tops of the Fairfield Horseshoe, Loughrigg Fell, Wansfell, Red Screes and Middle Dodd.Read the guide
Town guide · 21 fells
Wainwrights from BorrowdaleMore than twenty Wainwrights start in Borrowdale, from Castle Crag above Rosthwaite to Great End at the head of Seathwaite, with the 78 bus every half hour and the Honister Rambler over the pass.Read the guide
Town guide · 11 fells
Wainwrights from BraithwaiteEight Wainwrights start on foot from Braithwaite, the whole Coledale Horseshoe among them, and the X5 and Honister Rambler add Whinlatter, Lord's Seat and Barf.Read the guide
Town guide · 21 fells
Wainwrights from ButtermereTwelve Wainwrights start on foot from Buttermere village or the head of the lake, from Rannerdale Knotts to the High Stile ridge, and the Honister Rambler puts Honister and Lanthwaite Green a short ride away.Read the guide
Town guide · 9 fells
Wainwrights from ConistonAll seven Coniston fells start on foot from the village, the Old Man, Dow Crag, Brim Fell, Swirl How, Great Carrs, Grey Friar and Wetherlam, and Holme Fell and Black Fell are close by.Read the guide
Town guide · 19 fells
Wainwrights from Glenridding and PatterdaleTwelve Wainwrights start on foot from Glenridding and Patterdale, Helvellyn by Striding Edge among them, and the 508 and 509 buses add seven more at Hartsop and Aira Force.Read the guide
Town guide · 16 fells
Wainwrights from GrasmereSixteen Wainwrights start on foot from Grasmere, from Helm Crag and Silver How to Fairfield, Seat Sandal and High Raise, with the 555 and 599 buses at the door.Read the guide
Town guide · 15 fells
Wainwrights from KeswickTen Wainwrights start on foot from Keswick, from Latrigg and Walla Crag to Skiddaw and the Newlands ridge, and the buses put five more within easy reach.Read the guide
Town guide · 9 fells
Wainwrights from Pooley BridgeThree Wainwrights start on foot from Pooley Bridge along the old Roman road, and the steamer, the Ullswater Hopper and the 508 bus open up Howtown, Martindale and Aira Force.Read the guide
Town guide · 18 fells
Wainwrights from WasdaleSeventeen Wainwrights start in Wasdale, from Scafell Pike and Great Gable at Wasdale Head to the quiet Greendale fells by the lake. There is no bus, so plan the car or a night in the valley.Read the guide
Town guide · 14 fells
Wainwrights from Windermere and BownessHardly any Wainwrights start on foot from Windermere or Bowness, but the 508 bus to Troutbeck and Kirkstone, the 555 to Staveley for Kentmere and the 599 to Ambleside put fourteen within a short ride.Read the guide
Fell lists
The easy ones, the scrambles, the fells with a tarn on top and the ones to save for winter.
Fell list · 214 fells
Dog-friendly Wainwrights: fells, leads and livestockMost Wainwrights suit a fit dog. The ones we'd start with, the rules on leads and livestock, which fells have awkward stiles, cattle or no water, and how to handle a hot day.Read the guide
Fell list · 68 fells
Family-friendly Wainwrights: loops, lakes and picnic topsWainwrights for a family day with mixed ages, from grandparents to teenagers: gentle loops, lakeside starts, bluebells, ospreys and a summit worth a picnic.Read the guide
Fell list · 44 fells
Quiet Wainwrights: remote Lake District fells with room to breatheThe fells back o' Skiddaw, above Ennerdale, around Haweswater and in the boggy middle of the Central Fells, where you can walk all day and meet almost nobody, and what you need to do it safely.Read the guide
Fell list · 10 fells
The Coledale Horseshoe: five or six Wainwrights, and room for moreThe Coledale Horseshoe from Braithwaite bags five Wainwrights on the WalkLakes line and six on the Coledale Round, with Grasmoor, Whiteside and Scar Crags all close enough to add. Routes, parking, direction, the rough bits and the buses.Read the guide
Fell list · 12 fells
The Fairfield Horseshoe: eight Wainwrights in one dayThe Fairfield Horseshoe bags eight Wainwrights in a single round from Ambleside. Where to park, which way round to go, how far it is, the bits that catch people out, and how to get there by bus.Read the guide
Fell list · 14 fells
The Kentmere Horseshoe: eight Wainwrights, or nine with High StreetThe Kentmere Horseshoe bags eight Far Eastern Wainwrights in one long round from Kentmere village, and a short detour adds High Street. Parking, direction, distance, the rough bits, escape routes and how to get there without a car.Read the guide
Fell list · 11 fells
The Mosedale Horseshoe: Pillar, Red Pike and the Wasdale leftoversThe Mosedale Horseshoe from Wasdale Head bags up to six Wainwrights, including Yewbarrow, Kirk Fell and Pillar, three of the most common last fells on the completion registers. Versions, parking, direction, the scree and the scrambles.Read the guide
Fell list · 6 fells
The Newlands Horseshoe: six Wainwrights around the Newlands valleyThe Newlands Horseshoe bags six Wainwrights, from Catbells to Robinson, in one round from Little Town or Hawse End. Where to park, which way round, how far it is, the summits the path skips, escape routes and the bus and launch.Read the guide
Fell list · 64 fells
The best Wainwright ridge walks and horseshoesThe Fairfield, Kentmere, Coledale, Newlands and Mosedale horseshoes, plus shorter ridges like Longside Edge and the Buttermere skyline, with distances, climbs and how many Wainwrights each one bags.Read the guide
Fell list · 10 fells
The easiest Wainwrights: where to startTen Wainwrights you can climb in under an hour and a half with less than 300 metres of ascent, with the real distances, climbs and times for each.Read the guide
Fell list · 18 fells
The hardest Wainwrights to bag: the awkward leftoversThe hardest Wainwrights to bag are rarely the highest. They are the fells beside the famous routes, and the outliers at the edge of the map. Why each one gets left, with a one-day plan to clear it.Read the guide
Fell list · 37 fells
The most popular Wainwrights, and how to beat the crowdsScafell Pike, Helvellyn, Catbells and the other busiest fells in the Lake District, with the quieter routes up each and the times and buses that keep you out of the queue.Read the guide
Fell list · 9 fells
Wainwright scrambles: the edges, rakes and bad stepsThe Wainwrights whose classic routes need your hands on rock, including Striding Edge, Sharp Edge, Jack's Rake and the Bad Step, with their grades and the walkers' way round.Read the guide
Fell list · 21 fells
Wainwrights for kids: easy fells for childrenThe Wainwrights we'd pick for children, from Latrigg and Walla Crag to Catbells and Black Fell, with where to park, what to watch for and how to keep small legs going to the top.Read the guide
Fell list · 43 fells
Wainwrights to avoid in bad weather, and where to go insteadThe fells to save for a clear, calm day: the edges and rakes, the high rough tops where it is easy to go wrong in cloud, and the summits with crags beside the path, plus low fells for the days when the tops are out.Read the guide
Fell list · 17 fells
Wainwrights with summit tarnsSeventeen Wainwrights with a tarn on the summit itself, from Red Screes and Haystacks to Thunacar Knott and Lank Rigg, and the famous tarns that sit too far below their fells to count.Read the guide
Fell list · 167 fells
Wainwrights with the best viewsThe Wainwrights with the best summit views, from short climbs over Derwentwater and Ullswater to the high tops where you can see Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland.Read the guide
Fell list · 10 fells
Winter Wainwrights: fells you can still reach when the passes shutLow Wainwrights you can reach from valley roads and all-year bus routes when Honister, Hardknott, Wrynose and Kirkstone are closed, each short enough for a December day.Read the guide
Planning your round
How long a round takes, where people finish it and how to register when you do.
Planning · 5 fells
Doing the Wainwrights together: couples, clubs and dogsA third or more of registered Wainwright completions are shared finishes. How couples, families, clubs and dog owners walk a round together, and how to keep two rounds in step.Read the guide
Planning
How long does it take to walk all 214 Wainwrights?Most people take between 10 and 20 years of regular visits to walk all 214 Wainwrights. How that turns into walking days, and what the quickest rounds look like.Read the guide
Planning
How to register your Wainwrights completionTwo registers record people who have walked all 214 Wainwrights, one kept by the Wainwright Society and one by the LDWA. What each asks for, what it costs and how to send your claim.Read the guide
Planning · 214 fells
The Wainwrights in numbersHeights, the seven books, the fastest rounds and what the Wainwright Society and LDWA registers of completions show about how a round ends, with a source for every figure.Read the guide
Planning · 78 fells
Wainwrights by bus: the Lake District without a carWhich Lake District buses reach which Wainwrights, the two railway stations to arrive at, and the one-way walks over the tops that only work if you left the car at home.Read the guide
Planning · 214 fells
Wainwrights for beginners: a first-timer's guideThe Wainwrights are the 214 Lake District fells described in Alfred Wainwright's seven Pictorial Guides. How people plan a round, where to start, what to carry and how to keep track.Read the guide
Planning · 14 fells
Where people finish the Wainwrights: what the two completion registers showOn the Wainwright Society's register the most common last Wainwright is Great End, followed by Haystacks and Castle Crag. On the LDWA's it is Castle Crag. What both lists show, and how to choose your own last fell.Read the guide
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