This guide describes ascents of 25 Lake District fells that can be climbed from the valleys of Wasdale, Eskdale and Ennerdale. Quieter and wilder than the eastern side of the national park - though every bit as beautiful - this area is home to many of the region's most celebrated peaks, with highlights including iconic Great Gable, Pillar and Yewbarrow, as well as England's highest mountain, Scafell Pike.
Unlike other guidebooks which describe a single or limited number of routes to a particular destination, the aim of the Walking the Lake District Fells series is to offer all the options. These are presented as numbered sections which can be combined to create infinite possibilities - from simple ascents to longer ridge routes. You'll find the classics and popular routes alongside less traditional alternatives perfect for the wandering spirit. The series gives you both the freedom to devise your own routes and the information to make informed decisions, thanks to the clear descriptions of the routes, terrain, hazards, interesting features and safe descent paths should the weather close in. Also included are a handful of classic ridge routes for longer fell days.

Mark Richards' inimitable text is complemented by HARVEY mapping and the author's own beautiful sketch topos and panoramas. Perfect for keen hillwalkers and peak-baggers alike and ideal both for pre-planning and use on the hill, Walking the Lake District Fells is the new incarnation of the Fellranger series, which sees the volumes updated and trimmed to a more practical size. These true connoisseurs' guides are sure to inspire you to get out and explore the beautiful fells of Lakeland.

Mark Richards' transition from full-time farmer to full-time outdoor writer has been a gradual one. In 1973, with the direct encouragement of Alfred Wainwright, he wrote his first walking guide to the Cotswold Way. Since then he has indulged his pleasure in exploring rural Britain by creating a range of walking guides.

In 1980 he began his three-part guide to the Peak District for Cicerone Press, and in 1987, with Chris Wright, wrote a guide to walking around the former county of Westmorland. This book sowed the seeds of a dream, to be fulfilled some 14 years later, when he and his wife moved to Cumbria. Here he developed a passion for the finest of all walking landscapes, held within and around this marvellous county. Mark has written a Cicerone guide to Great Mountain Days in the Lake District and, after many years of dedicated research, completed his Lakeland Fellranger series of eight guides covering the entire region in 2013.

Now living in what was once the Barony of Gilsland, Mark is also close to Hadrian's Wall, enabling him to renew a fascination first kindled when he prepared a guide to walking the Wall in 1993. He has also published a guide to the Wall for Cicerone.

Map keys
Area covered by this guide
Author preface
Starting points

Introduction
Valley bases
Fix the Fells
Using this guide
Safety and access
Additional online resources

Fells
1 Buckbarrow
2 Caw Fell
3 Crag Fell
4 Eskdale Moor
5 Great End
6 Great Gable
7 Great How
8 Grike
9 Haycock
10 Illgill Head
11 Iron Crag
12 Kirk Fell
13 Lank Rigg
14 Lingmell
15 Middle Fell
16 Pillar
17 Red Pike
18 Scafell
19 Scafell Pike
20 Scoat Fell
21 Seatallan
22 Slight Side
23 Steeple
24 Whin Rigg
25 Yewbarrow

Ridge routes
1 The Roof of England
2 The Mosedale Round
3 The Nether Beck Horseshoe
4 The Upper Ennerdale Round

More to explore
Useful contacts
A fellranger's glossary
The Lake District fells