Walked all the Wainwrights? Bagged all the Munros? How about finishing all the Fellrangers?
Cicerone’s 8-volume Lakeland Fellranger series provides a comprehensive guide to 227 fells of the Lake District.
Each fell has its own dedicated chapter, and you can track your progress with our handy peak bagging ticklists – simply download the list for each book below, and keep a note of the date and description you walked each fell.
Let us know when you’ve completed all 227 fells…
It’s a few weeks ago now, but I recently had a fantastic day walking using Cicerone’s Walks in Silverdale and Arnside book – there’s just been so much going on that I haven’t had chance to share a few of the photos on here yet. So without further ado, here they are…
Our first walk was walk 10 in the book: Arnside, Far Arnside and Arnside Knott. The first section follows the coastline and so is nice gentle walking – which is great as it allows you to fully appreciate the stunning views across the Kent estuary.
The second part takes you inland, and up the modest sized hill that is Arnside Knott. Again, it’s quite a gentle climb, but with plenty to look at along the way – in fact I think the deer we saw surprised us more that we did it. The top of the Knott was also our picnic spot for the day, and I can think of few better, with panoramic views of the Lake District to enjoy over a sandwich and well-deserved brew. Read the rest of this entry »
With the final book in Cicerone’s Lakeland FELLRANGER series due to arrive any day now, I caught up with author Mark Richards, to get a little insight into his world…
How does it feel to have completed the series?
At the one and same time I feel really happy and a bit sad. I’m reminded of Robert Louis Stevenson’s phrase “it is better to travel hopefully than to arrive”. I relished each year’s task and feel more than a little hollow at knowing there are no more mountain divisions of the Lakeland fells to explore with a fine tooth comb. It has been an amazing few years, the best of my life and I am hugely grateful to my publisher for giving me this opportunity to share my skills as a linescape artist and outdoor writer.
Why the Lake District? Why not Snowdonia or Scotland?
From my earliest childhood the English Lake District held a romantic attraction. I knew it from picture books and rare family visits. Yet I held a dream that one day I would get to know it intimately for myself. As the years unfolded and family life permitted, it ultimately became possible to plan and execute this wonderful task, 227 fells explored from tip to toe in an eight volume guide.
Hallin Fell from the slopes of Bonscale Pike (The Far Eastern Fells)
What is the one golden piece of advice you’d give to a first-time fellwalker?
Fall in love with a large-scale map be it Ordnance Survey Explorer or Harvey’s. Ultimately it will be through a map that you will know the great outdoors, guides such as Fellranger are built upon a foundation of maps. But the bedrock of your adventures and most fun derived will be when you gain confidence in using a map in the field or on the fell and in all weathers.
Who better to explain what not to miss out on in the Auvergne, than guidebook author Rachel Crolla? We’ll let her take it from here…
After telling friends about our new guidebook to Walking in the Auvergne, I was surprised to find that so few of them had ever heard of the region. It’s a huge area in the Massif Central of France and it’s chock-full of places and activities to whet the appetite of any outdoor enthusiast. Here are some of my favourites:
An afternoon ramble up Puy de la Vache and Puy Lassolas will make hikers think they’ve walked onto another planet. The Martian-like red volcanic rock of the summit ridge on these twin volcanoes glows eerily in the early evening sun. It’s also a great spot to view the unique pudding basin forms of the Chain of Puys.
The volcanic landscape of Puy de la Vache
A winter visit to the tranquil Montagne Bourbonnaise in northern Auvergne can bring idyliic skiing in beautiful forests of beech and fir. With plenty of Nordic cross country trails and a small downhill resort at La Loge des Gardes – it’s a perfect place to try and master the sport away from the crowds.
The Grande Cascade
The Grand Horseshoe of the Puy de Sancy is a must-do on many serious walkers’ itineraries. The 17km route climbs from the lovely spa town of Mont –Dore to the highest peak in central France. On a hot day, after conquering the spiky ridge, the circuit ends at a superb waterfall called the Grande Cascade, where sweaty hikers can take a dip.
The Auvergne is home to many serious sport climbing venues, but a more friendly-angled place to get the ropes out is the Rocher de St Vincent, east of Vichy. Moderate bolted routes end at the top of several buttresses where panoramic views reward your efforts. One of the buttresses even boasts a small castle on its summit – a perfect climbers’ picnic spot.
As a rule, I like to avoid cities, but Le-Puy-en-Velay, in southern Auvergne had me enthralled. Its dramatic volcanic plinths dominate the cityscape and make the place seem like a magical kingdom. Some of the rocky pedestals allow visitors to climb above the shops and roads via impossibly steep staircases, so you can even have an outdoor adventure in the city!
Well, as avid blog readers will already know from our previous post, last weekend we attended Keswick Mountain Festival. So, just in case you couldn’t attend yourselves, here’s a little taste of the weekend’s events.
Our first day at the festival was on Friday, and what a glorious day it was. The sun was out and it was quite warm too – quite a novelty despite it being mid-May. This meant it was a great day for all the many outdoor activities that were a part of the festival, including navigation workshops by Map and Compass author Pete Hawkins. It was also a pleasure to wander through the festival village of various tents and marquees, containing everything from sweet stalls to outdoor clothing, arts and crafts to tasty lunchtime treats. Friday was also the day we met the winner of a competition run by Keswick Mountain Festival, who won the full set of Lakeland FELLRANGER guidebooks. Congratulations to Jeanette, who accepted her prize on her return from a walk on the nearby fells – how appropriate!
Steph (left) presenting Jeanette with her prize
Saturday on the other hand, could not have been more different weather-wise. After a deluge of rain that lasted well into the morning, we were left with a very boggy showground indeed. Not that this dissuaded many mountain lovers, as the festival was far from quiet. In the afternoon, Fellranger author Mark Richards gave an entertaining and inspiring talk about his series to a captivated audience in the Adventure Theatre Tipi. He then popped over to our stand for a chat, where acting editor of The Great Outdoors magazine Daniel Neilson also happened to have stopped by. Of course, we made them pose for a photo…
Daniel Neilson (left) and Mark Richards
As well as unveiling the final book in the Fellranger series, with an advance copy of The Far Eastern Fells sitting pride of place on our stand, we also gave attendees a sneak preview of Alan Hinkes’ forthcoming book, with sample pages of 8000m giving a taste of what’s to come in September.
Our massive thanks go to both the organisers and everyone who attended the festival, for making it such an enjoyable weekend. Who ever said working on a Saturday was no fun?
Another Festival to attend this week – Keswick Mountain Festival runs from 16th to 19th May – that’s this week from Thursday to Sunday.
Here at Cicerone we’re really looking forward to it, as we will be attending on the Friday and Saturday. So if you’re there, do come and say hello to myself (Steph) and Lesley, as we’d love to meet you, and you may even get some sneak previews of some of our forthcoming titles…
The festival is also an opportunity to meet some our authors. Fellranger writer Mark Richards is giving a talk on Saturday 18th in the Adventure Theatre at 1pm, which is a free, no reservation needed event – so there’s no reason to miss out! Mark will be talking about his eight volume Lakeland Fellranger series – the final book of which will be published next month, and with 227 fells there’ll be plenty to fill his hour’s presentation with.
Mark Richards (left) and Alan Hinkes
One of our newest authors is a name you might recognise, and is also speaking at the festival. Alan Hinkes is the only Briton to have climbed all of the 14 mountains over 8000m high, and he will be discussing his phenomenal achievement on Thursday at 7.30pm in the Theatre by the Lake. This is an event that you’ll need a ticket for – so act fast if you’ve not already reserved your place. Alternatively, Alan can also be found on Saturday at 3pm in the Adventure Theatre Tipi. In the company of Carey Davies (the BMC’s Hillwalking Officer), this informal drop in session is free and an excellent chance to meet two very knowledgable mountaineers – whether you have a specific question or just fancy a chat. Alan’s debut book, 8000m, will be published in the autumn.
Hope to see you all there!
January may seem a long time ago (where has this year gone?) but you might recall it saw the publication of our Annapurna trekking guidebook, written by veteran Himalayan trekkers Siân Pritchard-Jones and Bob Gibbons. However, over in Kathmandu – a calling point for almost every Nepalese trekking expedition – they recently held an official launch for the book.
Check out the photo below of authors Siân and Bob, along with Pawan Shakya of Himalayan Map House:
If you’re an aspiring Himalayan adventurer, watch out for forthcoming title Trekking in the Himalaya, which has been edited by prolific guidebook author Kev Reynolds, and contributed to by Siân and Bob, as well as many other experienced and insightful Cicerone writers.
Here at Cicerone we hope that our guidebooks are so expertly written, it’s like having the author alongside you as you complete one of their routes. But this summer, we’re going one step further (no walking pun intended…)
We’ve teamed up with Large Outdoors, a fantastic guided walking company, to bring you a series of three guided walks from our Lakeland FELLRANGER series. Not only will you be taken expertly from start to finish with the Large Outdoors team, but you will also be in the company of Mark Richards – author of the FELLRANGER series.
High Street from above Bleawater Crag (The Far-Eastern Fells)
So if you’d like to meet the man himself, get an insight into why set himself the task of writing eight books about 227 fells, and how he went about completing it you’re in the right place. And what better place to hear about it than halfway up a mountain?
There’s three walks to choose from: High Street on 20th July, Catbells on 21st July, and Wansfell on 18th August. Don’t worry about the difficulty – Catbells in particular is suitable for the whole family to enjoy, and you’ll be in safe hands with Mark and the Large Outdoors team.
For full details of the walks, and how to book your place on them, please visit the Large Outdoors website. Happy walking!
It must be the start of the prime walking season in Britain, as walking festivals are starting to appear thick and fast across the country. And, as well as some great walking opportunities these are also a chance to meet some Cicerone authors.
This weekend Ulverston is the place to be, with both the Ulverston Walking Festival and the Backpackers Club weekend both commencing on 27th April and based at Ford Park.
The Ulverston WalkFest runs from 27th April to 6th May, with a variety of events and walks on offer. Part of the schedule is an Outdoor Trade Show, on Saturday 27th at Ford Park, where you will find a Cicerone stand and an opportunity to browse through some of our titles, as well as several other outdoor retailers. Look out for prolific Cicerone author Paddy Dillon, who is sure to in attendance throughout the week.
The Backpackers AGM is running just for the weekend of 27th and 28th April, but it is a packed two days. On the Saturday is your chance to hear author Mark Richards talk about his Lakeland Fellranger series; and with the final volume arriving in June, what better time to get a little inspiration from the man himself?
From The Far Eastern Fells, by Mark Richards
Finally, on the Sunday, the Backpackers have organised a table-top sale. This is the time to bag a bargain, with many of our ‘seconds’ – previous print runs or old editions – on offer at knockdown prices.
If you’re not near Ulverston, but find yourself in the north east of England, there is a festival for you too. The Haltwhistle Walking Festival has the exact same dates as Ulverston, and on 29th April features a talk by Paddy Dillon on the Reivers Way – a route which he knows so well he literally wrote the book on it!
Don’t forget, you can keep track of many walking festivals on our homepage – keep an eye on the Diary Dates section on the right hand side. If you know of a festival that we haven’t mentioned on there, be sure to let us know and we’ll be happy to add it to the list.
Our latest addition to the Great Mountain Days series, exploring the Pennines, is aptly timed in more ways than one.
In Route 1 of this guidebook author Terry Marsh takes you to the summit of Thack Moor, a walk along pathways seldom trodden and below massive skies. Thack Moor is especially noteworthy however, as it has recently been announced as Britain’s newest mountain. The discovery was made by skilled amateur surveyors John Barnard, Graham Jackson and Myrddyn Phillips, who collected six hours of summit data over two trips to confirm the height. For a short video of the team shot during their survey, check out outdoor website Grough’s article.
Thack Moor from below Hartside summit – photo by Terry Marsh
Their data has been verified by experts at Ordnance Survey, who have agreed to update the official height to 610 metres – just 2cm above the 2,000 feet that classifies a hill as a mountain.
So, the addition brings the total number of English mountains to 254, and also adds to the Nuttall list – satisfying the criteria of 2,000ft high with a 15m drop. John and Anne Nuttall are also Cicerone authors of the two-volume set The Mountains of England and Wales – indeed, Thack Moor now warrants inclusion as it rises above 2,000ft by just the width of their guidebook!
Walking in the Forest of Dean
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