UKH

I completed the Wainwrights yesterday after seven years, just before I am 40 years of age and it's been one hell of an epic adventure.  It's brought me closer to the mountains, started a love of trail / fell running, and got me out of partying and late nights that I used to enjoy in my younger days!

I am now considering what to do next, and wanted to check in with you folks for some inspiration and specifically if you have any book recommendations on how to maximise route planning as I start off some new areas afresh, i.e. Stuart Marshalls walking the wainwrights.

Here are some of my general ideas so far:

Finish the Ethels in Peaks (I am about 50% through)

All fells in Yorkshire Dales

All fells in Howgills

Get over to Wales more 

Marillyns (less keen to do all these now), would rather focus in on a specific area)

thanks in advance as always!!

I have a list of all the points in the lakes over 2000ft of which there are ~260. I have around 50 to go. Point isn’t really about ticking them, more finding interesting ways up. 
 

The Donalds might be a good one as almost all are Scottish Borders/ Galloway. Hewitts are an interesting way to explore Yorkshire and Wales.

The Munros. 

Bigger, wilder, harder navigation, solitude and much greater effort required.

Fair warning though, I would say the average Munro is about three to four times the average effort of a Wainwright. So if you're based anywhere south of the Scottish central belt then the you need to get serious about weeklong trips and going out in all but the worst weather.

Good luck.

Do the Welsh 2000' ft hills. - So much fun and suffering.

Years ago I wrote a list of all the 1,500 foot tops in Bowland. I think I eventually did them all but lost the list. Got me into some bleak, boggy places. I ground to a halt on the Munros with about 90 left to do but realistically think compleation is beyond me now. What I like to do these days is to climb something because it seems like a worthwhile walk that won't kill me and will give me a nice experience rather than be on a list. A recent example of this was driving down the road towards Tarbert in Kintyre and ahead of me was a nice looking summit rising above the trees called Meall Reamhar (329m). I walked up it the next day and enjoyed it. No eroded tracks, no-one else about -perfect.

Walking all the 600m tops in the Southern Uplands gets you to some interesting places. There's some wild areas and varied country, with much less travel than the Highlands require.

How about some of Britain's long distance paths?

Offa's Dyke is relentlessly hilly

My parents have been walking the highest point in every county. Not all of the tops have been amazing but it's led them to holiday in places they wouldn't normally have explored and they've done lots of other walks in the area every trip which they've really enjoyed.

As you obviously like the Lakes, why not start by bagging the Fellrangers (these are the Wainwrights plus 16 others) which will extend your Lakes experience a bit.

Some of the lists you mention are  relative height lists ( eg the Marilyns) whereas the Wainwrights are a subjective list (as are the Munros). I find the subjective lists have fewer boring hills.

My favourite list is the Trail 100. I expect you will have been up more than 30 of them already, it will take you to various Scottish Islands, Northern Ireland, Devon and has been a great list for me. Doing all 100 will involve a lot of travelling but you could focus on the areas that interest you.  It will show you the amazing variety of hill terrain we are so lucky to have in the UK.

Congratulations on the Wainwright round. Whatever you do next, don't stop climbing Wainwrights, though - there's a lot to be said for steadily getting to know hills better in different conditions and by different routes. I would say that, having just had my 1985th outing above 2000ft in the Ochils, but there are plenty of other people doing such things too - eg I spoke this evening with a Cumbrian friend who has been up over 15000 Wainwrights but with only 16 rounds - in other words he has over 11500 "spares". And he's nowhere near tired of them yet.

www.hill-bagging.co.uk

If you want more to go at in the Lakes there are the Synges, the Birkets, or obviously the outlying Wainwrights.

https://www.hill-bagging.co.uk/Synges.php

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Birketts

You mention the Howgills, ther are 39 of them, it’s more of a big day or weekend out, than a project.

https://gofar997.wixsite.com/gofar/harvey-howgill-tops
site doesn’t load well on mobile, scroll all the way down to read the main text.

Lots of different routes with different characters up the fells. Perhaps try them by public transport from Kendal as the old fellow did! 

Good job.

I'm in the same position as you (ish).  Completed main Wainwrights (7 books) in 6 years in 2017, and was looking for other similar walks/projects (and still am, so appreciate everyone else's ideas!)

Have you thought of the Outlying Fells (the eighth book).  They're quite fun, and a lot more remote.  They took me 5 years.  I did the lot in 10 years (ish) start to finish (June 2011 to July 2021).

Also, have you thought about submitting a report to the LDWA Hillwalkers register https://ldwa.org.uk/hillwalkers/hillwalkers.php

I started the Wainwrights to make myself go and explore hills/walks that I wouldn't otherwise go to, get me out of my (walking) comfort zone, I'm not really a list ticker (try very hard not to be!)

I read about the Ethels (Peak District) (map: http://pnfs.org.uk/ethels)  which are quite fun (and an added attraction of the Ethels is that you can do quite a lot of them by train if you are inclined), and I'm nearly done.  I was thinking I was ready to get back into the Lake District and may go round again perhaps via the Fellrangers list.  But someone happened to give me a list of Lancashire trig points (https://goo.gl/maps/NY98oR8GiKzqG6sWA) which make great walks and go to some different and wonderful places: many are walkable, some are not even remotely interesting to walk (and maybe I should allow myself to cycle), some are a drive-by (literally!) in a car, and some do not have public access (there's even one Wainwright Outlying fell that is on private land and doesn't have public access).  But it takes me to different places that I wouldn't otherwise have thought: who'd have thought that a trig point between Morecambe and Lancaster (Torrisholme) made a great walk!

For what it's worth, this is a summary of my figures:

Main Wainwrights:     214 fells    cumulative: 516 miles    177,000 feet of ascent    50 days of walking.
Outlying fells:     116 fells    cumulative: 205 miles    48,000 feet of ascent    27 days of walking.

(Most of the trips were day hikes to the Lakes: I live in the Yorks Dales so it's a lot easier for me than for others).

If you want to stay around the lakes I'd recommend the Birketts, as in Bill Birkett's book "Complete Lakeland Fells", or get the Outlying Fells.

Further afield and a bit of a step up, although picking and choosing will get you up the easy ones without bother, are the Munros, Corbetts, and Grahams.

Trig points? Bit different,  as you'll hit some peaks but also have to track down some of the weirder locations.  

Wife got me a book for our local county with 52 to tick off,  which also gets me to some odd locations I'd never go to.

Nice one on the achievement

The Nuttalls. You could do The English (you’ve got a head start having done the Wainwrights), or The Welsh, or both!
 

There’s guidebooks for both.

If you're spending time in the Peak (not Peaks or the ghost of Al Evans will haunt you forever😁) then the Peak 75 is a much better list than the Ethels (it's on www.haroldstreet.org.uk along with lots of other good ideas). It avoids the ones with access problems, misses out the barely independent ones like Stanage Pole, Lost Lad and Ashway Moss and adds in a bunch of more prominent ones like the three between Dove and Manifold (Narrowdale, Gratton and Wetton SW). 

As mentioned before, Birketts and Nuttalls will keep you busy and get you plenty of hill time.

For me it has been the Scottish 4000ft peaks, naturally followed by the Munros. Which I may never complete, but will enjoy each as I get to them. Good luck in your quest whatever you choose next.

Simple addition is the FRCC Lakeland fells  (book) which adds 30 more to the wainwright's list

https://www.ukhillwalking.com/logbook/ticklists/frcc_lakeland_fells-3482

and the Wainwright that he failed to complete? Knock Murton I assume it was a live Copper Mine then?

There is also the A6 to M6 area (I have his guide), but probably has some access issues.