Wainwright: His Life from Milltown to Mountain

by W.R. Mitchell

Alfred Wainwright (1907-1991) became the proverbial legend in his own lifetime. He made the Lakeland fells his own through a series of hand-drawn, hand-written guide books. Over 200 fells became known as 'Wainwrights'. A society has been named after him. His exploits have been recently emulated in the BBC television series "Wainwright Walks". This ground-breaking, richly anecdotal and personal book about Wainwright also recalls his young days in the Lancashire mill town of Blackburn and his fascination - as a lone walker - for wild places in Lancashire, along the Pennines, which have been described as 'the backbone of England', and in the north-west extremities of Scotland. He devised the popular Coast to Coast Walk, from the Irish Sea at St Bees to the North Sea at Robin Hood's Bay. The author, Bill Mitchell, is one of a quartet of fell walkers who were personal friends of AW and his wife Betty. She also features in this book, which - far from being a dull treatise on fell walking - enters the quirky, ever fascinating world of its best-known exponent and the wife who played a strong supporting role.

159 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2009

Reviews

[Steve Chilton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frankly a disappointment. For someone who supposed 'knew' Wainwright he had little to offer really. Mostly a load of guff about his aged walkers club. Hoping for better from Burton's Wainwright's Way.