Alfred Wainwright

Alfred Wainwright was born in Blackburn, Lancashire in 1907, the son of a stonemason, and was brought up in poor circumstances. He left school at the age of 13 to begin work as an office boy, and 10 years later in 1930 he had enough money to afford a holiday away from home, travelling to the Lake District for the first time. During this first visit he climbed the modest heights of Orrest Head in Windermere, and the stunning panoramic view that unfolded before his eyes kindled a love affair with the Lake District that shaped the rest of his life.

Wainwright returned to the Lake District many times, engineering a move to Kendal in 1941, taking a pay cut in order that he could be nearer the Lakeland fells. His love of fell-walking neared the obsessional, as he set out alone in all weather to climb the many peaks in the Lake District. Wainwright was dissatisfied with the accuracy of existing maps, so, in 1952, he began to pen his own series of walking guides, each lovingly handwritten with painstakingly accurate maps and beautifully drawn views. These 'Pictorial Guides' became an instant success when the first book, 'The Eastern Fells', was published in 1955. By 1966 all seven books were complete, detailing 214 separate Lakeland fells with a charming combination of love and wit, and the series of remarkable guides have been popular with generations of Lakeland fell-walkers ever since.

Alfred Wainwright, a modest and humble man, died in 1991, having admirably given away most of his considerable earnings to animal-rescue charities. A memorial to Wainwright can be found in the church at Buttermere, his ashes having been scattered above the village on his favourite Lakeland fell, Haystacks.

To purchase Wainwright's Pictorial Guides from Striding Edge, click here.