Bill Birkett's list, 'Lakeland's Great Routes', cribbed from his enjoyable history of Lake District climbing, 'Lakeland's Greatest Pioneers: A Hundred Years of Rock Climbing' (London: Robert Hale, 1983).
Birkett picked 11 figures to represent the history of the Lakes:
- W. P. Haskett-Smith
- O. G. Jones
- F. W. Botterill
- S. Herford
- H. M. Kelly
- A. T. Hargreaves
- R. J. Birkett
- W. Peascod
- A. R. Dolphin
- A. Austin
- P. Livesley
What follows is Birkett's selection of the 'most significant and historically important' routes these pioneers put up between 1882 and 1978, plus others he deems to represent 'the very best climbing' they achieved. I've added in a couple too.
Dates are given for some key routes, and refer to the route immediately below. I've not added many, as the dates begin to overlap in the postwar period and become confusing.
p.s. Note that some UKC names are inaccurate, e.g. 'Dry Grasp' should be 'Dry Gasp'.
(ED: In progress - not quite finished yet...)
55 users are subscribed to this hilllist, and none have completed the full list.
Login as Existing User to subscribe, which will
show the climbs
you've already ticked.
User | Percentage | Latest Log | |
---|---|---|---|
1st | Hidden | 68% | 11 Sep, 2014 |
2nd | Martin Bennett | 63% | 3 Sep, 2021 |
3rd | Hidden | 46% | 8 Jun, 2023 |
4th | Shaw Brown | 37% | 2 Mar, 2021 |
5th | Climbingspike | 36% | 2017 |
6th | Rog Wilko | 35% | 17 Jun, 2017 |
7th | Hidden | 34% | 27 May, 2014 |
8th | lithos | 31% | 23 Apr, 2022 |
9th | Hidden | 29% | 24 May, 2018 |
10th | Chris Pearson | 25% | 31 May, 2003 |
Note: Only showing summits, scrambles, winter routes, and low grade climbs