The Tubular Fells Map of the Lake District - 214 Wainwright Summits

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How do you travel? When in the week do you go, what time of day? How long does it take, and what’s the usual cost? I have always walked in the outdoors for as long as I can remember. I lived in a village as a child and we used to walk a lot in the local area. The greatest memories from childhood are the snowy days when I would go sledging. It would be 1978 and 1982 when I remember walking over 10 foot high snow drifts and I thought it was magic. I always preferred to go out in the snow than in the hot sun. How I hated the summer of 1976! I already managed a New Year’s Day ascent of Helvellyn, but I plan to visit Snowdonia, Lakeland and Scotland this year. At the start of April I anticipate launching the map somewhere in Snowdonia and so I’m sure there’ll be a few ascents there. I’ve done quite a bit of walking but never been on the likes of Cadair Idris which of course features on my new map. Going on regular hiking trips can be expensive (particularly travelling costs and accommodation). How do you manage this? How do you justify the expense to yourself?

A new planning map for the 21st century - designed to show all of the 214 "Wainwright Fells", with their names, as clearly as possible on a high quality topographical base map. If you had to recommend one walking location that’s accessible from London in a long weekend, what would it be? The map will also be on sale at points throughout the Lake District including YHA hostels and the new National Trust shop in Grasmere. It will also be available at Stanfords in Longacre, London. This challenging walk of 184 miles (296 km) crosses the north of England from St Bees on the Irish Sea to Robin Hood's Bay on the North Sea. Devised by the legendary Wainwright, the Coast to Coast is England's most popular walk.I feel fine. The hills and mountains will be there long after I’ve gone. As long as I know they’re there then I am happy until my next visit. I survive by holding onto my last outing or ascent mixed with walks in the more pastoral south. In any case, the Downs and Chilterns aren’t far away! As I grew older, I took up fellrunning for fun, first starting on the hills around Clitheroe like Pendle. Things have developed from there. I love being out on the fells, whatever the weather, and enjoy nothing better than scrambling. I’ve also recently started canoeing. You just can’t beat being out on the tops after a month or two down in the city of London.” Watching Lakeland travel videos while exercising on the treadmill, I often glance aside at the "Tubular Fells" map on the wall to keep myself oriented. Sometimes I can even do this without falling off. I came down to London to teach for 5 years and ended up staying. I live in East Ham in the London and Olympic Borough of Newham. After nearly 20 years of teaching I now run my own fledgling business designing, publishing and selling my quirky and urban looking topological maps of the mountains. I also carry out freelance assessments in schools. My series of topological maps started two years ago with Tubular Fells which has been a great success. I also sell a Scottish version called MunrOverground. Other maps are in the pipeline (or should that be tube line) with the release of my Snowdonia version this spring. The latest map is titled Snowmotion!

When did you get into hiking? Is it something you’ve done all your life or did you get into it at a later stage? If nothing else, my map projects are giving me the excuse to visit the hills and walk in places I’d perhaps never consider. People are also suggesting maps for me to create such as Dartmoor, the Yorkshire Dales, Ireland and one which includes the walking areas of the UK – lots of projects to be getting on with there then. To be honest, I also want to map the Himalaya.He said: “Growing up in the Ribble Valley I was blessed with an immediate environment that was very beautiful. I really appreciated it as a kid, but when we started going to the Lakes on many weekend trips I just fell in love with the place. You donate some of the profits to Fix the Fells. How has that been working? What do Fix the Fells do? His approach to the fells is purist in nature, though he admits he is not an out-and-out peakbagger. Volume four of seven, which cover all 214 fells described in the Wainwright Pictorial Guides, which make them the perfect companion to the books. After 20 years of hard work, I feel like it’s about time to move away from the city. As much as I love London with all it has to offer both in terms of leisure and the cultural opportunities I couldn’t imagine living where I do in 20 years time. I feel my area is for young people as it’s now so transient in terms of its migrant population and that does bring related problems. A big issue on my street is the increase in rented properties where absentee landlords often break the law with illegal conversions and an increase in multi-occupancy. Sadly, the turnover of population moving in and out means it’s very difficult to maintain a status quo such as explaining how to use the recycle bins and simple things like the look of properties through well maintained gardens. Money seeking private landlords have a lot to answer for in my eyes.

A London-based geography teacher has produced a unique map of the Lakeland fells that pays homage to two renowned, but very different, artists. The Tubular Fells map is not meant to be used to navigate the fells – it’s not to scale and some of the features are out of their actual alignment to fit the design of the map, but for anyone familiar with the Lakeland fells it provides a fascinating view of their relationship to each other. The Lake District is my favourite location. I think it’s because of my own broad ranging knowledge that endears me to the place so much. It is such a diverse and contrary to belief a massively human landscape. I love how the human interactions with the landscape has woven an amazing fabric of landscape across the fells. From the geological history, which is almost second to none in terms of its variety, to the human history dotted across the area, it’s a really amazing area. As became evident on my own map, the Lake District is roughly the same size as Greater London but within that small area are 17 major valley lakes, iconic properties, mountains greater than 3000′, but with geological characteristics that make them as varied as the Badlands of Dakota to the Alps of Europe. I have travelled quite a lot and from my own knowledge of the planet, I doubt there is as varied an area of ground on earth with as much interest and shear diversity of beauty. It’s not the greatest landscape in terms of scale, but it’s certainly one of the most intimately beautiful.I have lived and worked in London for 20 years. I live in East Ham in the London Borough of Newham, host borough of the Olympic Games.

I love to go alone onto the fells, but I also enjoy the camaraderie of walking in a group, usually members of the Online Fellwalking Club (OFC).

We all complain, but to be honest, there’s not much wrong with the place and I think as a nation we should be proud of what our capital can offer when compared to other cities in the world. I think it’s a bit of a cheat to just walk from one cairn to the next and say you’ve bagged another mountain. Mountains are massive structures and they have many facets and interesting features that often grace their flanks. This is one reason I started scrambling as I wanted to know the mountains as a whole and not as just a summit top cairn,” he added. The result is a stylised map, colour-coded in line with Wainwright’s different volumes of his Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells, with each area depicted in its distinctive hue. In addition to the 214 fells listed by Wainwright, the map includes the sections of the Coast to Coast Walk, the Cumbria Way and the very end of the Dales Way that fall into the area covered. Let’s talk about Tubular Fells which is the perfect mixture of London and the Lake District (and a brilliant name by the way)! It seems to have been really successful as I keep seeing it everywhere. How did you come up with the idea and how long did it take to complete?