I wasn’t specifically setting out to doing the wainwrights but having bagged quite a few over the years it now seems like finishing them is a reasonable challenge, especially since I now fell run. 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

If you choose this route, don’t forget to stop off at the hermit caves where adventurer Millican Dalton lived for many years. We love: Room 12 for its extra space and lovely views across the gardens and Derwentwater. Rooms 46, 47, 48, and 49 are first-floor garden rooms, each with their own balcony. As there are so many Wainwrights to explore, it means there is a real variety of fells in terms of terrain and incline level which is great as it means there really is something for everyone. Some of the more popular fells that people of an average fitness level can enjoy include Catbells, Hallin Fell and High Rigg, Binsey. Latrigg is one of the lowest fells, and so it's a great walk for almost everyone that still boasts beautiful views. Basically, there is so much good fell walking within easy reach of Elder Grove B&B that it’s hard to cover it in a blog post. We’ve loved exploring the area and we hope you’ll enjoy finding out more and then exploring the fells using Elder Grove B&B as your base. We’re always interested in our guests’ experiences so, if you bag a Wainwright (or three) during your stay with us, please let us know how you got on so that we can pass on your advice to future visitors. Classic Rooms are comfortable en-suite guest rooms, ideal for a peaceful night's sleep. Amenities include free Wi-Fi, tea and coffee-making facilities, toiletries (hand wash, shampoo, and shower gel), and a TV.

Thankfully the 8 wainwright walks that we’ve completed have simple routes that begin and end close to where you park your car. 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 book provides fascinating route choices for areas with awkwardly, scattered peaks where planning your route without local knowledge would certainly not be as efficient. I really loved the clarity with which the authors highlight the location of the Wainwright summit which is often not the fell's true high point. Not really seen that as clear in any Wainwright guide before. Though not easy, bagging the Wainwrights is a popular pastime in part because the majority of the peaks are relatively accessible. If you want to get started, here’s what we recommend: The paths are easy to follow and the view from the top opens up with Ullswater below you and the stupendous fells of Martindale behind. It’s certain to inspire you onwards with your Wainwright Bagging journey!

The North Western Fells – Walking The Wainwrights The summit of Rannerdale Knotts on the North Western Walking The Wainwrights route Over fifty years ago, renowned British hillwalker and guidebook author Alfred Wainwright described 214 peaks in the English Lake District in his seven-volume illustrated Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. Like the Munros in Scotland, bagging all the Wainwrights has become a popular and significant challenge for walkers and runners, often taking many years in fits and starts because of the absence of a clear plan for how to link them together.The Wainwrights are a collection of 214 fells in the English Lake District. Collected together for no other reason than they were the favourites of Alfred Wainwright, a British walker, illustrator and author. The books fall into seven volumes, each featuring a specific area of the Lake District national park. My only issue with the book is the use of the Jones Ross formula for working out the timings, as an inexperienced walker will assume they’re in the ‘walker’ category. This however sets a pace of 5 kmph which is quite fast. There are some great ideas for collecting some of the more obscure summits, those small enough to be potentially rubbish walks. However, ideas like encircling Elterwater will link these up perfectly. The Central Fells – Walking The Wainwrights The Howitzer – the summit of Helm Crag on the Central Fells route during the Walking the Wainwrights adventure Anyone who knows me knows that one of my favourite things to do is plan peak bagging routes. I enjoy it almost as much as the hiking itself!

While evening entertainment varies from house to house, the HF Holidays Big Pub Quiz held after dinner on Wednesdays is a weekly staple. Your HF Holidays Leader may be around for tips on guided and self-guided walking routes as well as visit-worthy local attractions. I planned each of my Wainwright bagging routes in the komoot app. Primarily, I used the following resources to plan my Wainwright walks – The Wainwrights have become a right of passage for many Lake District locals, as well as being a draw for ramblers all over the UK. This collection of Fells offer an incredible variety with the Wainwrights walks encompassing some of the best views in the Lakes. Walking the Wainwrights has become a challenge for many with walkers using the Wainwrights list to ‘bag’ as many as possible. What Is Wainwright Bagging? Their favoured path? "Hall's Fell is a good route,” says Dan. “There's a bit of scrambling - though you can avoid it if you'd like - and then there's nothing too exposed. The key thing is that you pop out straight at the top. Then you’re able to look south, along The Dodds towards Helvellyn." You've also got Aira Force at the bottom, which is one of the most popular waterfalls in the Lake District. So it's a great place to go, both as a short walk, or as part of a longer trek. In the book we do Gowbarrow and then a couple of the other, adjacent lower hills - Great Mell Fell and Little Mell Fell. But Gowbarrow is the nicest in the area.A quirky part of my Wainwright bagging was that I planned each of my Wainwright routes to start and finish at a Lake District bus stop. The Western Fells – Walking The Wainwrights Adventurer Nic walks along Mellbreak in the Western fells on the Walking the Wainwrights adventure If you have completed all of the Wainwrights, you can apply to be listed on a register held by the Long Distance Walkers Association (Image credit: David C Tomlinson) I wish I’d had this book when I first started out! The trouble with not intending to bag wainwrights is the chances are there’s walks done which haven’t been efficient for gaining the most summits, however amazing the routes might have been. Karen continues: "It's a good example of one of the fells that people probably wouldn't bother to go up if it wasn't a Wainwright. So it's great that it encourages people to get up something different." Wainwright Two: Blencathra (868m) Looking out over the Lake District from Sharp Edge, Blencathra. Photo: Getty

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.Start with the smaller peaks such as Castle Crag, Latrigg and Loughrigg and work you way up to the big ones. Wainwright Bagging” has become a popular challenge over the years. If you haven’t heard of it, it involves climbing to the top of all 214 Cumbrian fells that author Alfred Wainwright described in his famous walking guides. It’s an amazing way to see different parts of the Lake District and to challenge yourself to get to know the mountains.