Alfred Wainwright: would he have approved of five-year-olds on the fells?

They just get younger: an East Yorkshire boy has completed his round of the wainwrights, just a few weeks past his fifth birthday.

Sail Chapman of Beverley ticked off his last summit – the appropriately named Sale Fell, one of the lesser mountains described by Alfred Wainwright in his Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells. Sail’s achievement beats that of another five-year-old fellbagger Robin Regan, who climbed the last of his 214 Lakeland peaks earlier this year.

Sail’s parents, David Chapman and Clare Lavery are both GPs and hit the fells with their five children as soon as they can walk. Sail and his family conquered Sale Fell on 17 October, 22 days after turning five.

Sale Fell is the seventh lowest wainwright and overlooks Bassenthwaite Lake, in the North-West of the Lake District national park. Sail, who is in the reception class of the private Hull Collegiate College, was accompanied on his last wainwright conquest by a television crew from ITV.

His parents decided to go for the record for Sail when they realised he had walked up most of the wainwrights by the time he was four. Their push was prompted by reading a story about a previous record holder.

Sail’s four-year-old sister Danu has completed more than 70 wainwrights and his older brothers Eire, eight, and Evan, six, have achieved the full round. His two-year-old brother Coel has just completed his first fellwalk.

Sale’s record will now go for verification. The Long Distance Walkers’ Association keeps a completers’ list, but this is believed not to be comprehensive.

Alfred Wainwright’s series of seven handwritten and illustrated guides described 214 of the Lake District’s fells. Published between 1955 and 1966, they became classics for their distinctive style and opinionated narrative. Wainwright died in 1991.

Youngest son Coel has just turned two and recently walked up his first fell, daughter Danu is four and has already completed more than 70, while brothers Eire, eight, and Evan, six, completed their Wainwrights three weeks ago.