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Fellwalking With Wainwright
Fellwalking With Wainwright
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1984
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About the author
Alfred Wainwright
215 books39 followersAlfred Wainwright was born in Blackburn, Lancashire to Thomas Wainwright and Elizabeth Nixon.[citation needed] His family was relatively poor, mostly due to his stonemason father's alcoholism. 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. He spent several further years studying at night school, gaining qualifications in accountancy which enabled him to further his career at Blackburn Borough Council. 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.
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. They arrived in Windermere and climbed the nearby hill Orrest Head, where Wainwright saw his first view of the Lakeland fells. 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. 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. They later divorced. In 1970 he married Betty McNally (1922–2008), also a divorcee, who became his walking companion and who eventually carried his ashes to Innominate Tarn at the top of Haystacks.
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. They arrived in Windermere and climbed the nearby hill Orrest Head, where Wainwright saw his first view of the Lakeland fells. 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. 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. They later divorced. In 1970 he married Betty McNally (1922–2008), also a divorcee, who became his walking companion and who eventually carried his ashes to Innominate Tarn at the top of Haystacks.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 24, 2021
Since I can't get out in the mountains right now, I visited in my imagination with this book!
I loved the photography, and Wainwright's cheerful, encouraging tone of writing. I've found a lot of hiking guides seem to use this bizarrely formal language that makes the trips seem not all that welcoming. They're also sometimes a little scornful of 'the easy route,' which can make it feel quite exclusive as an activity. In contrast, Wainwright's tendency to throw in little asides and reflections, and his cheerful honesty about which parts of each hike are harder or a bit boring make the walks feel much more inviting. My to-do list of hikes has grown to include every single one described in this book!
I loved the photography, and Wainwright's cheerful, encouraging tone of writing. I've found a lot of hiking guides seem to use this bizarrely formal language that makes the trips seem not all that welcoming. They're also sometimes a little scornful of 'the easy route,' which can make it feel quite exclusive as an activity. In contrast, Wainwright's tendency to throw in little asides and reflections, and his cheerful honesty about which parts of each hike are harder or a bit boring make the walks feel much more inviting. My to-do list of hikes has grown to include every single one described in this book!
August 3, 2016
A very lavish, well-illustrated tome on the Lake District, filled with Wainwright's prose describing the fells and how to enjoy them.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews