Do you want to join the Wainwright Society? - Click here

If you want to visit the Wainwright Society page then point your browser at

If any members would like to receive a special copy of the OFC souvenir recognising the meeting then please contact me with your details by clicking here.  The cost to non-members is £1.

OFC Members with Eric Robson on the YHA lawn (Bowfell behind)

"November 9th 1952 saw my first step."

These are the words of Alfred Wainwright from his book Fellwanderer. 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.

As a young boy, Alfred walked many miles in his native Lancashire; "ill shod and ill clothed with jam butties............(he) often tramped twenty miles in a day’s walk." In 1930 at the age of 23 A.W. spent his first holiday away from home in the beauty of the Lake District. On arrival in Windermere, Wainwright ascended the recommended summit of Orrest Head. From that day forth, A.W. started a new lifelong relationship and as he said, "Those few hours on Orrest Head cast a spell that changed my life." To the rest of us, that really was a momentous day. It saw the sowing of seeds that would finally lead A.W. to settle in Kendal and the beginnings of his life-long love affair with his beloved fells. Of course the 9th of November 1952 was a significant day with the ascent of Dove Crag, where he penned the first notes for his first Pictorial Guide and -as they say- ‘The rest is history’.

Eric Robson chairs the meeting

Andrew Leaney tries hard to hold onto his OFC souvenir.

The walk sets off behind the Salutation Hotel at 11:15 a.m.

Onto Nook Lane heading for Scandale

Passing on the finer points of fell identification

"If we walk away quietly we can pretend he's not taking photos."

Ascending High Pike with a prospect of Windermere behind

Is the the ghost of AW in the mist?

"What are you looking at.  This sandwich is perfectly normal."

We couldn't believe the cloud evaporated.

Tomorrow's target for the Rememberance Day service - Gt. Gable.

A merry band of walkers celebrate A.W.'s achievement half a century previous.

Click for panorama from Dove Crag

Right: Descending to High Bakestones visible on the near skyline (right).

Below:  The cairn at High Bakestones. 

Crossing a stile in Scandale

The twinkling lights of Ambleside invite us 'home'

Cool beverages refresh the satisfied fellowship.

If you want to visit The Wainwright Society on the web then point your browser at http://www.wainwright.org.uk/

Visit the OFC at http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~burge01/home.htm

Peter M. Burgess, 2002

'fellrunning'