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Shaun Ferguson · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsGuide · England
The Wainwrights to do first
Ten fells to start a round of the 214, chosen for the view, the path and the chance of getting to the top with a smile on your face.
By the TRXO team · · 5 min read
- walks
- 10
- long
- 1.4–11.9 km
- biggest climb
- 910 m
- by public transport
- 2
- dog-friendly
- 10
Alfred Wainwright described 214 fells in seven hand-written guidebooks between 1955 and 1966, and people have been ticking them off ever since. Some of the 214 are great mountains; some are grassy lumps he included because they were there. The first few you do should be the great ones, or at least the ones with a great view, so that the habit sticks.
These ten are the fells we'd point a beginner at: a clear path, a summit that feels like a summit, and a view that explains the whole business. They range from Latrigg, which takes an hour, to Skiddaw, which takes a day. Tick them off on the hill lists page as you go; TRXO keeps count.
Where they are
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Applethwaite
Latrigg from Applethwaite
- 1.4 km distance
- 80 m ascent
- 0.5 h time
- Easy grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXThe lowest Wainwright worth climbing and the one to do first. From the Gale Road car park it's barely twenty minutes to the top, and the view down Derwentwater to Borrowdale is one Wainwright himself called the best in Lakeland for the effort. Do it on the evening you arrive.
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Keswick
Catbells
- 5.5 km distance
- 370 m ascent
- 2–3 h time
- Easy grade
- by public transport
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXThe fell everyone climbs first, and rightly. A short, sharp ridge with two rocky steps, a summit at 451 m with the lake on one side and Newlands on the other, and a launch across Derwentwater to the start. Wainwright wrote that it was 'one of the great favourites, a family fell where grandmothers and infants can climb the heights together'. Still true.
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Watsons Park
Walla Crag from Watsons Park
- 2.8 km distance
- 160 m ascent
- 1 h time
- Easy grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXAn hour from Keswick through Great Wood to a crag on the edge of Derwentwater with the whole lake below. It counts as a Wainwright, it's a wonderful viewpoint, and it's sheltered enough to do on a day when the big fells are in cloud. Carry on to Bleaberry Fell if you want a second tick.
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Caldbeck
Carrock Fell from Caldbeck
- 4.6 km distance
- 400 m ascent
- 1.5–2.5 h time
- Easy grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXA fell in the quiet north, 'back o' Skiddaw', with an Iron Age fort on top and a rocky east face that looks far harder than it is. The path from the Caldbeck road is steep for twenty minutes and then easy, and the summit is one of the few in the Lakes where you can stand alone on a Saturday. Wainwright's own favourite part of the district.
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Buttermere
Haystacks from Gatesgarth
- 6.3 km distance
- 520 m ascent
- 2.5–3 h time
- Moderate grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXWainwright's favourite fell, where his ashes are scattered by Innominate Tarn. From Gatesgarth at the head of Buttermere, the climb by Scarth Gap is steady and the summit is a maze of tarns and rock knolls with Pillar and Great Gable close enough to touch. The one to do when you want to understand what the fuss is about.
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Ormathwaite
Lonscale Fell from Ormathwaite
- 7.5 km distance
- 440 m ascent
- 2.5–3.5 h time
- Moderate grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXSkiddaw's eastern neighbour, climbed from the Gale Road by a track that runs round the shoulder of the big hill before a short pull to the top. Less than half the effort of Skiddaw for most of the view, and the east ridge drops away into the wild valley of the Glenderaterra. A good one for a half day.
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Coniston
Wetherlam from Coniston
- 5.4 km distance
- 620 m ascent
- 2.5–3 h time
- Moderate grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXThe big round-shouldered fell above Coniston, pocked with old copper mines. The route from the village climbs past the mine workings and the Red Dell to the summit at 763 m, with the whole Coniston range and Windermere in view. Harder than it looks, with 620 m of climbing, but on a clear path.
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Coniston
The Old Man of Coniston
- 8.8 km distance
- 740 m ascent
- 3.5–4.5 h time
- Moderate grade
- by public transport
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXThe classic first big fell. From Coniston village the path climbs past the quarries to Low Water, a tarn in a corrie, and zigzags to the summit cairn with the sea in view. It's busy, it's obvious, and it's a mountain. Add Wetherlam on another day; add Dow Crag on a good one.
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Little Town
Causey Pike, Ard Crags, Outerside and Barrow
- 9.7 km distance
- 910 m ascent
- 4–5 h time
- Moderate grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXThe knobbly top you see from Keswick, over the lake to the west. Causey Pike's summit has a short scramble to finish, and the ridge beyond it along to Ard Crags is one of the most enjoyable in the north-western fells, narrow and grassy with Newlands below. Two ticks, 900 m of climbing, a proper day.
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Keswick
Skiddaw from Latrigg car park
- 11.9 km distance
- 750 m ascent
- 4–5.5 h time
- Moderate grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXThe fourth-highest mountain in England and the gentlest of the four, up a broad path from the Gale Road. A long steady pull rather than anything hard, with Little Man on the way for a bonus tick, and from the top you can see the Solway, the Pennines and Scotland. Finish the first ten on this and you'll want the other 204.
Before you go
- The Gale Road car park above Keswick serves Latrigg, Lonscale Fell and Skiddaw; it fills early. Buses from Keswick reach Catbells (via the launch), Walla Crag and Braithwaite for Causey Pike.
- Wainwright used the 1950s summit heights; the modern ones differ by a metre or two. TRXO's hill list uses the Database of British and Irish Hills.
- Skiddaw, the Old Man and Wetherlam are full mountain days in winter and need winter kit.
- Tick fells off on your profile and TRXO tracks the round for you: 214 to go.
Questions people ask
What is the easiest Wainwright?
Latrigg from the Gale Road car park: twenty minutes, almost flat, and a famous view. Castle Crag in Borrowdale and Catbells are the easiest ones that feel like real hills.
How many Wainwrights are there?
214, across seven books: the Eastern, Far Eastern, Central, Southern, Northern, North Western and Western fells. The highest is Scafell Pike; the lowest is Castle Crag at 290 m.
How long does a Wainwright round take?
Most people take five to fifteen years of weekends. The record is under six days, which is not the point.
Do I need to climb them in order?
No. Start with the ones near where you're staying and the ones with the best views. That's what this list is for.
Read next
-
GuideThe best walks in the Lake District for a first visitTen walks that show you what the Lakes are about, from a two-hour stroll above Keswick to the long day on Scafell Pike.
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GuideWinter walks that don't need an ice axeTen hills that give you a proper winter day, big skies, frost and all, without the snow and ice that turn walking into mountaineering.
- Trail NotesAll postsEvery guide, article and blog post by the TRXO team.