Bonington And Bragg In Wainwright Challenge

The somewhat incongruous duo of Sir Chris Bonington and Lord Melvin Bragg will be following in Wainwright's footsteps next month with the news that the pair will take part in The Great Wainwright Challenge.

The event, which is being organised by the Wainwright Society to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Wainwright's first Lake District guidebook, allows participants to select and scale one of the 214 'Wainwrights' in Cumbria between May 14 and May 21. Right now some 194 of the fells have been snapped up leaving just 20 to choose from.

If you were wondering, Sir Chris will pull on his walking boots to tackle High Pike near Caldbeck, while Lord Bragg will take on Binsey in the western Lake District which commands a majestic panorama of the Solway Firth.

Over 250 people have already signed up to tackle on of the tops which range from Castle Crag in Borrowdale (985ft) - through to England's highest mountain, Scafell Pike. (3,210ft). At the same time, the Wainwright Society has seen its membership increase by 50 per-cent with over 150 new members signing up.

"The response has been phenomenal - the fact we did not launch the challenge until the first week of January and yet by Easter we have 90 per cent of the fells allocated, is superb," said John Burland, of the Wainwright Society which exists to venerate the memory of the legendary Lakeland guidebook writer.

Registration for the challenge costs £10 including a £3 donation to the Lake District Tourism and Conservation Partnership, which raises money for footpath repair and other environmental projects and you can find full details at www.wainwright.org.uk/challenge.

What would the notoriously reclusive Wainwright - above - have made of it all? Hmmm...