0:00:03 > 0:00:08Nestled in the far northwest of England, this is the Lake District.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13A land defined by its natural beauty.
0:00:21 > 0:00:26And known to millions who love the Lakes was the late Alfred Wainwright,
0:00:26 > 0:00:29author, guide writer and talented artist.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33But above all, he was the greatest fell walker.
0:00:35 > 0:00:42Wainwright's guides have inspired generations of walkers to roam these glorious fells.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44And now, a century after his birth,
0:00:44 > 0:00:49it's my turn to go in search of the real Wainwright experience.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13Welcome to Great Langdale.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17This is one of the best-known and most-visited valleys in the Lake District.
0:01:17 > 0:01:23It's a place where walking and climbing sit happily alongside the ongoing traditions of upland farming.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26Around these neatly tiled fields,
0:01:26 > 0:01:31visitors like me come to explore the streams, the lonely tarns and the hidden waterfalls.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34Standing watching over the head of the valley
0:01:34 > 0:01:39is not one, but two of Alfred Wainwright's favourite fells.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41And today I'm going to try and conquer both of them
0:01:41 > 0:01:47and find out why AW thought the two of them together created Lakeland's best ridge-mile.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56Crinkle Crags and Bowfell,
0:01:56 > 0:02:00both giants of the Lake District in their own right
0:02:00 > 0:02:05and blessed with a commanding position, soaking up attention throughout the whole of Langdale.
0:02:09 > 0:02:10With two peaks in one walk,
0:02:10 > 0:02:15there's no question this is the most physical Lakeland challenge I've undertaken so far.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17But it's also very appropriate.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20Wainwright was an ardent fan of the ridge walk.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24For him, it wasn't just about the ascent, it's what you do once you're up there.
0:02:30 > 0:02:35"Ridges, in general, provide the best fell-walking in Lakeland.
0:02:35 > 0:02:40"They are the high-level traverses that link mountain summits,
0:02:40 > 0:02:46"and invariably reward the walker with ever-changing distant panoramas
0:02:46 > 0:02:49"and aerial views of ethereal beauty.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53"Ridge-walking is fell-walking at its best."
0:02:55 > 0:02:58Every individual chapter in Wainwright's Pictorial Guides
0:02:58 > 0:03:01ends with a plan of possible ridge routes
0:03:01 > 0:03:03that could be taken from the summit.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07Together, they open the door to some truly enormous excursions.
0:03:07 > 0:03:12His ridge routes from Crinkle Crags and Bowfell were the most comprehensive of all.
0:03:12 > 0:03:18But, as was his style, he left the precise choice of routes up to the individual.
0:03:18 > 0:03:24Now I always carry an OS map because remember these guides were written 50 years ago and things change.
0:03:24 > 0:03:29Prime example on today's route - Climber's Traverse, which Wainwright recommends strongly.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32Nowhere to be seen on the OS map.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39My plan is to tackle Crinkle Crags first, approaching from the south
0:03:39 > 0:03:43before making my way along the entire ridge to the summit of Bowfell.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47This is over a mile of the most exposed land in the Lakes.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52It pays to know your route and check the details
0:03:52 > 0:03:57before you find yourself up there with a rain cloud approaching.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04But today I've managed to enlist the help of a man who knows this ridge walk rather well.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Derry Brabbs is a leading Lake District photographer
0:04:07 > 0:04:12and one of very few people who can say they actually worked with Wainwright himself.
0:04:14 > 0:04:20And being a photographer, he insisted that I meet him in a very specific spot.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22Hi, good morning, how are you?
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Derry, are you trying to make my walk even harder?
0:04:25 > 0:04:27I know this isn't your route
0:04:27 > 0:04:31but I just had to drag you up here because this is just one of the best views
0:04:31 > 0:04:35in the Lake District and I thought you ought to enjoy it before you do some serious hard work.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37It is absolutely glorious.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41It is. From my point of view as a photographer, vantage points are everything.
0:04:41 > 0:04:46From here, you can see the ridge walk you are going to be enjoying later, Crinkle Crags and Bowfell.
0:04:46 > 0:04:51- Oh, have you done Crinkle Crags and Bowfell?- I have, several times.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53You've done seven books in total with Wainwright.
0:04:53 > 0:04:58Did you experience initial resistance from AW in those very early days?
0:04:58 > 0:05:00Here's a photographer coming along saying,
0:05:00 > 0:05:07"I'm going to take photographs of the hills that you have lovingly drawn and put down on paper."
0:05:07 > 0:05:14I was under no illusions from the start because I realised here was a man who knew exactly what he wanted.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18He was dogmatic to the point of obsession sometimes. But no, we got on famously.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22I think it was a very tentative relationship to start with,
0:05:22 > 0:05:27but as soon as I realised that I could climb the fells without doing myself too serious a mischief,
0:05:27 > 0:05:30and he knew that I could take the photographs he wanted,
0:05:30 > 0:05:34we really developed a very amicable, good working relationship.
0:05:34 > 0:05:35You must have been petrified.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38What was it like to work with Alfred Wainwright?
0:05:38 > 0:05:42It was very nerve-racking because of course, not being a walker myself,
0:05:42 > 0:05:45I never had any inkling of what Wainwright was.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48I thought, "How can people do this for pleasure?"
0:05:48 > 0:05:51It was just extraordinary. But as you get fitter,
0:05:51 > 0:05:53you get more comfortable with your surroundings,
0:05:53 > 0:05:57and you start to realise why Wainwright did love the Lakes.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01I am really looking forward to my walks today, but what treasures do I have in store?
0:06:01 > 0:06:06You have one of the best ridge walks in the Lake District going across the jagged edge of Crinkle Crags.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09Drop down to Three Tarns which you can see, that depression.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12Then you're going to cut across the Climber's Traverse,
0:06:12 > 0:06:15just to that great lump of rock which is Bowfell Buttress.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18And what you can't see from here is the Great Slab,
0:06:18 > 0:06:23which is one of the great natural features in the Lake District. I'm always looking for viewpoints.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27And I think Crinkle Crags and Bowfell Summit are two of my favourite views.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31Also on Crinkle Crags, I read about the Bad Step.
0:06:31 > 0:06:36Yes, the Bad Step, it's almost like the Hillary Step on Everest, but in miniature.
0:06:36 > 0:06:41And it really is quite amusing to watch people trying to struggle
0:06:41 > 0:06:46and sit there almost with map and pen trying to navigate a way round it.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49You're not reassuring me here at all.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51You can have a fun time trying to get up it,
0:06:51 > 0:06:55but I can assure you there is a route that you can go round the side.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58I've noticed there is one route that exists in the Wainwright books,
0:06:58 > 0:07:01the Climber's Traverse, that is nowhere else.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03Well, it is there if you look for it now.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07But it's one of those routes which Wainwright would have discovered for himself
0:07:07 > 0:07:11and, of course, many have followed in Wainwright's footsteps since that time.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13It's a well-marked path.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16It has because one or two moments where you have to slither around.
0:07:16 > 0:07:21The problem you do have is when you are at the bottom of Bowfell Buttress. The only way is up
0:07:21 > 0:07:23and that is quite a nasty scree slope.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25Thank you for your time today.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28I feel honoured because I am only following in Wainwright's steps.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32You worked with the great man. I'll touch you and hope a bit will rub off.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34Hopefully not my knee ligaments.
0:07:35 > 0:07:41'Well, I'll certainly need to be in good shape for this, the longest Wainwright walk I've ever tackled -
0:07:41 > 0:07:44'six and a half miles to the top of Bowfell.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47'And for once, there'll be descents as well as climbs.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50'So let's have a look at the route I'll be taking.'
0:07:58 > 0:08:02Sitting on its very own at the top end of Great Langdale
0:08:02 > 0:08:08is Stool End Farm, the last outpost of civilisation on my walk today.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13The lush fields disappear as I head up Oxendale, crossing the beck,
0:08:13 > 0:08:17and beginning a long and steady climb beside the ravine of Browney Gill.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22I'll eventually emerge onto flatter ground at Red Tarn,
0:08:22 > 0:08:24a turning point for me,
0:08:24 > 0:08:28as I move northwest across a great expanse of peaty grassland.
0:08:32 > 0:08:37The gentle path gives way as you approach the many rugged peaks of Crinkle Crags.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44This is where Wainwright's ultimate ridge walk begins -
0:08:44 > 0:08:49a mile of classic views and fell-top scrambling.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56The pass of Three Tarns nestles between the two peaks.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59My cue to make my way across to the Climber's Traverse
0:08:59 > 0:09:03and get amongst the very best that Bowfell has to offer.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06A world of towering cliffs and shattered rock,
0:09:06 > 0:09:11including the unmistakeable feature known simply as the Great Slab.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16From here, it's just a short climb across rocks
0:09:16 > 0:09:19to one of the most shapely summit peaks in the whole of Lakeland.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32Stool End Farm is both a working uplands farm and a major thoroughfare
0:09:32 > 0:09:37for fell walkers leaving and arriving in Great Langdale.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41It sits at the foot of the open fell,
0:09:41 > 0:09:46the furthest place where those not prepared to walk can hope to explore.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57The environment becomes much wilder here.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01The river bed is strewn with massive boulders,
0:10:01 > 0:10:05which are a clue to a time when the river was much less tame than it is today.
0:10:05 > 0:10:11During storms, the boulders are pushed down by the force of the water, rumbling along the river bed,
0:10:11 > 0:10:12like little pebbles.
0:10:18 > 0:10:25Everywhere you look, there are signs of what happens when the water levels tumbling down the fell-side increase.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28The footbridge here is as new as it looks,
0:10:28 > 0:10:35only put in place two years ago after the previous crossing was swept away by the Oxendale Beck in full flight.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42The bridge is also where the walk takes a sudden turn upwards
0:10:42 > 0:10:46as the path leaves Oxendale and heads south up a gully,
0:10:46 > 0:10:48destined for Red Tarn.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53And so to the first proper climb of the day.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57In fact, the most intense piece of ascent of the whole climb -
0:10:57 > 0:11:05a steady relentless slog up 1,100 feet, which rapidly takes you away from the gentle fields of Langdale
0:11:05 > 0:11:09and gives your entire body a wake-up call for the work up ahead.
0:11:45 > 0:11:50My path skirts a ravine that gets progressively more dramatic as you climb.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54This is Browney Gill, cut over the millennia since the last ice age
0:11:54 > 0:12:00and now a small oasis of rowan trees and flowering plants.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11I bet a few bottoms have perched here over the years.
0:12:11 > 0:12:16It's not so much an awkward or technical climb, just a long slog.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20But you get a great view over the ridge,
0:12:20 > 0:12:22over Crinkle Crag to Bowfell from here.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30Sadly this path goes that way in the other direction.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34And it looks like there's a bit of a scramble up ahead as well.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43In wet weather, this scramble would be a hazardous experience
0:12:43 > 0:12:48with water breaking out of the main gill and pouring over the rocks and path.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54This is a nice little surprise.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58Few big fell walks are complete without a trip to a tarn
0:12:58 > 0:13:00and this one is no exception.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06Red Tarn is just my first today, a "walker's crossroads"
0:13:06 > 0:13:12as Wainwright described it, with four paths converging where the stream exits the lake.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21It's not the most picturesque tarn I've ever visited.
0:13:21 > 0:13:28It's just parked up in the middle of this great open pass, exposed to all the elements.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35Certainly very different from the other Red Tarn at Helvellyn.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38But you do get a magic view of Bowfell.
0:13:41 > 0:13:47Wainwright described this particular Red Tarn as "an unattractive sheet of water",
0:13:47 > 0:13:51but did concede that it might have its uses on a hot day.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56But, with a great deal still to tick off,
0:13:56 > 0:14:00there's fortunately no time for considering a paddle anyway.
0:14:00 > 0:14:06From the tarn, the good news is that much of the hard graft of ascent has already been done.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08And as you cross the top of Browney Gill,
0:14:08 > 0:14:12there's time for a look down the gully to admire what you've just achieved.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20The walk from here changes its character.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23The route to the first of the Crinkle Crags
0:14:23 > 0:14:27brings you onto an inspiring high fell plateau.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31This is where the air changes, the wind changes
0:14:31 > 0:14:36and views open up as you stride across the gentlest of gradients.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41And far in the distance behind you,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44Lake Windermere at the end of the Langdale valley.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52Ah, there they are.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56You walk across this grassy plain for about a mile and you get a bit lost
0:14:56 > 0:14:58and you forget about the drama that lies ahead.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02And then...there are the Crinkles.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08That's Crinkle one,
0:15:08 > 0:15:10Crinkle two which is actually the summit,
0:15:10 > 0:15:15Crinkle three, four and five.
0:15:15 > 0:15:20That nasty gully between Crinkles two and three, you wouldn't want to fall down there.
0:15:27 > 0:15:32"These undulations, seeming trivial from a distance,
0:15:32 > 0:15:36"are revealed at close range as steep buttresses
0:15:36 > 0:15:40"and gullies above wild declivities, a scene of desolation
0:15:40 > 0:15:46"and rugged grandeur equalled by few others in the district."
0:15:51 > 0:15:56Inevitably, the gentle path across the grass gives way to boulders
0:15:56 > 0:16:01and scrambling as you approach this most distinctive of fell tops.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05And it's as you scale the first of the five mini summits
0:16:05 > 0:16:09that you get a clear view of the second and highest Crinkle.
0:16:09 > 0:16:15But in the way stands the biggest obstacle on any footpath in Lakeland.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18I'm definitely looking at the ominous Bad Step.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20It looks exactly like Wainwright's drawing.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Thing is from here, you don't get any sense of its size or scale.
0:16:28 > 0:16:35"Chicken-hearted walkers, muttering something about discretion being the better part of valour,
0:16:35 > 0:16:38"will sneak away and circumvent the difficulty
0:16:38 > 0:16:42"by following the author's footsteps around the flank of the buttress.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51"Two chockstones block the gully entirely,
0:16:51 > 0:16:53"forming a rocky wall ten feet high.
0:16:53 > 0:16:58"Quite beyond the powers of the average walker to scale."
0:16:58 > 0:17:00Hm. It is a big step.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04I don't know if it's a Bad Step.
0:17:04 > 0:17:05That overhang looks a bit dodgy.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09It looks like it could fall on you, so I think I'm going to stick to this side.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17Bad Step is largely a problem-solving exercise.
0:17:19 > 0:17:24Once you realise you'd have to be eight foot tall to climb straight over the chockstones,
0:17:24 > 0:17:28it's just a case of choosing which bit of the side wall to climb.
0:17:30 > 0:17:35A combination of hands, feet and the odd knee should then see you through.
0:17:50 > 0:17:56And from there, it's just a few yards over rocks to reach the true summit of Crinkle Crags.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05Cor!
0:18:05 > 0:18:09This great vista just opens out in front of you.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13There's Langdale, all the way down to the right.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17Eskdale on the left.
0:18:17 > 0:18:22And then the magnificent Scafell range just in a big horseshoe
0:18:22 > 0:18:25ahead under the cloud.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27But that's the view you want.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30That's where we're heading, Bowfell.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33No wonder he thought this was the best ridge-mile walk.
0:18:36 > 0:18:37Some view.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43Crinkle Crags really doesn't disappoint.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47It's a mountain defined by its unique summit outline.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51It's said that the early men of Langdale gave the mountain its name,
0:18:51 > 0:18:56a name that suits it just as well up here as it does from the valley below.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03AW did have one problem however.
0:19:03 > 0:19:08He couldn't decide whether Crinkle Crags was singular or plural.
0:19:08 > 0:19:13Should it be "Crinkle Crags is" or "Crinkle Crags are"?
0:19:13 > 0:19:15No, he couldn't decide either.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21And so my ridge walk begins.
0:19:21 > 0:19:26From 2,816ft, my route falls and rises
0:19:26 > 0:19:29as I traverse the rest of Crinkle Crags.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33I'm glad the weather is clear.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37With the path barely discernible, and ravines and gullies nearby,
0:19:37 > 0:19:40this is not somewhere to be caught in the wind and the rain.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06This little scramble to the top of Crinkle three is a diversion.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10But your reward is this terrific view of Great Langdale,
0:20:10 > 0:20:12down and through the valley.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18I think these detours are really worth it, not just for the views
0:20:18 > 0:20:21but because they really help me with the geography as well.
0:20:22 > 0:20:29The geography of this fine ridge once included the local county boundary.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31When Wainwright published his Pictorial Guides,
0:20:31 > 0:20:35this was where Cumberland and Westmorland ran alongside each other,
0:20:35 > 0:20:41both now consigned to the history books in favour of the modern day Cumbria.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46From this angle, Bowfell really is quite a sight.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49A great pyramid of a mountain.
0:20:49 > 0:20:54The word "fell" doesn't describe it adequately. It really is a mountain.
0:20:56 > 0:21:01As AW puts it, "This is the heart of Lakeland's best ridge mile".
0:21:01 > 0:21:05And he certainly gave it the attention it deserved.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09In fact, he presented it in a level of detail that was unique,
0:21:09 > 0:21:10even for him.
0:21:12 > 0:21:19This is a plan of the entire ridge from Crinkle Crags all the way up to Three Tarns.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21Full of detail, as you'd expect from Wainwright.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24But supposing I was coming in the opposite direction,
0:21:24 > 0:21:27well, I'd have to turn the book around, wouldn't I?
0:21:27 > 0:21:31Not with Wainwright. You see, he was so obsessive, he did it for you.
0:21:31 > 0:21:32Look. There it is.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35Exactly the same route, but the other way round.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38Now that's what I call service.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44After a mile of intensely rocky scrambling,
0:21:44 > 0:21:49it's quite a relief to be heading downwards towards gentler, grassier ground.
0:21:50 > 0:21:57A welcome chance to take the pressure off your knees as you approach the ideal rest spot at Three Tarns.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03This is the most popular pass route between the mighty valleys of Langdale and Eskdale.
0:22:03 > 0:22:08The Three Tarns themselves are so small they're easily missed.
0:22:08 > 0:22:14And, depending on the weather, you may only find two tarns or as many as four.
0:22:14 > 0:22:19Either way, this is the place where I'm leaving Wainwright's Crinkle Crags chapter,
0:22:19 > 0:22:22and turning my attention to the second mountain of the day.
0:22:25 > 0:22:31"Bowfell is a mountain of noble aspect and rare distinction.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35"There is both grace and strength in the upper reaches.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38"It is a challenge that cannot be denied."
0:22:42 > 0:22:49And for me, the challenge is to navigate my way off the main route and find the Climber's Traverse,
0:22:49 > 0:22:53the path that Wainwright thought showed Bowfell at its very best.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00Without the reassurance of Derry Brabbs,
0:23:00 > 0:23:03I'd be unsure about following this route.
0:23:03 > 0:23:08The Climber's Traverse isn't a public right of way, so it doesn't appear on OS maps.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12But a path it is.
0:23:12 > 0:23:18One that takes you off the ridge and into places where most walkers never reach.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25Now the name might suggest that harnesses and hand-holds are required
0:23:25 > 0:23:29but fortunately the Climbers' Traverse isn't quite that dramatic.
0:23:29 > 0:23:35The path first developed to provide access straight to the favoured spots of rock climbers.
0:23:37 > 0:23:42It follows a ledge that passes round the great supporting walls of Bowfell.
0:23:46 > 0:23:51This is where climbers come to tackle Flat Crags, Cambridge Crags
0:23:51 > 0:23:54and the suitably named Bowfell Buttress.
0:24:02 > 0:24:08It just sort of grows out of this river of scree and then juts up into the sky.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14Walkers who stick to the main route from Three Tarns
0:24:14 > 0:24:21can easily spend an entire day on Bowfell without ever noticing the drama that sits under their noses.
0:24:23 > 0:24:30But those that do make it here are rewarded by one of the most welcome features of this, or any, long climb.
0:24:32 > 0:24:38"Nothing better ever came out of a barrel or a bottle," as Wainwright puts it.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46As you sip the water that's poured straight out of the heart of the Bowfell rock,
0:24:46 > 0:24:50you're surrounded by some of the boldest mountain features in the country.
0:24:50 > 0:24:55A good spot to prepare for the final climb of this Lakeland epic.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59Now getting here was meant to be the tricky bit of the day.
0:24:59 > 0:25:04But to be honest, an exit route has never been less obvious to me on a Wainwright walk.
0:25:04 > 0:25:09He doesn't recommend going up the scree.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12He does recommend a route called Great Slab
0:25:12 > 0:25:17which looks to be up that way,
0:25:17 > 0:25:19so I'll give it a go.
0:25:31 > 0:25:36So I'm left with an unlikely climb up the side of Cambridge Crag
0:25:36 > 0:25:39and a route past the most unusual feature of the day.
0:25:42 > 0:25:47In amongst all the near-vertical rock faces is one very different one...
0:25:49 > 0:25:53..Great Slab, as Wainwright called it.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57A vast and gently sloping platform of naked rock.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00Uniquely round here,
0:26:00 > 0:26:05it's remained free of all the scree and boulders that surround it.
0:26:10 > 0:26:16And frankly, having climbed up the side of it, you could do with a rest.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26Now I'm not intimate with all 214 fells,
0:26:26 > 0:26:30but I'm pretty sure you don't get a view like that anywhere else.
0:26:30 > 0:26:35And Wainwright was so impressed with the Great Slab and the Langdale Pikes in the distance
0:26:35 > 0:26:38that he gave it a double-page spread.
0:26:38 > 0:26:43Now yes, it's quite a bleak picture, but remember these were hand-drawn.
0:26:43 > 0:26:44Every detail, every line.
0:26:44 > 0:26:49Look at this little chap at the top with the walking stick.
0:26:49 > 0:26:50I wonder if that's him?
0:26:54 > 0:26:57As you round the top of Great Slab,
0:26:57 > 0:27:02the summit of Bowfell is both unmistakeable and reassuringly close.
0:27:02 > 0:27:09It's an exciting summit that keeps the challenge going right to the very end.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17"Bowfell's top is a shattered pyramid,
0:27:17 > 0:27:21"a great heap of stones and boulders and naked rock.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24"A giant cairn in itself."
0:27:26 > 0:27:29This is so different from any summit I've been on before.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32You definitely know you're at the very top.
0:27:32 > 0:27:37But there's no need for a triangulation point or any great cairn.
0:27:37 > 0:27:38Where would you put it anyway?
0:27:41 > 0:27:44Throughout seven whole volumes,
0:27:44 > 0:27:50this was the only fell Wainwright admitted, straight away, was one of his very best.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52He loved to bestow honours
0:27:52 > 0:27:59and create rankings that would inspire endless debate on footpaths and in pubs across the Lakes.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03But every other fell had to wait until he published his final Pictorial Guide
0:28:03 > 0:28:09to learn whether they would join Bowfell in Wainwright's premier league.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15We know from these pages how important Bowfell was to Wainwright.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17He declared his love very early on.
0:28:17 > 0:28:23But in 1966, he also made Crinkle Crags one of his top six summits.
0:28:23 > 0:28:24Two top fells,
0:28:24 > 0:28:27one mammoth expedition,
0:28:27 > 0:28:30and the greatest ridge walk in England.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd