Most people who go walking in the Lake District are familiar with the "Wainwrights"—a list of 214 hills that Alfred Wainwright liked. Because so many people follow that same list, the paths are busy and often worn down to the dirt.

But there is another group of people looking for the quiet spots. For them, Tim Synge is the person who mapped out the parts of the park that everyone else misses. His list, now known as "The Synges," doesn't just look at the famous peaks. It looks at the whole landscape, identifying 670 different summits that most people never even notice.

A Life of Planning and Longing

Tim Synge (pronounced "Sing") doesn’t actually live in the Lake District. He lives in Devon and used to live in Bristol. Because he lived so far away, he spent a lot of time "armchair walking"—looking at highly detailed Ordnance Survey maps to stay connected to the fells. He once tried to drive from Bristol to the Lakes and back in a single day, but he realized pretty quickly that it wasn't a good way to live.

This focus on planning came from his professional life. Synge spent his career in high-level administration and management. He worked as the Bursar and Secretary for Sidcot School in Somerset and later held director roles for schools and management companies in Devon, like Stover School and the White House in Torrington. He used that same organized, administrative mindset to create a massive survey of the Lake District fells.

He originally wrote his book, The Lakeland Summits, by hand in 1995. He didn’t think anyone would really care about it and expected the leftover copies to sit in his garage forever. But when the internet came along, a community of "peak-baggers" found his work and turned his personal study into a popular challenge.

The Logic of the 670

The list of 670 hills isn't just a random selection. Synge used a specific rule: to be a separate summit, a hill usually has to have a "re-ascent" of at least 30 meters. This means you have to walk down at least 100 feet before you start climbing the next peak. He didn't know it at the time, but this 30-meter rule is now a standard used by professional geographers.

However, he also used his own judgment. He included 117 "subjective" tops that didn't meet the 30-meter rule but felt like they deserved to be on the list because they were rugged or iconic. A good example is Castle Crag. At only 290 meters high, it’s the only hill on the list below the usual 300-meter cutoff, but it's included because it’s a perfect miniature mountain.

In 2025, Synge updated his work for a 30th-anniversary edition called The Synges. He added new hills because the National Park boundaries grew in 2016, adding areas like Bretherdale and Whinfell Common.

Mapping the Hidden Fells

Walking the Synges is very different from walking the Wainwrights. Since only about a third of the hills are on both lists, you spend most of your time in "unimproved" areas.

There are no gravel paths or stone stairs on most of these hills. You have to walk through thick heather, cross hidden bogs (which locals call "mosses"), and climb over loose rocks. Many of the 670 summits are just small bumps on a high, grassy plateau. To find them, you have to be good with a map and compass because there are often no tracks to follow.

The First Finishers

Completing all 670 hills is a huge task. The official records are kept by the Long Distance Walkers Association (LDWA). The first person to finish the original list was Paul Shorrock in 2007.

Lately, the list has become popular with fell runners who want a new challenge. In 2025, a runner named Will Barton became the first person to finish the list with his dog, Willow. This was a big achievement because Willow had previously broken her leg, and Barton wasn't sure if she’d ever be able to walk on the fells again. Their completion showed that these remote hills are accessible to anyone with enough patience and determination.

A Practical Way to See it All

Tim Synge self-published his latest book because he wanted to keep a printed record of the fells. His writing is practical and no-nonsense. He isn't trying to sell you a vacation; he’s giving you a guide to the actual ground.

By pointing people toward these 670 summits, he helps spread out the crowds. He gives walkers a reason to visit quiet corners of the park that most tourists never see. If you find yourself on a lonely, pathless hill with a great view and no one else around, you’ve probably found a Synge. He didn't write the list to make himself famous; he wrote it to show that there is much more to the Lake District than just the famous peaks.

Learn more about The Synge Classification View The Synges

View The Synge Database

Hills Mentioned in This Article

Hill Name	Height	Why it's on the list
Scafell Pike	978m	The highest point in England.
Glaramara	783m	A rocky ridge with lots of small tops.
Steel Fell	553m	A steep, grassy hill near the main road.
Great Cockup	526m	A quiet, steep hill in the north.
Little Mell Fell	505m	An isolated, rounded mound of old rock.
Grange Fell	416m	A rugged, wooded summit that feels like a mountain.
Troutbeck Tongue	364m	A small hill sitting in the middle of a big valley.
Castle Crag	290m	Included for being a "perfect miniature mountain."

Timothy Synge and the 670 Lakeland Summits