The Wainwrights Hike

Day 1 – Coniston Fells

13 miles and around 6.5 hrs walking.
Weather on the day: Clear sky – hot hot hot!

1-Wetherlam (763m), 2-Swirl How (802m), 3-Great Carrs, 4-Grey Friar (773m), 5-Brim Fell (796m), 6-Coniston Old Man (802m), and 7-Dow Crag (778m)

Top of Coniston Old Man

Day 2 – Head of Langdale

12.5 miles and 6.5 hrs of walking.
Weather on the day: Clear sky – hot hot hot!

1-Pike of Blisco (705m), 2-Cold Pike (701m), 3-Crinkle Crags (859m), 4-Bowfell (903m), 5-Esk Pike (885m), and 6-Rossett Pike (651m)

Start of the ascent of Crinkle Crags looking down into Langdale.

Day 3 Part 1 – An Eskdale Medley

9 miles and 4.5 hrs walking.
Weather on the day: Clear sky – hot hot hot!

1-Hard Knott (549m), 2-Harter Fell (654m), and 3-Green Crag (489m)

Hard Knot Pass

Day 3 Part 2 – An Elter Water Excursion

14 miles and 4 hrs walking.
Weather on the day: Clear sky – hot hot hot!

1-Loughrigg Fell (335m), 2-Black Fell (323m), 3-Holme Fell (317m) and 4-Lingmoor Fell (470m)

Day 4 – Grike to Kirk Fell

15.5 miles and around 9 hours of walking
Weather on the day: Clear sky – hot hot hot!

1-Grike (488m), 2-Crag Fell (523m), 3-Lank Rigg, 4-Caw Fell (697m), 5-Haycock (797m), 6-Scoat Fell (841m), 7-Steeple (819m), 8-Pillar (892m) and 9-Kirk Fell (802m).

Ascent of Pillar

Day 5 –  Wast Water

14.5 miles and around 7.5 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Clear sky – hot hot hot!

1-Middle Fell (582m), 2-Seatallan (692m), 3-Buckbarrow (423m), 4-Whin Rigg (537m) and 5-Illgill Head (609m).

Ascent of Whinn Rigg looking over Wast Water

Day 6 –  More Wast Water

16 miles and around 8 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Clear sky – hot hot hot!

1-Lingmell (807m), 2-Scafell Pike (978m), 3-Scafell (964m), 4-Slight Side (762m), 5-Yewbarrow (627m), and 6-Red Pike (826m).

8am – Top of Scafell Pike

Day 7 Part 1 – Great Gable and Neighbours

7 miles and 4.5 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Clear sky – hot hot hot!

1-Grey Knotts (697m), 2-Brandreth (715m), 3-Great Gable (899m), 4-Green Gable (801m), 5-Base Brown (646m)

View from Great Gable

Day 7 Part 2 – Low Fell and Fellbarrow

5 miles and 2.5 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Clear sky – hot hot hot!

1-Low Fell (423m), 2-Fellbarrow (416m)

Day 8 – The Loweswater Fells

10 miles and 6 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Clear sky – hot hot hot!

1- Mellbreak (512m), 2-Hen Comb (509m), 3-Gravel Fell (526m), 4-Blake Fell (573m), and 5-Burnbank Fell (475m)

Mell Break, looking over Crummock Water

Day 9 – Coledale and Grasmoor

16 miles and 8 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Clear sky – hot hot hot!

1-Whiteside (707m), 2- Hopegill Head (770m), 3-Grisedale Pike (791m), 4-Sail (718m), 5-Crag Hill (839m), 6-Grasmoor (852m), 7-Wandope (772m), 8-Whiteless Pike (660m), 9-Rannerdale Knotts (355m).

Ridge of Hopegill Head

Day 10 – A Buttermere Marathon

16 miles and 8 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Wet with low cloud.

1-Great Borne (616m), 2-Starling Dodd (633m), 3-Red Pike (755m), 4-High Stile (807m), 5-High Crag (744m), 6-Hay Stacks (597m), Fleetwith Pike (648m).

Early morning ascent of Fleetwith Pike. High Stile and Red Pike in the background.

Waking up on day 10.

Day 11 – Great End and Glaramara

11 miles and 7 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Wet with low cloud.

1-Seathwaite Fell (632m), 2-Great End (910m), 3-Allen Crags (785m), 4-Glaramara (783m), 5-Rosthwaite Fell (Bessyboot) (612m)

Heading up to Great End

Day 12 – A Stonethwaite Medley

14 miles and 7 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Wet with low cloud.

1-Eagle Crag (521m), 2-Sergeant’s Crag (571m), 3-Ullscarf (726m), Great Crag (446m), Grange Fell (415m), Castle Crag (290m)

Stonethwaite Valley

Day 13 – The North Central Fells

12 miles and 7 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Fine/dry with patchy cloud.

1-Walla Crag (379m), 2-Bleaberry Fell (590m), 3-High Seat (608m), 4-Raven Crag (461m), 5-Armboth Fell (479m), 6-High Tove (515m)

The North Central Fells

Day 14 – The Newlands Watershed

15 miles and 7 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Howling winds and rain.

1-Catbells (451m), 2-Maiden Moor (576m), 3-High Spy (653m), 4-Dale Head (753m), 5-Hindscarth (727m), 6-Robinson (737m), 7-Knott Rigg (556m), 8-Ard Crags (581m), 9-Scar Crags (672m), 10-Causey Pike (637m)

Day 15 – The Wythop and Lorton Fells

11 miles and 6 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Wet. Low cloud, very windy!

1- Graystones (456m), 2-Ling Fell (373m), 3-Sale Fell (359m), 4-Broom Fell (511m), 5-Lord’s Seat (552m), 6-Barf (468m), 7-Whinlatter (517m)

Ascending Greystones

Day 16 – A Kirkstone – Dovedale Circuit

10 miles and 7 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Wet. Low cloud.

1-Harsop Dodd (618m), 2-Cauldale Moor (763m), 3-Red Scree (776m), 4-Middle Dodd (654m), 5-Middle Hart Crag (637m), 6-High Hartsop Dodd (519m)

Rainbow over Hartsop Dodd

Day 17 – The Western Martindale Fells

10 miles and 6 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Very windy + very wet = horizontal rain!

1-Place Fell (657m), 2-Angleton Pikes (567m), Brock Crag (562m), Beda Fell (507m)

Angle Tarn

Day 18 – The Greater Fairfield Horseshoe

11 miles and 4 hours of running.
Weather on the day: Sunny!

1-Nab Scar (455m), 2-Heron Pike (612m), 3-Stone Arthur (503m), 4-Great Rigg (766m), 5-Fairfield (873m), 6-Hart Crag (822m), 7-Hartsop How (582m), 8-Dove Crag (792m), 9-High Pike (658m), 10-Low Pike (508m)

Nab Scar

Day 19 – Grasmere to the Langdale Pikes

14 miles and 6.5 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Torrential rain from start to finish!

1-Silver How (395m), 2-Blea Rigg (541m), 3-Pavey Ark (700m), 4-Harrison Stickle (736m), 5-Loft Crag (682m), 6-Pike of Stickle (709m), 7-Thunacar Knott (723m), 8-Sergeant Man (736m), 9-High Raise (762m)

Descent to flooded Gasmere

Day 20 Part 1 – High Raise and Greenburn

10 miles and 4 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Low cloud.

1-Steel Fell (553m), 2-Calf Crag (537m), 3-Gibson Knott (422m), 4-Helm Crag (405m), Tarn Crag (551m)

Climbing the Howitzer on Helm Crag

Day 20 Part 2 – Wansfell

6 miles and 3.5 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Torrential rain. Low cloud.

1-Wansfell (488m), 2-Troutbeck Tongue (364m)

Day 21 – The Greater Kentmere Horseshoe

14 miles and 7.5 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Drizzle.

1-Sallows (516m), 2-Sour Howes (483m), 3-Yoke(706m), 4-Ill Bell (757m), 5-Froswick (720m), 6-Thornthwaite Crag (784m), 7-Gray Crag (699m), 8-High Street (828m), 9-Mardale Ill Bell (760m), 10-Harter Fell (778m), 11-Kentmere Pike (730m), 12-Shipman Knotts (587m),

Looking over Blea Water

Day 22 – A Swindale Round

11 miles and 5.5 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Intervals of low cloud and rain.

1-Selside Pike (655m), 2-Branstree (713m), 3-Tarn Crag (664m), 4-Grey Crag (638m)

+ (evening) 1 mile

5-Hallin Fell (388m)

Hallin Fell

Day 23 – The Eastern Martindale Fells

6 miles and 8.5 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Clear and cool.

1-Bronscale Pike (524m), 2-Arthurs Pike (533m), 3-Loadpot Hill (671m), 4-Wether Hill (670m), 5-High Raise (762m), 6-Kidsty Pike (780m), 7-Rampsgill Head (792m), 8-The Knott (739m), 9-Rest Dodd (696m), 10-The Nab (576m), 11-Steel Knotts (432m)

Hayeswater

Day 24 – Mungrisedale Common from Mosedale

11 miles and 6 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Clear and warm.

1-Souther Fell (522m), 2-Blencathra (868m), 3-Mungrisdale Common (633m), 4-Bannerdale Crags (683m), 5-Bowscale Fell (703m)

+ (evening) 2.5 miles.
6-Bakestall (667m)

Early start up Blencathra

Sharp Edge

Day 25 – Back o’ Blencathra

13.5 miles and 6 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Clear but windy.

1-Carrock Fell (663m), 2-High Peak (658m), 3-Knott (710m), 4-Great Calva (690m)

Carrock Fell

Day 26 – Back o’ Skiddaw

6 miles and 5.5 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Some clear patches, but mostly intervals of low cloud and showers.

1-Longlands Fell (483m), 2-Brae Fell (586m), 3-Great Scar Fell (651m), 4-Meal Fell (550m) 5-Great Cockup (526m)

+ (evening)

6-Binsey (447m)

Binsey

Day 27 – The Skiddaw Group

12.5 miles and 6 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Some clear patches, but mostly intervals of low cloud and showers.

1-Dodd (502m), 2-Carl Side (746m), 3-Long Side (734m), 4-Ullock Pike (692m), 5-Skiddaw (931m), 6-Little Man (865m), 7-Lonscale Fell (715m), 8-Latrigg (368m)

Skiddaw

Day 28 – Helvellyn

14 miles and 8 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Some clear patches, but mostly intervals of low cloud and showers.

1-Birkhouse Moor (718m), 2-Catstye Cam (890m), 3-White Side (863m), 4-Helvellyn (950m), 5-Nethermost Pike (891m), 6-Dollywaggon Pike (859m), 7-Seat Sandal (737m), 8-St Sunday Crag (841m), 9-Birks (624m), 10-Arnison Crag (433m)

Finding shelter on White Side

Day 29 – Glenridding

6 miles and 7.5 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Driving rain. Low cloud and very windy

1-Glenridding Dodd (442m), 2-Sheffield Pike (676m), 3-Hart Side (756m), 4-Raise (883m), 5-Stybarrow Dodd (844m), 6-Watson’s Dodd (789m), 7-Great Dodd (857m), 8-Clough Head (726m)

View from Glenridding Dodd

Day 30 – Barrow and Matterdale

6 miles and 4.5 hours of walking.
Weather on the day: Clear but very windy.

1-Outerside (568m), 2-Barrow (455m)

+ (afternoon) 11 miles

3-Gowbarrow Fell (481m), 4-Great Mell Fell (537m), 5-Little Mell Fell (505m)

Our 214th peak: Little Mell Fell

Statistics

Total distance hiked = 397 miles (average 13 miles/day)
Equivalent to London to Edinburgh.

Total ascent= 37,388m (average 1,245m/day)
Equivalent to going up and down Roseberry Topping 6 times a day for 30 consecutive days.
OR
Equivalent to 4 times up Everest from sea level.

Five pairs of footwear gone through, each; and ten pairs of socks.

Around 200 litres of water consumed (average 3 l/day each) .

60 Mars Bars and 100 energy gels consumed.