The Wainwright fells of the English Lake District, a collection of photographs taken while hiking and wild camping on these beautiful fell tops while completing the 214 Wainwrights.
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April 2022 - Angletarn Pikes, Brock Crags and Rest Dodd
It's Easter 2022 and a catch up with a friend, who's hiking the Munros, inspired me to book a couple of nights stay over in the Lakes to crack on with exploring Wainwright's Lake District fells, basing myself in pretty Patterdale. As I'd not done much hill walking for a while I did a nice and easy going little round from Patterdale up to Angletarn Pikes, Brock Crags and Rest Dodd and back. Conditions were hazy so I didn't take many photos, but the walking was excellent as there was just a slight breeze and it stayed dry with just a slight nip in the air in the morning. While taking a break in the shelter of some crags I spotted a herd of red deer grazing just down from Angletarn Pikes, the second time I've seen red deer while out climbing the fells in this part of the Lakes. The haze lifted a little on the way back down and some mood set it, with moments of fleeting light as I hiked back over Satura Crags, so I stopped to take a couple of big camera photos of the tarns (which were brimming with frogspawn!), crags and distant mountains, before pressing on back down to Patterdale in time to buy an ice-cream before the shops closed. That was a really lovely walk - and one I shall do again in order to visit The Nab, which I didn't have the legs for this time. 95 Wainwrights left to go, shall hopefully get a few more in this year!
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May 2021 - Steel Fell, Calf Crag and Gibson Knott
It's May 2021, restrictions have lifted and we're allowed to travel and stay over in other counties again, so, for me, that means getting back over to the Lakes to catch up with friends and to crack on with hiking the Wainwrights. I stayed at Derwentwater Independent Hostel to do some photography for old friends ready for the hostels reopening, including taking lots of photos of their fabulous new camping pods, a couple of photos of which are below - they are 4 berth, dog friendly, with heating and USB and power points, and with stunning views across Derwent Water over to Catbells and Maiden Moor. Before doing the hostel photography, though, I took a day off for a leg stretch and headed over to Grasmere to do a small round from there, to take in 3 of the Central fells - Steel Fell, Calf Crag and Gibson Knott. It was so good to be up on the fells again and, as it was mid-week, there were only a few other walkers around. I've just 3 Wainwrights left to do in the Central fells now, including Helm Crag, which I'm thinking of making my final Wainwright. That's a fair way off yet as I've got 98 left to do, having now completed 116 of the 214 Wainwrights. Can't wait to get back over again for more! Here are some photos of Derwentwater Hostel's new pods, and from the Steel Fell round.
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2011 to February 2020 - the first half of my Wainwrights adventures
My Wainwrights journey started in 2011, although I don't think I really knew much about Wainwright back then, but I certainly fell in love with the Lake District fells on that day and have never looked back. A friend and I headed over to Wastwater for a couple of days camping at the National Trust camp site - what a location, sleeping under the looming peaks of Great Gable, Scafell and Scafell Pike, with a fantastic Lakes pub just down the road, the Wasdale Head Inn. After a big dinner at the pub and a good night's sleep we hiked our first fell - handsome Great Gable - a superb climb to start us off, the climb up was fantastic. Gable characteristically had his head in the clouds so we had no views, but the quiet stillness of his rocky plateau summit made a lasting impression, an unforgettable day.
With our appetites well and truly whetted by Gable, we headed back a few weeks later to climb England's highest mountain, Scafell Pike. We headed up via the Mickledore route and what a route that was, for only the second time I'd been up a fell to say I was blown away would be an understatement! We had views most of the way to the top, it was a stunning day to be in the Lakes, only the last 100 metres or so were in the cloud but again that felt amazing - we'd climbed England's highest mountain and into the cloud! As we dropped down the summit towards Broad Crag and Great End the views opened up again and they were outstanding. Then we dropped down to Styhead Tarn and down the path along Gable's flank back down to the Wasdale Head Inn for one of their huge portion dinners, school dinner-style puddings and a pint or two - absolutely epic day and still one of the best days I've ever had in the Lakes!
And that was that for a few years. Fast forward to my 40th birthday and I decided that a great way to celebrate would be to climb 40 hills that year - starting off with Cheviot in Northumberland one superb snowy day in March 2013, then Hedgehope hill again in the snow, and then I headed over to the Lake District to continue climbing Wainwrights but this time knowing I was doing so having found out about Alfred Wainwright and bought a box set of his beautiful books.
Foolishly what I didn't do is keep a good journal of where I climbed and when, and, with having been working on the Northumberland guidebook for the past four years, it's been a while since I've properly been into the swing of exploring the Wainwrights so I've forgotten some of where I've been. I think I'm up to about 110 out of 214 - shall check through my photos and maps to be sure.
My last venture over to the Lake District was before Covid struck, back in Feb 2020, when I headed over one icy weekend to climb Selside Pike and Branstree above Haweswater Reservoir, a wonderfully peaceful part of the Lake District. Conditions were stunning, with mackerel skies, a dusting of snow and barely another soul around - the fells were so quiet that a herd of red deer passed by while I sat and had lunch - a magical day to be up paying my respects to Wainwright and giving thanks to him for his beautiful books that encourage me and many others to explore the Lake District more intimately than we otherwise might.
A collection of images from other Wainwrights hill days.
