A.WAINWRIGHT

1907 - 1991

 

Master Fellwalker and author of
'Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells'

 

Firstly, a short message contained in a letter of mine from the great man himself.  AW was keen to see his work used to educate others:

These pages are meant in part, to be a dedication to a man who, more than most, brought generations of walkers onto the high places of this land.  I say, “this land”, and not The Lakes, for one good reason – Alfred Wainwright had a great love of all Britain’s high places.  One perusal of his Scottish Mountain drawings will corroborate that.  Indeed, his only holiday away from Cumbria every year was a fortnight in Scotland where his dear wife Betty would drive him to some of his favourite haunts.  He never hankered for the beaches of Spain or mountains in far away lands; he felt quite content to remain in his native Britain.  His other guides include sketches of Yorkshire, Ribblesdale and Wales but I guess however, his heart was always in Cumbria.  In any case, Scotland was just too far away to get to see his second love, Blackburn Rovers Football Club.

 

Alfred Wainwright or AW as he was affectionately known, was born of working class parents, his father being a stonemason.  He was born in Blackburn Lancashire in a four-roomed terraced home with flag floors, no garden, no bathroom, a  toilet in the backyard and with the pavement leading right up to the front door. This was the childhood home of the man who would later prove synonymous with the word ‘fellwalking’. From these humble beginnings Alfred Wainwright, later known simply as A.W. to many, rose to become the authoritative figure on Lakeland walking.

 

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I better credit the Westmorland Gazette for the black and white photographs on these web pages.  The Westmorland Gazette is a great read and should be purchased for the fantastic competition,  ‘Spot the Dog’ – buy it now or next time you are in Westmorland!

Use the contents page (on each page) to navigate around the seven pages here - click on the page number to take you there:

 

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