Getting my 5-year-old niece to walk a block can at times be a challenge. But to Sail Chapman, a block would be a baby step. This five-year-old boy is the youngest person to climb all 214 peaks listed in Alfred Wainwright’s Lake District guide books.
After reading an article about the previous record holder who, at the age of five years and 11 months, had completed all the climbs in Wainwright’s guides, Sail’s parents realized that he had trekked most of them at just 4 years old.
Sail’s accomplishment was documented by his family through photographs and logs and is now being verified by the Ramblers Association.
The hikes are a great opportunity for the family to talk and spend time together but when asked what he likes best, Sail says, “My favourite thing about it is the sandwiches.”
Oh to be five again!
Alfred Wainwright’s seven-volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells originally published between 1955 and 1966, is made up of reproductions of the British fellwalker’s handwritten manuscript and is considered the standard reference to the 214 fells of the Lake District. In 2006, a 50th Anniversary Edition Box Set of the guides was released. What a great gift idea for avid hikers!
