What is a Wainwright?

A wainwright is a person who makes and repairs wagons. Oh, not what you meant? Okay. The hills. The Wainwrights are a collection of 214 fells in the Lake District. But perhaps a better question would be “Who was Wainwright?” Alfred Wainwright was a Blackburn accountant who, after walking up Orrest Head on a holiday in 1930 when he was 23, fell in love with the fells and dedicated much of his life to creating a series of beautifully illustrated guides to the Lakeland hills. The end result was a series of seven books covering the different areas of the Lake District. Because nothing quite so comprehensive or meticulously compiled had existed before (or arguably since), Wainwright’s Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells became the go-to reference work for hillwalkers. Within the pages of those seven volumes, AW (as he’s come to be affectionately known) detailed 214 Lake District hills in exquisite detail. The aim of walking all of 'the Wainwrights' was soon adopted by hillwalkers, and it’s a goal that many still have in their sights today. AW died in 1991, but his legacy lives on in the hills he loved.

Wainwright’s guides are the go-to reference for hillwalkers