Southern Fells Wainwrights

The Scafells sit in the middle of this area: Scafell Pike, Scafell and Great End. Bowfell, Esk Pike and Crinkle Crags carry the high ground east towards Langdale. South of them are the Coniston fells, among them Coniston Old Man, Swirl How, Wetherlam and Dow Crag. The ground is high and rocky in the centre and turns to moorland in the south-west.

You get in from the heads of four valleys: Wasdale, Borrowdale, Great Langdale and Eskdale. Passes link them over Sty Head, Stake Pass, Rossett Gill, Grains Gill and Esk Hause, so a big day here often goes from one valley into the next. The car park at the head of Wastwater is the start for six of the 30 fells in our data. Old Dungeon Ghyll in Langdale, Birks Bridge in the Duddon valley and Seatoller in Borrowdale come up again and again. Coniston is the base for the fells above the village.

Wainwright stopped short of the country south-west of Green Crag, writing that "the scenery quickly deteriorates" there. In the west, Illgill Head and Whin Rigg form the Wastwater Screes above the lake.