Technical details

The data used in creating this site comes from several sources, including the Wainwright guides (obviously), other relevant books and guides, open source databases, research by others, and my own research and observations. I have combined all this material to produce a single point of information that is designed to help you to locate and identify each of the 214 Wainwright tops.

Location data

The location and height data used on this site comes from two key sources. The primary source of data is the Database of British and Irish Hills (DoBIH), maintained by a dedicated band of volunteers. That database is a list of all the true summits in Britain and Ireland but, as you may be aware, many of the Wainwright tops are not at the true summit of his chosen fells. Therefore, I have used the excellent research by Ron Bowron, The Wainwright Summits, available at Phil’s Hiking Resources (Harold Street). These two data sets allow for the creation of a definitive list of ten-figure Ordnance Survey grid references (GR10), giving a location to the nearest 1m. However, since most hand-held GPS units (or smartphones) have an accuracy of approximately ±5m, that is the potential variation from the given value likely in real-world use. That is still more than accurate enough to identify the top in question.

The GR10 data is used as canonical, all other data is derived from it. To convert from GR10 to Latitude and Longitude (WGS84), the grid references are converted to Eastings and Northings (BNG) by replacing the two letter prefix with the corresponding 100km values. The Coordinate converter at the British Geological Survey website is then used to generate Latitude and Longitude. The Latitude and Longitude data is used in the mapping for Wainwright tops and routes between tops. It is also used to generate the what3words locator.

All but two of the Wainwright tops in this guide correspond to the locations given in the research data at Phil’s Hiking Resources. The two that do not are Dodd (Skiddaw) and Mellbreak. In these two cases, the third (walkers) edition of the Wainwright guides gives a different location and since most people will be referring to Wainwright’s guides, that data is given precedence. In the case of Dodd, the Wainwright top is assumed to be at the location of the monument, which didn’t exist when Wainwright visited. For Mellbreak, the walkers edition of the Wainwright guide gives a grid reference to the south top, so that’s what I’m using in this guide.

Height data

The height given for each fell is the height at the true summit taken from DoBIH. In most cases this is the same as the height of the Wainwright top. However, it’s worth noting that around a quarter of the 214 Wainwrights are not at the true summit of the fell. Wainwright preferred to use identifiable features such as cairns as his top and where there are more than one, he often chose the one with the best view or aspect. Bakestall and Bannerdale Crags are good examples, in both cases, the cairn at the Wainwright top is around 100m from the cairn at the true summit.

Survey station data

The Ordnance Survey keep an excellent searchable database of all triangulation stations at their Search for triangulation stations page. Any data relating to the position, station number or bracket number of survey stations is taken from that dataset. It is worth noting that most, but not all, survey stations in the Lake District were added in 1952, before Wainwright began his guides. However, there are notable exceptions. For example, the trig columns at Loadpot Hill and at Gowbarrow Fell were both built in 1961, several years after the publication of the guides in which those fells appear.

Summit feature

The notes on summit features are derived from personal observation. At the time of writing, I have visited almost all of the 214 on at least two occasions. Note that summit features can change over time, particularly small cairns which tend to come and go. Even larger cairns can morph over time as visitors add or remove stones. Occasionally they may be destroyed completely by those who aim to deny others the joy of our outdoor spaces. The highest point on Blencathra has been marked by a concrete survey ring since it was fixed there by the Ordnance Survey in 1953. In August 2018, the ring was removed, presumed stolen, by persons unknown. In April 2019, after a fund raising effort, a replica ring was installed at the same location. Sadly, that ring has now been broken and a section removed.

Most change tends to take place on the more popular (accessible) fells, for obvious reasons. Fleetwith Pike is a good example of summit cairns changing over time.

Geological data

Geological data is derived from the British Geological Survey (GBS) Geology Viewer application, using the latitude and longitude for each Wainwright top, and the associated entry in the GBS Lexicon of Named Rock Units for each rock unit identified.

Route data

All routes between fells are plotted using the OS Maps app. Each route is exported to GPX. The GPX data is then converted to GeoJSON using the Mapbox converter. The data is then combined with the point data for Wainwright tops and used to create the interactive maps with the Mapbox API.

Fell names

All fell names in this guide are those used by Wainwright in his guides. This means that some will be different from those given on Ordnance Survey maps. For example, “Pike o’Blisco” and “Bowfell” in the guides are “Pike of Blisco” and “Bow Fell” on OS maps. There are also a few cases where a fell is given a completely different name. For example, Wainwright’s “Eel Crag” is know as “Crag Hill” on maps. Where this happens, the map name is given in brackets.

Fell names in this guide may be followed by a pair of brackets. These are either curved brackets or square brackets. Curved brackets are used to provide more detail where the name alone is not enough to accurately identify the fell top. For example, Eel Crag (Crag Hill) or Wansfell (Baystones). Square brackets are used to differentiate fells of the same name. For example, Red Pike [Buttermere] and Red Pike [Wasdale].

Language

As far as possible I have used the terms that Wainwright used in his guides. For example, although the Ordnance Survey refer to their triangulation stations as “pillars”, Wainwright always uses the term “column”. For consistency, I have used his term rather than the official term in this guide.

Photography

Almost all of the photographs on this site were taken using Sony Alpha cropped sensor cameras. The earlier photographs (before 2022) were taken with the NEX-6. More recent photographs were taken with the A6500. I use a crop sensor camera (rather than full-frame) for two key reasons. First, the cameras are lighter and more compact than a full-frame equivalent, important when hiking the fells. Second, the increased depth of field a cropped sensor gives, compared to a full-frame camera at the same aperture, is idealy suited to landscape photography. I prefer the Sony cameras because they feel more natural in my hand than other brands, important when shooting on the move over rough terrain.

I have used a variety of lenses over the years and the main aim in my choice has been to balance portability with image quality. I began with the Sony E16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS kit lens on the NEX-6 and this proved to be very light and easy to handle. However, as time went on, I became disatisfied with the image quality. When I upgraded to the A6500, I upgraded the lens to the Sony E16-55mm f2.8 G. The improvement in image quality was massive and I used the new lens for a few seasons. The only problem was the significant increase in size and weight. I hadn’t yet found the right balance and I also felt that a wider focal length would give me more options. I'm now using the Tamron 11-20 f2.8 Di III-A RXD, which I believe to be the best compromise. It gives great image quality, is reasonably light and compact, and has a good focal length for landscape photography.

Other than the camera and lens, the most useful piece of photographic equipment is my Peak Design Capture which attaches to my backpack shoulder strap and keeps the camera constantly available, ready for that fleeting break in the clouds.