The Wainwrights
The Wainwrights are 214 named fells in the Lake District, selected and documented by Alfred Wainwright in his seven-volume Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells, published between 1955 and 1966. A fell earns the name simply by appearing in one of those seven books. There is no minimum height, no topographic prominence rule, no committee vote: just Wainwright's own judgment, applied fell by fell across a decade of Lake District exploration.
Completing all 214 has become one of the great British walking challenges. The speed record stands at under seven days; most walkers take years, returning to the fells season by season and ticking off the regions one by one.
All 214 Fells
The complete list of all 214 Wainwright fells, sortable by height, name and region. Click any fell name for a full walking route, OS grid reference and summit details.
Browse the listInteractive Map
All 214 Wainwright fells plotted on an interactive Lake District map. Click any summit marker to see the fell height, region and a link to a full walking route guide.
Open the map51 Walks Collection
Complete all 214 Wainwrights across 51 carefully planned walking routes. Each route includes distance, total ascent, difficulty rating, GPX download and a Hiiker link.
View all walksProgress Tracker
Log every fell you've climbed, record the date, and track your tally across all seven regions. Earn badges as you hit milestones, from your first summit through to completing all 214.
My ProgressTrack every summit you've stood on
Create a free account to record which of the 214 Wainwrights you've climbed and the date you stood on each summit. Your progress syncs across the fell list and the interactive map, with purple stars marking your conquered summits and completed fells highlighted in the list.
Earn badges as your tally grows: percentage milestones at 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% of all 214, count badges from your first summit through to the full round, and a dedicated badge for completing each of the seven regions.
Getting started on the Wainwrights
There are two books worth having before you head out. Wainwright's own Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells are as much a work of art as a walking guide: seven hand-illustrated volumes covering every fell in meticulous, affectionate detail. First published between 1955 and 1966, they remain the definitive record of the Lake District fells and are still a pleasure to read long after you have climbed the summits they describe. For a practical modern companion, Peak Bagging the Wainwrights is my favourite current guide to the challenge, with a clear, walker-focused approach to planning your Wainwright bagging campaign sensibly.
For navigation on the fells you will need the OS Explorer 1:25,000 series: OL5 (North East Lake District), OL4 (North West Lake District), OL6 (South West Lake District) and OL7 (South East Lake District). All four sheets are needed to cover the full Wainwright round. A reliable compass is essential: phone signal on the high fells is unreliable and Lake District weather can change quickly. Good trail shoes, a day pack and a lightweight waterproof jacket round out the essentials for most Wainwright routes.
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Popular Wainwrights
A few places to startFrequently asked questions
What is a Wainwright?
A Wainwright is one of the 214 named Lake District fells selected and documented by Alfred Wainwright in his Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells, seven hand-illustrated volumes published between 1955 and 1966. The fells were chosen entirely by Wainwright himself. There is no official height threshold, no topographic prominence requirement: a fell qualifies simply by appearing in one of his seven books. The list ranges from Scafell Pike at 978m down to Castle Crag at 290m, the only fell below 1,000 feet that Wainwright considered worth including.
How many Wainwrights are there?
There are 214 Wainwright fells in total, spread across seven regions of the Lake District: Eastern, Far Eastern, Central, Southern, Northern, North Western, and Western. The number is fixed and has not changed since Wainwright completed his seventh volume in 1966. Our complete list of all 214 Wainwrights is sortable by height, region, and name.
How long does it take to complete all the Wainwrights?
There is no typical time. The speed record stands at under seven days; most leisure walkers take between five and twenty years, returning to the Lake District season by season. How long it takes depends on how often you visit and how many fells you combine on each day out. Our 51 walks collection groups all 214 into logical day routes to help you plan an efficient campaign through the fells.
Can I track which Wainwrights I've climbed?
Yes. Create a free account on the My Progress page and you can log every fell you climb, record the date you stood on the summit, and watch your tally build across all seven regions. Fells can be marked from the All 214 Fells list by clicking the circle button on any row, or from the interactive map by clicking a summit marker and using the button in the info panel. Your climbed fells are highlighted in the list and shown as purple stars on the map. As you progress you earn badges at percentage milestones, at count milestones from your first summit through to all 214, and a dedicated badge for completing each of the seven regions.
What is the easiest Wainwright?
Catbells (451m, North Western Fells) is widely considered the most accessible Wainwright: a short, well-maintained path, a clear summit, and one of the best views in the Lake District over Derwentwater. Loughrigg Fell (335m) and Latrigg (368m) are also popular first Wainwrights, both offering straightforward walks with rewarding summit panoramas. Any of the three makes an excellent introduction to Wainwright bagging. When you're ready to step up, Helvellyn via Striding Edge is the classic progression: one of the great Lake District ridge walks, and a fell every serious Wainwright bagger returns to.