— A hill, a flask, and a questionable weather forecast
The Hills
There's something about being on a hill that fixes things. Not permanently. Just enough.
I'm working my way through the Wainwrights — Alfred Wainwright's 214 fells in the Lake District. 13 down, 201 to go. Slow, deliberate, and entirely worth it. No rush. The hills aren't going anywhere.
As the list grows, I'll add others. The Wainwrights won't be the last.
Who was Alfred Wainwright?
Alfred Wainwright (1907–1991) was a fell walker, illustrator, and writer from Blackburn, Lancashire. Between 1955 and 1966 he produced seven hand-drawn, hand-lettered pictorial guides to the Lake District fells — each page a meticulous combination of route notes, illustrations, and personal opinion.
He wasn't a professional writer or cartographer. He was a borough treasurer who spent his weekends on the fells and his evenings documenting them. The guides were originally produced for himself. That they became the definitive reference for generations of walkers is either a happy accident or proof that doing something properly, for the love of it, tends to find its audience.
He's not buried anywhere. His ashes were scattered at Innominate Tarn on Haystacks, a small tarn at 520 metres in the Western Fells and by his own account his favourite place in the Lakes. A fitting end for someone who spent a lifetime arguing that the fells were worth the effort.
The List
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The Old Man of Coniston
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Dow Crag
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Stoney Cove Pike
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Hartsop Dodd
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Blea Rigg
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Calf Crag
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Great Mell Fell
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Little Mell Fell
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Tarn Crag (Easedale)
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Gowbarrow Fell
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Gibson Knott
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Helm Crag
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Hallin Fell
Notes
The Old Man of Coniston & Dow Crag — 21/08/2023
Weather closed in fast. Cut the walk short. The hills aren't going anywhere.
Stoney Cove Pike & Hartsop Dodd — 28/08/2023
Jen's first time on properly exposed terrain. Steep, open, no hiding from the drop. She took it steady and nailed it.
Great Mell Fell — 30/07/2023
The first one. Walked with Jen — a gentle introduction to what would become a habit.
Blea Rigg, Calf Crag, Tarn Crag, Gibson Knott, Helm Crag — 02/06/2024
A brilliant day that ended badly. Jen picked up severe sunburn, the kind that stops being embarrassing and starts being genuinely dangerous. Lesson learned the hard way: suncream, hat, water. Every time. Even in the Lakes.
Hallin Fell — 08/03/2025
To be added as they get walked.