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Alfred Wainwright c. 1980s, with trademark pipe.
Alfred Wainwright c.  1980s, with trademark pipe.

Alfred ("A. ") Wainwright MBE (17 January 1907 – 20 January 1991) was a British hillwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. Events 38 BC - Octavian marries Livia Drusilla. 1287 - King Alfonso III of Aragon invades Minorca Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 250 - Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located In Britain, the term hillwalking or fellwalking is normally used to describe the recreational practice of walking in hilly or Mountainous terrain generally An author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created For the vector -based drawing program by Adobe Systems, see Adobe Illustrator. His seven-volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, published between 1955 and 1966 and consisting entirely of reproductions of his hand-written manuscript, has become the standard reference work to the 214 fells of the English Lake District. A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells A manuscript is any Document that is Written by hand as opposed to being printed or reproduced in some other way Fell (from the Old Norse fjall, 'mountain' is a word used to refer to Mountains or certain types of mountainous landscape in Scandinavia England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The Lake District, also known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a rural area in North West England. Among his 40-odd other books is the first guide to the Coast to Coast Walk, a 190-mile long-distance footpath devised by Wainwright which remains popular today. The Coast to Coast Walk is a 192-mile (according to a recent re-measuring the real distance is almost 220 miles unofficial and mostly unsignposted long distance footpath Long-distance trails (or long-distance tracks paths footpaths or Greenways are the longer recreational right-of-way routes mainly through rural areas used for non-motorised

Contents

Life

Alfred Wainwright was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, into a family which was relatively poor, mostly due to his stonemason father's alcoholism. Blackburn ( is a large town in Lancashire, England. It lies to the north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea The craft of stonemasonry has existed since the dawn of Civilization - creating Buildings structures and Sculpture using stone from the earth He did very well at school (first in nearly every subject)[1] although he left at the age of 13. While most of his classmates were obliged to find employment in the local mills, Wainwright started work as an office boy in Blackburn Borough Engineer's Department. Borough status in the United Kingdom is granted by Royal charter to Local government Districts in England, Wales and Northern He spent several further years studying at night school, gaining qualifications in accountancy which enabled him to further his career at Blackburn Borough Council. Accountancy or accounting is the measurement statement or provision of assurance about financial information primarily used by Lenders managers, Even when a child Wainwright walked a great deal, up to 20 miles at a time; he also showed a great interest in drawing and cartography, producing his own maps of England and his local area. Drawing is a Visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium

In 1930, at the age of 23, Wainwright saved up enough money for a week's walking holiday in the Lake District with his cousin Eric Beardsall. The Lake District, also known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a rural area in North West England. They arrived in Windermere and climbed the nearby hill Orrest Head, where Wainwright saw his first view of the Lakeland fells. Windermere is a Town in Cumbria, England. It lies about half a mile away from the lake of the same name. Orrest Head is a Fell in the Lake District on the eastern shores of Lake Windermere. Fell (from the Old Norse fjall, 'mountain' is a word used to refer to Mountains or certain types of mountainous landscape in Scandinavia This moment marked the start of what he would later describe as his love affair with the Lake District. In 1931 he married his first wife, Ruth Holden, a local mill worker, with whom he had a son Peter. In 1941 Wainwright was able to move closer to the fells when he took a job (and with it a pay cut) at the Borough Treasurer's office in Kendal, Westmorland. Kendal is a Market town and Civil parish within the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. Westmorland (formerly also spelt Westmoreland, an even older spelling is Westmerland) is an area of north-west England and one of the 39 Historic counties He lived and worked in the town for the rest of his life, serving as Borough Treasurer from 1948 until he retired in 1967. His first marriage ended when Ruth walked out three weeks before he retired. A few years later he would meet and marry Betty, also a divorcee who became his walking companion and who eventually carried his ashes to the top of Haystacks[2]. Haystacks, or Hay Stacks, is a hill in England 's Lake District, situated at the south-eastern end of the Buttermere Valley

Pictorial Guides

Book One of the Pictorial Guide
Book One of the Pictorial Guide

Wainwright started work on the first page of his Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells on 9 November 1952. A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells Events 694 - Egica, a king of the Visigoths of Hispania, accuses Jews of aiding Muslims sentencing all Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. [3] He planned the precise scope and content of the seven volumes from the start, and worked conscientiously and meticulously on the series for the next 13 years at an average rate of one page per evening.

According to Wainwright in his autobiography Fellwanderer, he initially planned the series for his own interest rather than with any intention of publication. An autobiography, from the Greek αὐτός autos "self" βίος bios "life" and γράφειν graphein "to write" When he did come to publish his first book it was privately through a local printer, as he could not face the prospect of finding a publisher; however, his friend Henry Marshall, Chief Librarian of Kendal and Westmorland, took charge of publicity and administration and his name appears as publisher on the early editions. Self-publishing is the Publishing of Books and other media by the Authors of those works rather than by established Third-party This arrangement continued for the first editions of the next three books in the series, after which they were taken over by the local newspaper The Westmorland Gazette in Kendal. Kendal is a Market town and Civil parish within the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. Wainwright's books were in turn taken over by Michael Joseph in the 1990s. When they ceased publication in 2003,[4] the rights were bought by Frances Lincoln. Frances Elisabeth Rosemary Lincoln ( 20 March 1945 – 26 February 2001) was an English independent Publisher of illustrated [5]

The Pictorial Guides are currently being updated, for the first time since their original publication, to take account of changed conditions on the fells. The revisions are being made by Chris Jesty, who uses an imitation of Wainwright's hand lettering to make the alterations look as unobtrusive as possible. Perhaps the most notable change is that the covers of the revised books show photographs of the Lake District, rather than the drawings that were on the covers of the originals. As of 2007 the first four books in the series had been issued in a revised edition, with the project planned for completion in 2012. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.

Later works

Wainwright followed the Pictorial Guides in 1968 with the Pennine Way Companion, applying the same detailed approach to Britain's first long-distance footpath. This was for many years a leading guide to the Pennine Way, rivalling the official guide book by Tom Stephenson. The Pennine Way is a National Trail in England. The trail runs 429 kilometres (268 mi from Edale, in the northern Derbyshire Tom Criddle Stephenson (1893-1987 was a British Journalist and a leading champion of walkers' rights in the Countryside. Wainwright's book consists of a continuous strip map of the route with accompanying commentary, with an unusual quirk: because the route goes from south to north (bottom to top on a map), contrary to normal reading order, the map and commentary start at the bottom of the last page and work upwards and backwards towards the front of the book. A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, Regions, and Themes The guide was prepared with the aid of four helpers (Harry Appleyard, Len Chadwick, Cyril Moore and Lawrence Smith) and its preparation was affected by the major outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in 1966 and 1967, which closed access to many of the moors. Foot-and-mouth disease ( FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease ( Aphtae epizooticae) is a highly contagious and sometimes fatal viral

In 1972 Wainwright devised the Coast to Coast Walk, partly as a conscious alternative to the Pennine Way. The Coast to Coast Walk is a 192-mile (according to a recent re-measuring the real distance is almost 220 miles unofficial and mostly unsignposted long distance footpath The Coast to Coast, he declares in his guidebook to the route, which follows the same format as the Pennine Way Companion, "puts the Pennine Way to shame" for scenic beauty, variety and interest. [6] The 190-mile route traverses the north of England from St. Bees to Robin Hood's Bay, passing through the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors national parks. St Bees is a Village and Civil parish in the Copeland district of Cumbria, in the north of England, about five miles west south-west Robin Hood’s Bay is a small fishing town or village located five miles south of Whitby on the coast of North Yorkshire, England. The Yorkshire Dales (also known as The Dales) is the name given to an upland area in Northern England. The North York Moors (also known as the North Yorkshire Moors) is a national park in North Yorkshire, England. A national park is a reserve of land usually declared and owned by a national Government, protected from most Human development and pollution

The Outlying Fells of Lakeland (an idea he had previously rejected), published in 1974, was his last major guidebook. The Outlying Fells of Lakeland is a book written by Alfred Wainwright. Thereafter he concentrated on sketchbooks of larger-size line drawings until his eyesight began to fail in the mid-1980s. His Ex-Fellwanderer, an autobiographical work published in 1987, was clearly intended to be his last written work – to the relief of some, shocked by the misogyny and right-wing views it revealed – but he continued to lend his name and some written commentary to a series of "coffee table books" featuring the photography of Derry Brabbs. A coffee table book is a Hardcover Book that is intended to sit on a Coffee table or similar surface in an area where guests sit and are entertained thus Although commercially successful, these were not highly regarded by fans of Wainwright's earlier work as they contained little new information and the octogenarian's prose had become stilted and humourless.

Television

In the mid-1980s Wainwright began to become a TV personality; several TV series based on his work were largely devised and presented by the farmer and broadcaster Eric Robson.

A BBC documentary has been shot about Wainwright's life and was aired on Sunday 25 February 2007 on BBC Four, prior to a new 4-part series of walks beginning on Monday 26 February 2007. BBC Four is a BBC Television channel available to digital television ( Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable) viewers in the

This first Wainwright Walks BBC series covered Blencathra by Sharp Edge, Castle Crag, Haystacks and Scafell Pike from Seathwaite. |} Blencathra is one of the most northerly mountains in the English Lake District. Castle Crag is a Hill in the North Western Fells of the English Lake District. Haystacks, or Hay Stacks, is a hill in England 's Lake District, situated at the south-eastern end of the Buttermere Valley |} At 978 metres (3209 feet Scafell Pike is the highest mountain in England. The second series, broadcast later in 2007, includes Catbells, Crinkle Crags, Helm Crag, Helvellyn from Patterdale, High Street from Mardale and Pillar. Catbells is a Fell in the English Lake District in the County of Cumbria. |} Crinkle Crags is a Fell in the English Lake District in the county of Cumbria. Helm Crag is a Fell in the English Lake District situated in the Central Fells to the north of Grasmere. |} Helvellyn is a mountain in the English Lake District, the apex of the Eastern Fells. High Street is a Fell in the English Lake District. At 828 metres (2718 ft its summit is the highest point in the far eastern part of |} Pillar is a Mountain in the western part of the English Lake District. The presenter is Julia Bradbury. Julia Bradbury (born 1972 in Dublin, Ireland) is an English television presenter currently best known as a presenter (since 2005 of the BBC One A Granada TV series Wainwright Country included Eagle Crag, Great Calva, Knott Rigg, Pike O'Blisco, Stybarrow Dodd, Thornthwaite Crag and Yewbarrow. Eagle Crag is a Fell in the Lake District in Cumbria, England, it is situated near the village of Stonethwaite where the valleys of |} Great Calva is a Fell in the Lake District England It is in the Northern Fells, lying roughly at the centre of this region of high ground Knott Rigg is a Fell at the head of the Newlands Valley in the English Lake District, it is situated some 8 Pike of Blisco, or Pike o' Blisco, is a Mountain in the Lake District in Cumbria, England. |} Stybarrow Dodd is a Fell in the English Lake District. It stands on the main spine of the Helvellyn range in the Eastern Fells, Thornthwaite Crag is a Fell in the English Lake District, standing to the west of Haweswater Reservoir. |} Yewbarrow is a Fell in the English Lake District which lies immediately north of the head of Wast Water.

DVD Release

Wainwright Walks Series One was released on DVD in June 2007 and Series Two will be available in early January 2008.

Influence

Innominate Tarn on Haystacks, Wainwright's favourite fell, where his ashes were scattered.
Innominate Tarn on Haystacks, Wainwright's favourite fell, where his ashes were scattered. Haystacks, or Hay Stacks, is a hill in England 's Lake District, situated at the south-eastern end of the Buttermere Valley

Wainwright died in 1991 of a heart attack. According to his biographer Hunter Davies he failed to leave anything to his son Peter, the product of his first, unhappy marriage. Hunter Davies (born 7 January 1936) is a prolific British Author, Journalist and broadcaster, perhaps best known for writing

Wainwright's Pictorial Guides have been in continuous publication since they were written and have sold more than two million copies. [7] Although a large number of more up-to-date guides are now on the market, his books remain among the most popular available for their depth, detail and unique style. Moreover, his division of the Lake District into seven areas, and his choice of fells to include, have been followed in whole or in part by subsequent writers such as Mark Richards. [1] The Coast to Coast Walk too is one of the most popular long-distance footpaths in the United Kingdom despite its lack of official status, and has spawned various guidebooks by other authors. The Coast to Coast Walk is a 192-mile (according to a recent re-measuring the real distance is almost 220 miles unofficial and mostly unsignposted long distance footpath In 2003 it was voted the second best walk in the world in a survey of experts conducted by Country Walking magazine. [8] The popularity of Wainwright's books of drawings and large-format photographic books has not matched that of the guides, however, and many of these are now out of print.

The 214 fells described in the Pictorial Guides are now generally known as the Wainwrights, and visiting them all is a common form of peak bagging. Wainwrights are the 214 Fells (hills and mountains described in A Peak bagging (also hill bagging, mountain bagging, Munro bagging, or among enthusiasts just bagging) is an activity in which The Long Distance Walkers Association maintains a register of walkers who have completed the Wainwrights; in November 2007 there were 459 people on the list, of whom 40 had completed more than once. [9] Dave Hewitt estimates that the total number of completers could be over 50% higher than the LDWA's figure. [10] The Ramblers Association reported in 2008 that a boy of six years, four months and 27 days had become the youngest person to complete the Wainwrights. The Ramblers' Association, also known as The Ramblers, is the largest walkers' rights organisation in Great Britain which aims to look after the interests [11]

Wainwright was a strong supporter of animal rights, and gave most of the profits from his books to animal charities. "Animal liberation" redirects here for other uses see Animal liberation (disambiguation. In 1972 he became chairman of the recently founded Animal Rescue Cumbria, and over the years he donated enough money to the charity to enable the foundation in 1984 of Kapellan, a shelter for stray cats and dogs in Kendal. After his death the society was renamed "Animal Rescue Cumbria – The Wainwright Shelter" in his memory. [12]

The Wainwright Society was inaugurated in 2002, with the aim of keeping alive the things he promoted through his books.

Bibliography

This is a list of the principal books by Wainwright published in his lifetime. He also produced several further books of drawings and illustrated works by other authors notably "The Plague Dogs" by Richard Adams in which his maps are fairly essential for following the dogs' progress . The Plague Dogs is the third novel by Richard Adams, author of Watership Down. Richard George Adams (born May 9, 1920) is an English Novelist who is best known as the writer of three novels featuring animal characters [13]

Guidebooks

  • Book 1: The Eastern Fells (1955)
  • Book 2: The Far Eastern Fells (1957)
  • Book 3: The Central Fells (1958)
  • Book 4: The Southern Fells (1960)
  • Book 5: The Northern Fells (1962)
  • Book 6: The North Western Fells (1964)
  • Book 7: The Western Fells (1966)

Books of drawings

Autobiographical works

Colour illustrated books

References

  1. ^ BBC 4 documentary, Feb 2007
  2. ^ A. A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells The Outlying Fells of Lakeland is a book written by Alfred Wainwright. Wainwright, Memoirs of a Fellwanderer (Frances Lincoln, London, 1993)
  3. ^ W. Frances Elisabeth Rosemary Lincoln ( 20 March 1945 – 26 February 2001) was an English independent Publisher of illustrated R. Mitchell, "Solo walks and evening work: Wainwright remembered" in Dave Hewitt (ed. ), A Bit of Grit on Haystacks (Disley: Millrace, 2004), p. 23
  4. ^ Wainwright guides are shelved. BBC (14 January 2003). Events 1129 - Formal approval of the Order of the Templar at the Council of Troyes. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar.
  5. ^ Frances Lincoln Press release
  6. ^ A. Frances Elisabeth Rosemary Lincoln ( 20 March 1945 – 26 February 2001) was an English independent Publisher of illustrated Wainwright, A Coast to Coast Walk (London: Frances Lincoln, [1973] 2003). ISBN 978-0-7112-2236-6
  7. ^ "Wainwright guides saved", BBC News, 13 February 2003, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2761445.stm. Retrieved 22 October 2006.
  8. ^ "Coast walk tops trek to Everest", BBC News, 23 November 2004, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4034485.stm. Retrieved 22 October 2006.
  9. ^ Long Distance Walkers Association – Hill Walkers Register. Retrieved 7 March 2008.
  10. ^ Dave Hewitt, "Interlude: A few thoughts on Fellbagging" in Hewitt (ed. ), A Bit of Grit on Haystacks (Disley: Millrace, 2004), pp. 87–88
  11. ^ "Youngster's sweet feat" . Walk: the magazine of the Rambler's Association (18: Spring 2008): 15.  
  12. ^ Dorothy Schofield, "Animal Rescue Cumbria – Kapellan", The Wainwright Society, http://www.wainwright.org.uk/article/kapellan.html. Retrieved 22 October 2006
  13. ^ Bibliography based on the list at www.visitcumbria.com – A Wainwright, accessed 19 October 2006. Events 202 BCE - The Battle of Zama results in the defeat of Carthage and Hannibal. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

See also

W. A. Poucher — whose mountain guidebook style and intensive use of photographs were in contrast to Wainwright's. Walter Arthur Poucher (b 1891 d 1988 sometimes called 'William Arthur Poucher' (see talk was one of the leading English mountain photographers and guide-book writers in the years following

Further reading

External links

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