I already managed a New Year’s Day ascent of Helvellyn, but I plan to visit Snowdonia, Lakeland and Scotland this year. At the start of April I anticipate launching the map somewhere in Snowdonia and so I’m sure there’ll be a few ascents there. I’ve done quite a bit of walking but never been on the likes of Cadair Idris which of course features on my new map. The map will also be on sale at points throughout the Lake District including YHA hostels and the new National Trust shop in Grasmere. It will also be available at Stanfords in Longacre, London. I came down to London to teach for 5 years and ended up staying. I live in East Ham in the London and Olympic Borough of Newham. After nearly 20 years of teaching I now run my own fledgling business designing, publishing and selling my quirky and urban looking topological maps of the mountains. I also carry out freelance assessments in schools. My series of topological maps started two years ago with Tubular Fells which has been a great success. I also sell a Scottish version called MunrOverground. Other maps are in the pipeline (or should that be tube line) with the release of my Snowdonia version this spring. The latest map is titled Snowmotion!

Going on regular hiking trips can be expensive (particularly travelling costs and accommodation). How do you manage this? How do you justify the expense to yourself?Once started, it took a few hundred hours work I guess, as the idea developed and evolved into the final map I have now. So I suppose, 10 years thinking about it and a few weeks at the computer!” A new planning map for the 21st century - designed to show all of the 214 "Wainwright Fells", with their names, as clearly as possible on a high quality topographical base map. I started walking from an early age. My first visit to Lakeland was at eight weeks old, not that I can remember, but my first real Lakeland summit had to be Loughrigg on a trip from primary school at about eight years of age.

We all complain, but to be honest, there’s not much wrong with the place and I think as a nation we should be proud of what our capital can offer when compared to other cities in the world. I think it’s a bit of a cheat to just walk from one cairn to the next and say you’ve bagged another mountain. Mountains are massive structures and they have many facets and interesting features that often grace their flanks. This is one reason I started scrambling as I wanted to know the mountains as a whole and not as just a summit top cairn,” he added.

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At some point, as already stated, I need to present money to the Fix the Fells project and with the John Muir Trust opening a new shop in Pitlochry, I will be giving the Trust as well as Scottish MRT some cash as 75 pence goes to each charity from the sale of every MunrOverground. If I get to Lakeland I will undoubtedly go scrambling and walking on the fells and a visit to Pitlochry gives me a fabulous chance to get on the hills above Blair Atholl. After a fantastic day on the fells, there’s nothing better than returning to an iconic Lakeland pub like the Kirkstile for a meal, a few pints of local Mellbreak golden ale and the conversation turned to the days exploits. I think that’s what most people long for!

He said: “Growing up in the Ribble Valley I was blessed with an immediate environment that was very beautiful. I really appreciated it as a kid, but when we started going to the Lakes on many weekend trips I just fell in love with the place. Do you feel you’ve been able to create a good balance of city life and hiking, or ideally would you want to spend more time in the countryside? You donate some of the profits to Fix the Fells. How has that been working? What do Fix the Fells do?

Mr Burgess has a degree in geography and teaches the subject in east London. He produced several maps in the past before starting work on the Tubular Fells. “I had to wait until a career break gave me the time to concentrate on my idea,” he said. If you had to recommend one walking location that’s accessible from London in a long weekend, what would it be? After 20 years of hard work, I feel like it’s about time to move away from the city. As much as I love London with all it has to offer both in terms of leisure and the cultural opportunities I couldn’t imagine living where I do in 20 years time. I feel my area is for young people as it’s now so transient in terms of its migrant population and that does bring related problems. A big issue on my street is the increase in rented properties where absentee landlords often break the law with illegal conversions and an increase in multi-occupancy. Sadly, the turnover of population moving in and out means it’s very difficult to maintain a status quo such as explaining how to use the recycle bins and simple things like the look of properties through well maintained gardens. Money seeking private landlords have a lot to answer for in my eyes. I feel fine. The hills and mountains will be there long after I’ve gone. As long as I know they’re there then I am happy until my next visit. I survive by holding onto my last outing or ascent mixed with walks in the more pastoral south. In any case, the Downs and Chilterns aren’t far away! The Tubular Fells map is not meant to be used to navigate the fells – it’s not to scale and some of the features are out of their actual alignment to fit the design of the map, but for anyone familiar with the Lakeland fells it provides a fascinating view of their relationship to each other.

This challenging walk of 184 miles (296 km) crosses the north of England from St Bees on the Irish Sea to Robin Hood's Bay on the North Sea. Devised by the legendary Wainwright, the Coast to Coast is England's most popular walk.When did you get into hiking? Is it something you’ve done all your life or did you get into it at a later stage? The Lake District is my favourite location. I think it’s because of my own broad ranging knowledge that endears me to the place so much. It is such a diverse and contrary to belief a massively human landscape. I love how the human interactions with the landscape has woven an amazing fabric of landscape across the fells. From the geological history, which is almost second to none in terms of its variety, to the human history dotted across the area, it’s a really amazing area. As became evident on my own map, the Lake District is roughly the same size as Greater London but within that small area are 17 major valley lakes, iconic properties, mountains greater than 3000′, but with geological characteristics that make them as varied as the Badlands of Dakota to the Alps of Europe. I have travelled quite a lot and from my own knowledge of the planet, I doubt there is as varied an area of ground on earth with as much interest and shear diversity of beauty. It’s not the greatest landscape in terms of scale, but it’s certainly one of the most intimately beautiful. The majority of my walking is solitary, but as stated I walk with the OFC; we organise a meet, most notably on Remembrance Day in recent years, and occasionally I’ve walked with members of the Wainwright Society of which I am a founder member. Volume four of seven, which cover all 214 fells described in the Wainwright Pictorial Guides, which make them the perfect companion to the books. How do you travel? When in the week do you go, what time of day? How long does it take, and what’s the usual cost?