The Outlying Fells of Lakeland is a 1974 book written by Alfred Wainwright dealing with hills in and around the Lake District of England. It differs from Wainwright's Pictorial Guides in that each of its 56 chapters describes a walk, sometimes taking in several summits, rather than a single fell. This has caused some confusion on the part of authors attempting to prepare a definitive list of peaks. The Outlying Fells do not form part of the 214 hills generally accepted as making up the Wainwrights, but they are included in Category 2B of the Hill Walkers' Register maintained by the Long Distance Walkers Association. [1]
The first edition was published in 1974 by The Westmorland Gazette . It was republished by Michael Joseph in 1992 ( ISBN 0718140087) and a second edition, revised by Chris Jesty, was published by the Wainwright Society in 2020 ( ISBN 9780993592126).
The first edition is uniform with the seven volumes of Wainwright's Pictorial Guides, with a yellow band at head and foot of the dustjacket. The wording on the cover, in Wainwright's characteristic handwritten style, is:
THE OUTLYING FELLS OF LAKELAND
being a Pictorial Guide
to the lesser fells
around the perimeter of Lakeland
written primarily for
old age pensioners and others
who can no longer climb high fells
but can still, within reason, potter
about on the short and easy slopes
and summits of the foothills.
Below this, there is a pen sketch showing an elderly but sprightly walker approaching the summit of a small hill, and Wainwright's signature.
The arrangement of chapters in the book is clockwise starting in the south east, with the first chapter devoted to Scout Scar, a walk starting at Kendal Town Hall.
The list at the back of Wainwright's book contains 110 named fells and summits. Close inspection shows seven of them to refer to other hills in the list, while Newton Fell has two summits. Thus:
The addition of the 12 nameless summits brings the number of Wainwright's Outlying Fells to 116. This is 14 more than the 102 hills listed in John M. Turner's New Combined Indexes to A. Wainwright's Pictorial Guides (second edition, Lingdales Press, 1984). Turner's list omits two tops explicitly mentioned in the book (St. John's Hill and Newton Fell South) and the 12 nameless summits, and it contains many inaccuracies. [2]
A second edition of Wainwright's book, revised by Chris Jesty, was published by Frances Lincoln in 2011 ( ISBN 978-0-7112-3175-7). It maintains the same format but uses red to highlight paths on the route diagrams, and includes updated content (e.g. for Staveley Fell where Jesty says (p. 49) "There must be many people who, encouraged ... by the first edition of this book, have turned left and ... been turned back by an uncrossable fence." before providing an alternative route.)
The highest three summits listed by Wainwright are:
The lowest summits are:
The list below has been arranged in alphabetical order rather than height in order to align as far as possible with the list at the back of Wainwright's book. Summits are listed by the name used in the Database of British and Irish Hills, [4] with cross-references from other summit names used by Wainwright to the entries in this table. Each summit appears only once, with height and grid reference. The "page" column allows the list to be sorted into Wainwright's order of chapters, which is roughly geographical, moving clockwise round the area from Kendal in the east.
Summit | Height (m) | Relative height (m) | Grid ref. | Chapter | Page |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bannisdale Fell, Long Crag | 493 | 32 | NY515054 | The Bannisdale Horseshoe | 260 |
Beacon Fell | 255 | 128 | SD278907 | Beacon Fell | 98 |
Bigland Barrow | 193 | 23 | SD363839 | Bigland Barrow | 70 |
Black Combe | 600 | 362 | SD135854 | Black Combe | 162 |
Blawith Knott | 248 | 88 | SD260884 | Blawith Knott | 108 |
Boat How | 337 | 81 | NY177034 | Boat How | 178 |
Brant Fell | 191 | 65 | SD409961 | Brant Fell | 34 |
Brunt Knott | 427 | 21 | NY484006 | Potter Fell | 8 |
Buck Barrow | 549 | 72 | SD151910 | Whit Fell | 156 |
Burn Moor | 543 | 23 | SD151924 | Whit Fell | 156 |
Burney | 298 | 111 | SD260858 | Burney | 112 |
Caermote Hill | 289 | 59 | NY196371 | Caermote Hill | 206 |
Capplebarrow | 513 | 21 | NY508035 | The Bannisdale Horseshoe | 260 |
Carron Crag | 314 | 66 | SD325943 | Carron Crag | 88 |
Cartmel Fell see Raven's Barrow | Cartmel Fell | 42 | |||
Caw | 529 | 132 | SD230944 | Caw | 120 |
Claife Heights | 270 | 177 | SD382973 | Claife Heights | 80 |
Clints Crags | 245 | 10 | NY159352 | Clints Crags | 204 |
Cold Fell | 293 | 83 | NY058092 | Cold Fell | 196 |
Cunswick Scar | 207 | 37 | SD491943 | Scout Scar | 2 |
Dent | 345 | 5 | NY037130 | Flat Fell and Dent | 198 |
Dunmallet | 240 | 80 | NY467246 | Dunmallet | 214 |
Dunnerdale Fells | 280 | 12 | SD207918 | Dunnerdale Fells | 132 |
Faulds Brow | 344 | 26 | NY299407 | Faulds Brow | 210 |
Fewling Stones | 508 | 11 | NY513117 | Seat Robert | 236 |
Finsthwaite Heights | 180 | 0 | SD361883 | Finsthwaite Fell | 74 |
Flat Fell | 272 | 74 | NY052137 | Flat Fell and Dent | 198 |
The Forest, Bannisdale Horseshoe 3 | 528 | 40 | NY527035 | The Bannisdale Horseshoe | 260 |
Grandsire | 251 | 80 | SD432972 | School Knott | 30 |
Great Ladstones | 440 | 1 | NY532123 | Seat Robert | 236 |
Great Saddle Crag | 560 | 2 | NY526086 | The Wet Sleddale Horseshoe | 242 |
Great Stickle | 305 | 27 | SD211915 | Stickle Pike | 126 |
Great Worm Crag | 427 | 32 | SD193968 | Great Worm Crag | 136 |
Great Yarlside | 591 [note 1] | 6 | NY525075 | The Wasdale Horseshoe | 248 |
Green Pikes | 420 | 4 | SD236950 | Caw | 120 |
Gummer's How | 321 | 217 | SD390884 | Gummer's How | 44 |
Hampsfell | 220 | 1 | SD399793 | Hampsfell | 58 |
Hare Shaw | 503 | 13 | NY497131 | The Naddle Horseshoe | 224 |
Harper Hills | 414 | 4 | NY510144 | The Naddle Horseshoe | 224 |
Hesk Fell | 477 | 100 | SD176946 | Hesk Fell | 140 |
Heughscar Hill | 375 | 48 | NY488231 | Heughscar Hill | 216 |
High House Bank | 495 | 80 | NY543048 | The Crookdale Horseshoe | 254 |
High Knott | 275 | 56 | NY454001 | High Knott | 18 |
High Light Haw | 263 | 13 | SD303904 | Top o'Selside | 92 |
High Wether Howe | 531 | 66 | NY515109 | Seat Robert | 236 |
Hollow Moor, Green Quarter Fell | 426 | 78 | NY468039 | Green Quarter Fell | 14 |
Hooker Crag see Muncaster Fell | Muncaster Fell | 186 | |||
Howes | 583 | 3 | NY498103 | Howes | 230 |
Hugh's Laithes Pike | 415 | 2 | NY502151 | The Naddle Horseshoe | 224 |
Hugill Fell | 265 | 11 | SD462994 | Hugill Fell | 22 |
Humphrey Head | 53 | 42 | SD391738 | Humphrey Head | 66 |
Irton Pike | 229 | 25 | NY120015 | Irton Pike | 182 |
Kinmont Buck Barrow | 535 | 25 | SD146909 | Whit Fell | 156 |
Knipescar Common, Knipe Scar | 342 | 8 | NY526191 | Knipescar Common | 220 |
The Knott, Stainton Pike | 331 | 21 | SD143951 | Stainton Pike | 150 |
The Knott, Stickle Pike | 284 | 24 | SD224919 | Stickle Pike | 126 |
Lamb Pasture | 367 | 28 | NY534021 | The Bannisdale Horseshoe | 260 |
Langhowe Pike | 400 | 10 | NY528134 | Seat Robert | 236 |
Latterbarrow | 244 | 44 | SD367991 | Latterbarrow | 84 |
Little Yarlside | 516 | 9 | NY530071 | The Wasdale Horseshoe | 248 |
Long Crag see Bannisdale Fell, Long Crag | The Bannisdale Horseshoe | 260 | |||
Lord's Seat, High House Fell | 524 | 36 | NY518066 | The Crookdale Horseshoe | 254 |
Lord's Seat, Whitbarrow see Whitbarrow | Whitbarrow | 36 | |||
Low Light Haw | 250 | 16 | SD301900 | Top o'Selside | 92 |
Muncaster Fell, Hooker Crag | 231 | 194 | SD112983 | Muncaster Fell | 186 |
Nabs Moor | 492 | 2 | NY503111 | Howes | 230 |
Naddle High Forest, Naddle Horseshoe 1 | 435 | 28 | NY492143 | The Naddle Horseshoe | 224 |
Newton Fell North | 239 | 0 | SD395842 | Newton Fell | 52 |
Newton Fell South, Dixon Heights | 177 | 37 | SD413815 | Newton Fell | 52 |
Orrest Head | 238 | 63 | SD414993 | Orrest Head | 26 |
The Pike, Hesk Fell | 370 | 72 | SD186934 | Hesk Fell | 140 |
Pikes | 469 | 41 | SD237947 | Caw | 120 |
Ponsonby Fell | 315 | 34 | NY081070 | Ponsonby Fell | 192 |
Raven's Barrow, Cartmel Fell | 152 | 0 | SD412879 | Cartmel Fell | 42 |
Raven's Crag | 361 | 28 | SD223929 | Stickle Pike | 126 |
Reston Scar | 255 | 20 | SD460988 | Reston Scar | 24 |
Robin Hood | 493 | 30 | NY530058 | The Crookdale Horseshoe | 254 |
Rough Crag | 319 | 70 | SD161977 | The Circuit of Devoke Water | 144 |
St. John's Hill , Caermote Hill N top | 285 | 7 | NY196376 | Caermote Hill | 206 |
Scalebarrow Knott | 338 | 9 | NY519153 | The Naddle Horseshoe | 224 |
School Knott | 247 | 32 | SD428967 | School Knott | 30 |
Scout Scar | 233 | 3 | SD486919 | Scout Scar | 2 |
Seat How, Birker Moor | 311 | 58 | SD165971 | The Circuit of Devoke Water | 144 |
Seat Robert | 515 | 30 | NY526114 | Seat Robert | 236 |
Setmurthy Common see Watch Hill, Setmurthy Common | Watch Hill | 202 | |||
Sleddale Pike | 506 | 6 | NY535094 | The Wet Sleddale Horseshoe | 242 |
Stainton Pike | 498 | 20 | SD152942 | Stainton Pike | 150 |
Staveley Fell | 265 | 37 | SD389868 | Staveley Fell | 48 |
Stickle Pike | 375 | 116 | SD212928 | Stickle Pike | 126 |
Stoupdale Head | 472 | 26 | SD151873 | Black Combe | 162 |
Swinklebank Crag, Bannisdale Horseshoe 2 | 554 | 46 | NY500049 | The Bannisdale Horseshoe | 260 |
Tarn Hill | 313 | 30 | SD209921 | Stickle Pike | 126 |
Todd Fell | 401 | 21 | NY512020 | The Bannisdale Horseshoe | 260 |
Top o'Selside | 334 | 5 | SD308918 | Top o'Selside | 92 |
Tottlebank Height | 236 | 26 | SD269885 | Blawith Knott | 108 |
Ulgraves | 333 | 31 | SD511996 | Potter Fell | 8 |
Ulthwaite Rigg | 502 | 2 | NY514093 | The Wet Sleddale Horseshoe | 242 |
Wallow Crag, Naddle Horseshoe 2 | 435 | 29 | NY496149 | The Naddle Horseshoe | 224 |
Walna Scar | 621 | 15 | SD257963 | Walna Scar | 114 |
Wasdale Pike | 565 | 5 | NY536084 | The Wasdale Horseshoe | 248 |
Watch Hill | 235 | 3 | NY149318 | Watch Hill | 202 |
Watch Hill, Setmurthy Common | 254 | 157 | NY159318 | Watch Hill | 202 |
Water Crag | 305 | 37 | SD153974 | The Circuit of Devoke Water | 144 |
Whatshaw Common | 485 | 66 | NY541061 | The Wasdale Horseshoe | 248 |
Whitbarrow (Lord's Seat) | 215 | 182 | SD441870 | Whitbarrow | 36 |
White Combe | 417 | 4 | SD154862 | Black Combe | 162 |
White Howe, Bannisdale | 530 | 73 | NY523041 | The Bannisdale Horseshoe | 260 |
White Pike, Birkby Fell | 442 | 17 | SD150956 | The Circuit of Devoke Water | 144 |
Whiteside Pike | 397 | 47 | NY520015 | The Bannisdale Horseshoe | 260 |
Whitfell | 573 | 221 | SD158929 | Whit Fell | 156 |
Williamson's Monument see High Knott | High Knott | 18 | |||
Woodend Height | 487 | 11 | SD156954 | The Circuit of Devoke Water | 144 |
Wool Knott | 223 | 53 | SD272896 | Woodland Fell | 102 |
Yew Bank | 207 | 17 | SD262909 | Woodland Fell | 102 |
Yoadcastle | 494 | 57 | SD156952 | The Circuit of Devoke Water | 144 |
nameless, Bannisdale Horseshoe 1 see Swinklebank Crag | The Bannisdale Horseshoe | 260 | |||
nameless, Bannisdale Horseshoe 2 - Ancrow Brow N | 541 | 16 | NY503059 | The Bannisdale Horseshoe | 260 |
nameless, Bannisdale Horseshoe 3see The Forest | The Bannisdale Horseshoe | 260 | |||
nameless, Green Quarter Fell | 411 | 11 | NY473042 | Green Quarter Fell | 14 |
nameless, Naddle Horseshoe 1see Naddle High Forest | The Naddle Horseshoe | 224 | |||
nameless, Naddle Horseshoe 2see Wallow Crag | The Naddle Horseshoe | 224 | |||
nameless, Naddle Horseshoe 3 | 395 | 7 | NY505152 | The Naddle Horseshoe | 224 |
nameless, Potter Fell 1 | 395 | 27 | SD489998 | Potter Fell | 8 |
nameless, Potter Fell 2 | 390 | 45 | NY496003 | Potter Fell | 8 |
nameless, School Knott | 247 | 32 | SD428967 | School Knott | 30 |
nameless, Stickle Pike see Raven's Crag | Stickle Pike | 126 | |||
nameless, Top o'Selside, Brock Barrow | 221 | 3 | SD298898 | Top o'Selside | 92 |
The map marks the highest point reached on each of Wainwright's 56 walks. The number adjacent to each point gives the page number of the corresponding chapter in the book and the colour indicates the general height of the summit. Clicking a number provides a link to the article about the fell in question.
Alfred Wainwright MBE, who preferred to be known as A. Wainwright or A.W., was a British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, published between 1955 and 1966 and consisting entirely of reproductions of his manuscript, has become the standard reference work to 214 of the fells of the English Lake District. Among his 40-odd other books is the first guide to the Coast to Coast Walk, a 182-mile (293-kilometre) long-distance footpath devised by Wainwright which remains popular today.
Branstree is a fell in the Far Eastern part of the English Lake District. It overlooks the valley of Mardale and Haweswater Reservoir.
Black Combe is a fell in the south-west corner of the Lake District National Park, England, just 4 miles (6.4 km) from the Irish Sea. It lies near the west coast of Cumbria in the borough of Copeland and more specifically, in the ancient district of Millom. It is 1,970 ft (600 m) high and stands in isolation, some 10 mi (16 km) away from any higher ground; this factor offers an excellent all-round panoramic view of land and sea, weather permitting.
A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells is a series of seven books by A. Wainwright, detailing the fells of the Lake District in northwest England. Written over a period of 13 years from 1952, they consist entirely of reproductions of Wainwright's manuscript, hand-produced in pen and ink with no typeset material.
Stickle Pike is an outlying fell located in the southern Lake District near the small town of Broughton-in-Furness, with the summit situated between the lower Duddon Valley and the quiet smaller valley of Dunnerdale. Despite its low altitude the sharp, conical summit is prominent in views from the Broughton and high Furness areas. As with many of the Dunnerdale and Coniston fells, there are reminders of the area's former mining past in the form of many spoil heaps, disused levels and shafts. The fell is also notable for its wide-ranging views despite its low altitude, especially to the Scafells to the north and the sands of the Duddon Estuary to the south. A "stickle" is a hill with a prominent rocky top.
Great Stickle is a fell located in the southern Lake District of England with an altitude of 305 m (1,001 ft). Alfred Wainwright included it in the Stickle Pike chapter of his "The Outlying Fells of Lakeland". Geographically the fell is located on the southern ridge of Stickle Pike and is located between the lower Duddon Valley (west) and the valley of Dunnerdale Beck (east). A "stickle" is a hill with a prominent rocky top.
Shipman Knotts is a fell in the English Lake District in Cumbria, England. It reaches a height of 587 metres (1,926 ft) and is situated in one of the quieter areas of the national park, 2 kilometres north-east of Kentmere village. Although not one of the best-known Lake District fells, it earned a separate chapter in Alfred Wainwright’s Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells due to “Its characteristic roughness. .. rocky outcrops are everywhere on its steep slopes”.
Cartmel Fell is a hamlet and a civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 309, increasing at the 2011 census to 329. The village of Cartmel and Cartmel Priory are not in this parish but in Lower Allithwaite, to the south: Cartmel Fell church is about 7 miles north of Cartmel Priory.
Potter Fell is a fell near the villages of Burneside and Staveley, Cumbria, England, reaching a maximum height of 1,400 feet (430 m) at Brunt Knott. Alfred Wainwright in his The Outlying Fells of Lakeland identifies four summits on Potter Fell: Brunt Knott, Ulgraves and two unnamed summits, all of which are thus recognised by the Database of British and Irish Hills. There are a number of tarns on the fell, including Gurnal Dubs and Potter Tarn.
Reston Scar is a fell in the Lake District of Cumbria, England. With a height of 837 feet (255 m), it overlooks the north side of Staveley village, and is listed among Alfred Wainwright's The Outlying Fells of Lakeland. The summit offers good views of the Coniston Fells, the Sca Fells and the Langdale Pikes.
Caer Mote is a hill of 289 metres (948 ft) in the north of the English Lake District near Bothel, Cumbria. Its summit lies just outside the boundary of the Lake District National Park and offers a view of Bassenthwaite Lake. Under the name Caermote Hill it is the subject of a chapter of Wainwright's book The Outlying Fells of Lakeland. Wainwright's route is an ascent from Bothel to the northern summit St. John's Hill at 285 metres (935 ft), continuing south to the main summit and south east to meet a minor road beside the Roman fort and follow that road north for an anticlockwise circuit. In his original book Wainwright lists the height as 920 feet, but in the 2011 2nd edition Chris Jesty corrects this to 948 feet.
School Knott is a hill in the Lake District, England, to the east of Windermere town, Cumbria. It is the subject of a chapter of Wainwright's book The Outlying Fells of Lakeland. His recommended route starts at Windermere railway station and includes Grandsire at 818 feet (249 m) and a nameless summit at 806 feet (246 m). The summit is at 760 feet (230 m) and offers a view of four sections of Windermere, the lake. It has a rocky outcrop but no trig point and, as reported by Wainwright, no cairn. Schoolknott Tarn is to the south-east of the summit.
The Wasdale Horseshoe is a group of hills on the eastern fringe of the English Lake District, to the west of the A6, south of Shap, Cumbria. They surround the valley of Wasdale Beck, a tributary of Birk Beck and ultimately of the River Lune. The horseshoe is the subject of a chapter of Wainwright's book The Outlying Fells of Lakeland. This Wasdale should not be confused with the better known Wasdale, containing Wast Water, on the west of the Lake District.
The Naddle Horseshoe is a group of summits in the English Lake District, south of Mardale valley, Cumbria. It is the subject of a chapter of Wainwright's book The Outlying Fells of Lakeland.
Blawith Knott is a hill in the south of the English Lake District, near Woodland, Cumbria. It is the subject of a chapter of Wainwright's book The Outlying Fells of Lakeland. It reaches 806 feet (246 m) and Wainwright's clockwise route from the fell road to the south-west also includes Tottlebank Height at 775 feet (236 m). He describes Blawith Knott as "a magnificent viewpoint", with both a panorama of Lake District fells to the north and, to the east to south, views which, on a clear day, include the Howgill Fells, Whernside and Ingleborough.
Hugill Fell is a hill in the English Lake District, near Staveley, Cumbria, on the western side of the Kentmere valley.
Staveley-in-Cartmel is a small village and civil parish in South Lakeland district, Cumbria, England. It lies east of Newby Bridge, near the south end of Windermere, 9 miles (14 km) northeast of Ulverston. It is sometimes known as Staveley-in-Furness. Both names distinguish it from another Staveley in Cumbria. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 428, decreasing at the 2011 census to 405.
Staveley Fell is an upland area in the English Lake District, near Staveley-in-Cartmel, Cumbria, east of the southern end of Windermere. It is the subject of a chapter of Wainwright's book The Outlying Fells of Lakeland, but he admits that: "Strictly it has no name, not even locally, being referred to on Ordnance maps as Astley's and Chapel House Plantations, which are new forests severely encroaching upon it". He says it "commands a fine aerial view of the foot of Windermere." The fell reaches 870 feet (270 m) and Wainwright's route is a clockwise loop starting from Staveley-in-Cartmel. Chris Jesty in his revised edition of Wainwright's book provides an alternative route and comments that "There must be many people who, encouraged by the ordnance Survey map, or by the first edition of this book, have ... been turned back by an uncrossable fence."