Wainwright's Lake District - The Central Fells Quiz | Geography

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Just outside of Grasmere is a smallish hill (still over 1,000 feet high) which is known by the alternative name of the 'Lion and the Lamb' due to the appearance of some of the rocks on its ridge. What is the correct name for this fell?

Answer: Helm Crag

Other rock formations on the ridge bear the descriptive names 'The Lion Couchant', 'The Howitzer' and 'The Old Woman Playing the Organ'.
The true summit of Helm Crag is attainable only with a bit of climbing. (Julia Bradbury managed it for her Wainwright Walks TV series.) Since Alfred Wainwright never accomplished it I see no reason to attempt to put him to shame.

2. East of Borrowdale, south of Derwentwater, lies Grange Fell. Wainwright describes it thus: "An up-and-down tangled plateau, from which rise three main summits." Which of the following is not one of those summits?

Answer: Lamper Knott

The three wrong answers are those summits listed by Wainwright. Other (lesser) summits on this fell include the splendidly named Jopplety How and Swanesty How. Neither Wainright nor the Ordnance Survey marks any part of Grange Fell with the name Lamper Knott, although the Ordnance Survey does name a portion of Sergeant's Crag (another of Wainwright's fells) with the name.

3. 'Jack's Rake' is officially classified as a rock climb, but it can be managed by a walker. Wainwright describes it as "just about the limit that the ordinary or garden fell walker may be expected to attempt". The question is of course, which Lakeland fell may be ascended via it?

Answer: Pavey Ark

Although Wainwright describes Jack's Rake as possible for a walker he also states, "Walkers who can still put their toes in their mouths and bring their knees up to their chins may embark upon the ascent confidently; others, unable to perform these tests, will find the route arduous." Fortunately for the less agile walker, there are two perfectly acceptable walking routes to reach the summit of Pavey Ark

4. Four of the twenty-seven fells listed by Wainwright in volume three start with the word "High", but which is the highest of them?

Answer: High Raise

Although the listed height for High Raise of 2,500 feet may look suspect for being so precise, it does exceed the second highest of these four, High Seat, by over 500 feet so any minor inaccuracies may be safely ignored. The Ordnance Survey map gives this hill a spot height of 762 meters which when converted to feet is 2,500 all but one ten-millionth of an inch.
High Raise is also the highest of all the fells Wainwright wrote about in volume 3.

5. Close to the Ashness Bridge below Bleaberry Fell and High Seat, stands a memorial to a fell runner who first ran the 'round' that bears his name. Seventy-five miles and forty-two fells in under twenty-four hours. Who is this masochist?

Answer: Robert Graham

According to an article in issue 66 of the magazine 'Lakeland Walker', Bob Graham left his guest house at 1.00 am on 13th June 1932, was back within 24 hours and by 6.00 am the following morning was cooking breakfast for his team of pacers. It was nearly 30 years before the feat was successfully repeated (by Alan Heaton). In 1982 Billy Bland managed it in under 14 hours, as of summer 2008 this is the fastest time recorded.
The circuit involves 28,500 feet of ascent - nearly the height of Everest. Several words come to mind to describe this feat but high on my personal list is masochist.

6. On the route from Harrison Stickle to High Raise (south to north), Pavey Ark is to the east and Martcrag Moor to the west. Wainwright describes which hill as 'unphotogenic' from all directions?

Answer: Thunacar Knott

"When fixing the county boundaries between Cumberland and Westmoreland the surveyors decided that the demarcation should make a sharp angle on the top - which is probably the most exciting thing that ever happened to Thunacar Knott." This does beg the question of why Wainwright bothered to write about it if he had such a low opinion of the hill. My best guess as to the answer is that the publishers wanted book three to have a few more hills and pages and cajoled him to write about somewhere.

7. The south screes of which mountain have been described as a 'Neolithic stone axe factory', due to the number of greenstone axe heads found there?

Answer: Pike o' Stickle

In the rock by the screes is a man made cave. Wainwright describes this as providing "excellent shelter for several persons", however as he describes it as being a "few feet square" it might be a bit cosy. He also helpfully provides a sketch of the cave from the outside noting that its (the caves) "connection with stone-axe manufacture has not yet been accepted authoritatively although the coincidence seems too great to be denied".

8. Which of the following is not one of the crags on the slopes of Bleaberry Fell?

Answer: Ivy Crag

All of these are common names for crags in the Lake District. But no Ivy Crag is to be found on any slope of Bleaberry Fell, either in Wainwright's sketch-maps nor the Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 map of the area. The best known crag on Bleaberry Fell is Walla Crag to the north east of the hill, overlooking Keswick, however since Wainwright treated this to a chapter of its own; this is generally treated as a separate fell. From the summit of Bleaberry Fell (and from Walla Crag) wonderful views can be had over Derwentwater to the west. Additionally, on the north-east slope of the fell is the intriguingly named Snipeshow Tarn, which, so Wainwright informs us, "is Bleaberry Fell's only named body of water".

9. Which fell, part of the Langdale Pikes by Wainwright's definition, does Gimmer Crag form part?

Answer: Loft Crag

Depending on the authority consulted there are between two and five Langdale Pikes. Pike o' Stickle and Harrison Stickle are the principal ones. Loft Crag, Thorn Crag and Pavey Ark are also considered by some as part of the group. All of these are fells written about by Wainwright with the exception of Thorn Crag. Regardless, Gimmer Crag forms part of Loft Crag. Wainwright also describes a route from a view of Gimmer Crag to the top of Loft Crag as "quite simple except for a 10' chockstone pitch". Having looked at Wainwright's hand drawn picture of this minor obstacle, this would seem to be a major understatement.

10. To who, whom or what did Alfred Wainwright dedicate book 3 of his 'Pictorial Guide to the Lake District'?

Answer: Dogs

Although Alfred Wainwright dedicated a volume to each of the listed options, the full inscription in volume three reads: "Book three is dedicated to those eager explorers of the fells 'the dogs of Lakeland' willing workers and faithful friends, and an essential part of Lakeland life."
All 30 of the fells listed and written about by Wainwright in volume 3 are included in this quiz.

Source: Author paper_aero

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Exit10 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Wainwright's Lake District - The Central Fells Quiz

Alfred Wainwright wrote a 7 volume Pictorial Guide to the Lake District. Here is a quizzical guide to the hills and surrounding area covered in Volume 3, "The Central Fells".

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