A Walker's Notebook by Wainwright, Alfred (2014) Paperback

by Alfred Wainwright

A Walker's Notebook has been compiled for all those people who walk for pleasure (over 77% of the UK adult population). This best-selling book has sold over 70,000 copies and this new edition has a flexi binding and its small size makes it ideal for slipping in a pocket and taking along with you. Whether a Sunday afternoon jaunt close to home or a hill walk on holiday, A Walker's Notebook has space to record details of nearly 100 walks including dates, routes, companions and what you experienced on the way. Also included are pages to make notes of favourite pubs, cafes and places to stay. Illustrated throughout with charming illustrations by A. Wainwright this is an ideal gift for anybody who loves walking.

Paperback

First published October 15, 2007

About the author

Alfred 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.