Central Fells14 The Langdale Pikes 11.6km15 Above Thirlmere 21.4km16 Grasmere Common 17.2km17 Stonethwaite Fells 17.9km

These ‘Wainwrights’ have now become the definitive list for anyone wanting to visit the summits of all the fells in the Lake District,” writes endurance athlete Steve Birkinshaw, who ran all of the Wainwrights in 2014, in the introduction to ' Peak Bagging: Wainwrights'. The new guidebook, written by Karen and Dan Parker (sister and brother-in-law of Steve) and published by Vertebrate Publishing is a complete guide to climbing all 214 of Wainwright’s Lake District fells in the most efficient way - with 45 routes included in the book. We usually take the route straight from our house,” says Dan. “That's from the east side; the Askham/Bampton side. There are several ridges that lead up. The central ridge is nice and gentle and it takes you to the top. There's a trig point at the top, but actually the trig point wasn't there when Wainwright wrote his books, so the Wainwright summit is about 50 metres south of there. Then to come down we would normally go north to Bonscale Pike. That's another interesting hill. There are some cairns, and towers, and good views out over Ullswater.” Wainwright Four: Fairfield (873m) Always a welcome sight; sunshine breaking through the clouds and shining on the fells of the Lake District. Photo: Getty

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Learn how to navigate in the fells. Navigation on a sunny day in summer is generally quite easy but get used to looking at the maps and knowing how to use a compass when it is nice because when the wind, rain and clouds come in, it is not the time to learn how to do it. Our 'Walk the Wainwrights - The Central Fells' planning map - along with over 50 sample walks and GPS Waypoint data files - is available FREE from a link in the current issue of our monthly Newsletter.

I have been drawn to the work of The acclaimed Lake District walker and writer Alfred Wainwright for as long as I have been visiting the Lake District. His 'Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells' are the most famous walking guide books ever written and they were an early reference point for me when planning my first walks in the National Park during the early 1990's. I use the Pictorial Guides to this day, the 50th anniversary edition of the original works. Hopefully, now you have a good understanding of the Wainwrights, their history and whether you’ve got the determination and fitness to climb them or not. It’s a magical feeling to even conquer just one of the beautiful fells; your journey will certainly inspire you and make you even more keen to climb the others. Please feel free to leave a comment below of what your favourite Wainwrights are! And that would be a real shame because the 59 Walk the Wainwrights walks we have selected visit some of the truly loveliest spots in the Lake District. Places where you should take time to linger and take in the stunning scenery. Places where perhaps you will get a little insight into what drew Alfred Wainwright himself to the area over and over again. There were no specific criteria to select the 214 distinctive peaks that would be (intimately) chronicled in Alfred Wainwright's seven-volume pictorial guide. Rather, their inclusion was based on Wainwright's appreciation for their prominence and character within the landscape.I love this book, both to see I’ve not made too many strategic errors in former peak bagging resulting in lone summits requiring a revisit, but also for the inspiration, beautiful photos and route ideas. The featured routes include a round of the Scafells, and the Glenridding Horseshoe, taking in Helvellyn and Catstycam.

Walk the Wainwrights in 59 Walks - The huge cairn on Bleaberry Fell in the Lake District Central Fells The authors are Karen and Dan Parker, who helped Steve Birkinshaw to optimise the route for his 2014 record completion of all the Wainwrights (Steve provides the introduction, which seems very fitting). There is a brief account of this in the book. It's one of the quieter hills,” says Dan. “Even though it's in the heart of Lakeland, south of Ullswater and Borrowdale. So many people set off from Seathwaite and head up Scafell Pike, and don't really consider other options. You come up Thorneythwaite Fell from Seathwaite, and then you do a bit of a scramble up to the top. The descent, over Rosthwaite Fell, is also great. Again, it's a knobbly ridge.” Some of the routes are logical, following horseshoes or classic ridgeline linkups, others a bit contrived. I’m not sure Id do the coniston round without including wetherlam, or do the under skiddaw route which includes skiddaw little man but not the main summit. These are like this to prevent summits featuring twice, but this is where you’re likely to use the book for inspiration and then start to deviate from routes. Karen and Dan have been running, walking and orienteering in the Lake District fells for over three decades now. "It's been part of my whole life," says Dan. We caught up with the Parkers to ask for five of their favourite Wainwrights routes. Wainwright One: Gowbarrow Fell (481m) Despite being a low fell, surrounding views mean Gowbarrow can feel quite mountainous. Photo: GettyPeak Bagging: Wainwrights will show lots of great routes. Strava Heat Map is also useful to tell you where other potential routes exist. It is worth noting that if the heat map becomes less strong and the routes spread out, the path will be less obvious at that point. Sitting in the far eastern fells, the hill is part of a 15.1km Fusedale Circuit which features in Karen and Dan's book, with 860m of ascent involved.