THE WAINWRIGHT SOCIETY NEWSLETTER

Issue 30 - June 2010

www.wainwright.org.uk

THE SOCIETY FOR LOVERS OF THE LAKE DISTRICT AND FELLWALKING.

Wainwright Society Walks and Events for 2010

Members’ Discounts

What I love about the Lakes – Terry Fletcher

Wainwright Face to Face

Filming in Lakeland

and much much more...

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3

Well, we told you in the March issue and at the AGM that Footsteps was changing, and here it is – our new-look format for the magazine.

Having produced 29 issues in A4 format, it will probably come as something of a surprise to you to have Footsteps in a smaller format. However, this size allows us to include both articles from members plus regular features and information about what the Society is doing. As they say, ‘Small is beautiful.’

These regular features will include: an article from Eric Robson, the Society Chairman; a report from Derek Cockell regarding the Forum; details of forthcoming walks and reports on previous walks; a page about new discounts obtained for members or reminders about some of the existing discounts; a Q&A session with a ‘personality’ about his or her experiences in the Lake District, and this series starts in this issue with Terry Fletcher, former Editor of Cumbria magazine. There will be a page concerning any Wainwright items that have been in the news or press over the last few months; details of any fundraising the Society has undertaken for charity; a page of Society News with details of forthcoming events; and, finally, the back page will always list dates of events planned over the next six to twelve months so you can get them into your diary early on.

One other regular feature will be ‘My Favourite Wainwright Walk’ and this is where you come in. We will welcome any member’s article about their favourite walk in the Lake District or another area that AW featured in his books. Each article needs to be 1,150 words long with two photographs to accompany it. The report and photos should be sent electronically to footsteps@wainwright.org.uk . Please send the photos separately, not embedded in the report itself.

We would also like to encourage you to send in articles for Footsteps. These should be 550 words and one photograph for a single page, or 1,150 words and two photographs for a two-page article.

John Burland (Editor) & Andrew Stainthorpe (Designer)

Society Contacts

• SOCIETY SECRETARY

Peter Linney, 3 Beech Close, Farnham, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire HG5 9JJ Tel: 01423 340481

Email: secretary@wainwright.org.uk

• MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY

Morag Clement, The Wainwright Society, Kendal Museum, Station Road, Kendal, Cumbria LA9 6BT

Email: membership@wainwright.org.uk

• PRESS & PUBLICITY

Derek Cockell, Hawthorns, Church Road, Blundeston, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR32 5AX

Email: publicity@wainwright.org.uk

• WALKS AND EVENTS

Caroline Nichol Tel: 01253 738721

Email: walkevents@wainwright.org.uk

Front Cover photograph by Val Corbett.

View westwards from Red Screes.

Note from the Editorial Team

THE WAINWRIGHT SOCIETY NEWSLETTER

Issue 30 - June 2010

www.wainwright.org.ukTHE SOCIETY FOR LOVERS OF THE LAKE DISTRICT

AND FELLWALKING.

Wainwright Society Walks and

Events for 2010

Members’ Discounts

What I love about the Lakes –

Terry Fletcher

Wainwright Face to Face

Filming in Lakeland

and much much more...

4

My first encounter with Joss Naylor was in September 1973 when he won the inaugural fell race in Langdale.

I was with friends from my local Scout Group and we climbed Harrison Stickle then walked over to Pike o’Stickle; en route we were passed by some of the runners who had started 1½ hours after us. The runner in the lead came haring past us. In fact, we all received somewhat of a shock – he was so light-footed that we never heard him coming up behind us. We descended to the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel whilst the runners went on to traverse Bowfell, Crinkle Crags and Pike o’Blisco before descending to Langdale.

We had not been back long when the first runner came into sight. It was The Gazelle as one of our party termed him. I then discovered that his name was Joss Naylor and that he was a farmer and shepherd from Wasdale. He was thirty-nine at the time and in his prime as a fellrunner.

Over succeeding years, I followed Joss’s progress at various fell races I went to – the Yorkshire 3 Peaks, the Wasdale Head Fell Race and the Ennerdale Horseshoe Race to name but a few. He won most of these, including the Ennerdale Horseshoe in nine successive years from 1968 to 1976. He also won the Lake District 30-kilometre mountain trial ten times, including six straight wins in the early 1970s. I also saw him during his run when he completed the ascent of 72 Lakeland peaks in twenty-four hours in 1975. A remarkable athlete indeed!

And then, in 1984 to celebrate his 50th birthday, he ran all the 214 fells in AW’s seven Pictorial Guides in seven days, one hour and twenty-five minutes. When I asked him about tackling this he simply replied, ‘I aimed to do one book a day.’ Not so long ago, he was listed as one of Britain’s top 100 sporting heroes alongside George Best, Geoffrey Boycott and Gareth Edwards.

A book about Joss’s life and achievements has been written by Keith Richardson who won The Lakeland Book of the Year Award for 2009 for his book Ivver Sven: this told about the people of Cumbria who have lived and worked the land over the years and who cling on to their fell-farming heritage to this day. Joss Naylor certainly falls into this category and it was when the author was interviewing Joss for Ivver Sven that he came up with the idea of writing a biography.

The book takes the reader from Joss’s early childhood at Middle Row Farm in Wasdale, through his youth when he sustained a severe back injury, and onto the time when he started competing in fell races, later setting many records for endurance running on the fells. As well as the ones mentioned above, Joss completed the Pennine Way in 3 days, 4 hours and 36 minutes in June 1974, and the Coast to Coast in 40 hours in June 1976.

Joss by Keith Richardson

BOOK REVIEW

5

One chapter in the book is devoted to the 3 Peaks run in 1971 when he set off from sea level at Fort William and 11 hours 54 minutes later put his feet in the water at Caernarfon having run up Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in the meantime. He ascended Ben Nevis in an hour and was back down to the car in 31 minutes; the ascent of Scafell Pike took him an hour from Seathwaite and the descent to the Old Dudgeon Ghyll Hotel was 55 minutes whilst Snowdon was ascended in 44 minutes from Llanberris and descended in 21 minutes.

The final chapter of the book concerns the challenge Joss set himself on 21 June 2008 which is also the subject of the Iron Man DVD.

This DVD is the film of a unique physical challenge. Joss wanted to celebrate his fifty years of competitive fell running, so on the longest day of the year in 2008 he set off from Mungrisdale in the northern fells to run home to Greendale in the Wasdale valley – a run of 35 miles, with 16,000 feet of ascent and crossing the summits of twenty of his favourite Lakeland fells including the giants of Blencathra, Skiddaw, Grisedale Pike, Great Gable and Pillar. And all this at the age of 73 and a bit. Despite problems with cramp and back spasms, he completed the run in just over fourteen hours. The DVD contains superb filming by Striding Edge Productions.

Joss Naylor is a unique man whose life is brilliantly covered by Keith Richardson in the book, and it is illustrated with superb photographs by Val Corbett (who has supplied our front cover photograph). If you have any interest in fell running whatsoever, this is definitely a book and DVD for your collection.

Joss by Keith Richardson. ISBN: 9-780955-964015. Published by River Greta Writer, Keswick. £25.00

Joss Naylor – Iron Man DVD. Produced by Striding Edge £14.99 (£13.50 to Society Members).

Photographs kindly supplied by Val Corbett

John BurlandMembership No. 2

Keith Richardson pictured with Joss Naylor

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7

This is the first of a regular page within Footsteps to give you, the members, an update of events that have been happening on the Society Forum and to encourage new members to join and contribute to the discussions.

Change has been in the air on the Forum during the past few months. Peter Hardy stepped down from the role of Global Moderator in October 2009 and I was asked to take on the responsibility. I would like to pay tribute to the tremendous job that Pete did during his six years as Moderator. From quiet beginnings, the Forum grew into a very lively place. It was enhanced by the introduction of a number of new boards including ‘Out and About’, ‘Ask Me On Monday’ and ‘The Sharp Edge’. Pete will be a hard act to follow.

At the beginning of February, a new Society members’ board was set up with the approval of the Management Committee. Any Society member can register to view and post to the new board. This new board has three main purposes:

1. To discuss future Society events and activities

2. To put forward new ideas that the Committee might like to progress

3. To discuss ways that the Society might develop in the future

I am confident that, over time, this board will grow and develop into a useful communication tool between individual members and the Committee that manages the affairs of the Society. I also hope that it will become a source of information for the most recent developments within the Society.

At the time of writing, there have been, amongst others, discussions about the 80th Anniversary walk to Orrest Head, the 2009 Challenge book, Pennine Journey, and the Wainwright Society on Facebook.

What is pleasing is that Forum members have made an active contribution to the continuing development of the Society. For example, the Society calendar was conceived and developed

by Forum members after a random discussion. It was a suggestion from a Forum member that the Society should raise money for the Cumbria Flood Appeal. The programme of excellent Society walks was restarted after a Forum discussion.

Another change has been the opening up of the Forum to guests who can now view posts on the main board. However, a guest needs to register on the Forum in order to make posts. It is hoped that by opening up the Forum to all, it will encourage new faces to read the message boards, join the Forum and, hopefully, bring new members to the Society.

As more members join in, the outcome can surely only be positive for the Society. If you have not yet given the Forum a try, you can view as a guest at http://wainwright.proboards.com/index.cgi or you can link to the Forum from the home page of the Society website. There are full instructions about how to register as a member of the Forum and the Society members’ board.

I look forward to your contributions on the Forum.

Derek CockellGlobal Moderator

The Wainwright Society Forum

Some of the Forum regulars walking in Upper Teesdale

8

Saturday 24 July 2010

TROUTBECK, THORNTHWAITE CRAG AND THORNTHWAITE BEACON

Meet outside Troutbeck church (situated on the A592) at 10am

11 miles with 2,200 feet of ascent

The Troutbeck Valley is one of the most beautiful valleys in the Lake District. Thornthwaite Crag occupies a commanding position overlooking four valleys and the summit is crowned by a tall pillar of stones, Thornthwaite Beacon, which is a landmark for miles around. Members will need to take a packed lunch.

Saturday 14th August 2010

KIRKBY STEPHEN & SMARDALE

Meet outside the Tourist Information Centre, situated in the Market Square, Kirkby Stephen, 10am.

12 miles with 1,660ft of ascent.

This walk is to celebrate the publication of Chris Jesty’s revision of AW’s A Coast to Coast Walk.

From Kirkby Stephen, the route will follow a short section of the Pennine Journey footpath to the village of Nateby. We will then join the disused railway line through Smardale to Smardale Bridge and return to Kirkby Stephen along the Coast to Coast footpath.

Saturday 25 September 2010EASEDALE TARN, BLEA RIGG AND SILVER HOW

Meet outside the Heaton Cooper studio, Grasmere at 10am

7 miles with 1,750 feet of ascent

Blea Rigg is strategically positioned between Stickle Tarn on one side and Easedale Tarn on the other. The ridge route from Blea Rigg to Silver How is a joy to follow with many twists and turns and ever- changing views. The summit of Silver How is delightful and the views superb. The walk will be followed by an early evening supper at one of the Grasmere pubs. Further details will be given in September’s Footsteps.

Saturday 9 October 2010BIRKHOUSE MOOR AND RED TARN

Meet outside the Ullswater Tourist Information Centre, Glenridding at 10am

7½ miles with 1,900 feet of ascent

The eastern ridge of Helvellyn starts as a narrow rock arête, the famous Striding Edge, and gradually widens into the broad expanse of Birkhouse Moor. From the summit of Birkhouse Moor there are stunning views of Helvellyn and Catstycam. Members will need to take a packed lunch and there will be plenty of time to enjoy this walk before travelling down the Patterdale valley to Rheged to enjoy the Memorial Lecture, being given by John Merrill, which starts at 6pm.

We have now also started to plan the Society walks for 2011 and further details of the following three walks will appear in the December issue of Footsteps.

March 2011 prior to the AGM – Littlewood Farm and Craggy Wood starting from the village hall in Staveley.

September 2011 – The Greenburn Round starting from Grasmere.

October 2011 prior to the Memorial Lecture –Gowbarrow Fell and Aira Force starting from the National Trust car park below Aira Force.

Caroline NicholWalks and Events Organiser

Wainwright Society Walks 2010

9

At this year’s AGM in March we unveiled a new, campaigning role for the Society. We’ve already done a bit of it.

I gave evidence on behalf of the Society opposing plans to build a wind farm at Berrier Hill under the nose of Blencathra. We’re still waiting to hear the outcome of that enquiry but recent bad publicity about another two wind farms in Cumbria will hopefully bolster our case. The turbines at Siddick and Oldside are among the least efficient in Britain – performing at 15.8% and 14.3% respectively.

(According to the energy regulator Ofgem, only the turbines at Blyth Harbour and Chelker in North Yorkshire are worse.) For goodness sake, I’m trying to retire by stealth and I’m performing at more than 15.8% efficiency.

And this, of course, is the major problem with campaigning. It involves plain speaking which may, on occasion, offend. But having picked up the campaigning baton we now want to be a bit more ambitious. With partners such as the Mountain Rescue teams and Cumbria Tourism, we’re going to involve ourselves in a major campaign to encourage responsible use of the hills. That, too, will involve a bit of plain speaking. ‘If you set off up a mountain at 5pm on an autumn afternoon in tee shirt and trainers but without a torch, you’re a pratt.’ Pratts deserve to be offended.

I’m also keen to encourage our members to be missionaries to the wider fell walking community, acknowledging the debt we owe to the farmers who manage the uplands on our behalf. More plain speaking needed, I’m afraid. ‘Why is it that if we give a million pounds to a foreign company to encourage them to build a factory here, it’s called investment, but a paltry few thousands given to the farmer who manages half the Langdale Valley on our behalf is called subsidy with its connotations of feather-bedding and summat for nowt?’.

But what, I wonder, would AW have made of this campaigning malarkey? The shy Mr Wainwright certainly wouldn’t have relished the thought of leading the charge in public, but in print his plain

speaking shouts across the decades. Inconsiderate, ill-equipped walkers; the despoliation of Ennerdale by the Forestry Commission; the drowning of Mardale Green by Manchester Corporation. Wainwright, the pioneering environmentalist, in full flow.

I’m suspicious of people who claim to know, with certainty, precisely what went on inside AW’s head. But, for a moment, imagine what he would have said about the Berrier Hill wind farm.

‘This is just what Blencathra has always needed: a statement of modernity and environmental sustainability in the landscape which also successfully draws one’s eye away from the unremitting boredom of the mountain’s rocky flanks.’

I think not.

Eric RobsonChairman

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11

After such a prolonged winter, it was good to be back in the Lake District again and leading another Society walk, which was to the summit of High Knott, also known as Williamson’s Monument.

At 9.30am we assembled outside the village hall in Staveley; there were fourteen of us. It was a cloudy day with persistent drizzle. As we walked through the village, the chatter was about recent walking exploits, Wainwright, the weather (of course) and what we had all been doing since the last Society walk in October 2009. It was great to see many old friends and also to meet some new members on the walk.

Despite the drizzle, there were still reasonable views of Reston Scar and Brunt Knott, both of which have been previous Society walks from Staveley. In fact, Staveley knows me quite well by now, as the girl who each March brings a number of walkers to the village on the day of our AGM.

On the edge of the village, we walked along the cycleway, keeping a beady eye open for any cyclists who wanted to pass. Spring lambs bleated in the fields and we saw the first flowering daffodils, which were late due to the exceptionally cold winter. At High Reston Farm, we left the cycleway and climbed up through the fields to pass Raw Ghyll Farm.

Eventually, we joined a metalled track and followed this. We passed Hugill Hall and, looking across the fields to the right, we could see our goal of High Knott. At Heights Farm, the track now became enclosed by stone walls and, as we ascended, the summit cairn of Williamson’s Monument became more pronounced. After a quarter of a mile, we left the track and having crossed the field on our right, we had to tackle a very awkward stone stile with a wire on the top before we reached the summit.

Although only 901 feet in height, High Knott is an excellent viewpoint and there were views of the Kentmere Fells still containing patches of snow, the Kentmere valley stretching out below us with Kentmere Hall prominent, Reston Scar, and Hugill Fell. The summit cairn has an engraved tablet with the following inscription: ‘In Memory of Thomas Williamson of Height, in Hugill, Gent. Who died Feb 13th 1797 Aged 66 years. Erected 1803.’

From the summit, we descended the fields towards Heights Farm where we re-joined the track we had left previously but this time turning right on to it. The track descended gently to a T-junction where we turned right and then joined a tarmac lane which we descended to Browfoot Farm. Here we also turned right on to Browfoot Lane, passing some lovely cottages, after which point the track came alongside the River Kent. Snowdrops were still in full flower – usually at this time of the year they are past their best.

At Scroggs Bridge, we turned onto the Kentmere road, the River Kent still our companion on the left. Eventually we reached Barley Bridge, which has a lovely view of the River Kent; it has a fish ladder where, in October and November, it is sometimes possible to watch the salmon leaping. We continued on the Kentmere road back through Staveley to the village hall in time for the start of the AGM.

Caroline Nichol Walks and Events Organiser

Society Walk: High Knott – 20 March 2010

WALK REPORT

12

In the March edition of Footsteps we enclosed a leaflet giving details of the discounts that the Wainwright Society had negotiated with various organisations across the National Park area. With the main season now well under way, we hope that Society members will enjoy benefiting from these.

It is always helpful to know when members have used the discount opportunities; therefore, if anyone would like to give us information about their experience, they can do so by contacting me via the website. And if you have any suggestions for new discount opportunities, do please let us know.

If you take a look at our New Website, you will see that discount entries have now been organised into categories which we hope will make it much easier to scroll through the offers. The categories are Hotels and Bed & Breakfast; Self-catering; Gear; Meals and Retail & Leisure.

The Rosemount Guest House in Windermere has new owners and Louise and Andrew Jones have increased the discount previously offered to members to 15% for a two-night stay, between Sunday and Thursday.

The Mountain Factor outdoor gear shop at Ambleside has recently acquired the shop next door; this has nearly doubled their floor space with a wide selection of top quality walking gear.

By the time this issue of Footsteps is published, we will have finalised a most exciting deal with the company who have Border Fine Arts as one of

their main brands. They have just released a new range of top-quality merchandise entitled ‘The Alfred Wainwright Collection’. This consists of a set of coasters and placemats and six different designs of Fine Bone China mugs inspired by and featuring some of the drawings from the Pictorial Guides. Inside Footsteps, you will find a leaflet containing an order form if you wish to buy any of these through the Society. We have managed to agree prices which allow us to offer free postage and packaging to our members and an additional discount if you want a full set of mugs. Details and a downloadable order form are also on our website. This is the Society’s first major agreement with a top-quality supplier of merchandise with an AW theme and we hope members will benefit from the agreement.

We have had to abort our efforts to secure a range of discounts at locations on the Coast to Coast Walk. We contacted over fifty accommodation providers but found that the popularity of the route and the amount of accommodation available did not justify owners discounting their prices. In addition, most walkers on the route would only need to stay one night and this is not always a popular option with owners in peak season.

So far, we know of four members who have booked discounted self-catering accommodation including one booking for June which saved our member 25% (over £100). Members have also booked Bed & Breakfast accommodation with at least three of our discounters, and meals and clothing have been bought at others. I have also been told that a member saved 10% on a purchase valued at over £100 from one of our retail discounters. It is not difficult to work out that anyone booking say two nights’ bed and breakfast for two people at one of fourteen discounters will save their membership fee in one visit; and buying a pair of boots or a Gore-Tex jacket would be similar.

So please have a look at what we believe is the broadest range of discounts in the Lake District National Park from any organisation of our kind; the more they are used the better will be our ability to retain and enhance the discounts.

John Bewick Society Development Officer

Members’ Discounts

13

What is your best Wainwright fell/walk?

Too many good ones to have a single favourite but if forced to choose I’d pick the Langdale Pikes because, to me, they are the Lake District. They were my introduction to the area. Jack’s Rake is always worth a visit and the climbing on Gimmer Crag is terrific.

What is your favourite pub/restaurant in the Lakes?

The Britannia in Elterwater, which is cool, cosy and traditional. Unfortunately, it seems to be a lot of other people’s favourite too so it gets very busy.

When was your first visit to the Lake District?

It was about 1967 when I was on a school trip, camping by Blea Tarn above Langdale. I’ve been hooked ever since.

What was the first fell that you climbed?

I started with the big ones. It was Helvellyn via Striding Edge on that same school trip.

What was your funniest moment in the Lakes?

Climbing alone and therefore quietly on a fairly unfrequented crag in Borrowdale one day, I pulled over the top and found myself nose to… well, not exactly nose to nose with a couple who had clearly been overcome by the romance of the area.

What is your best memory from Lakeland?

See above ... or, failing that, a fabulous day of blue skies and iron-hard snow soloing ice climbs on Helvellyn, including straight up the face above Red Tarn and not finding a hard move anywhere. A great day with good friends.

Who do you most admire in the Lake District?

The late Harry Griffin. When I was a young lad cutting my teeth on the Lakeland crags, Harry seemed more exciting to me than AW, I’m afraid, and he kept his astonishing enthusiasm for the fells and crags to the very end.

Do you happen to know how many of Wainwright’s 214 fells you have climbed?

All of them, some many times over.

If you can’t be in the Lake District, what is your favourite place to be in the world?

Zion Canyon, Utah. Fantastic rock formations and, like the Lakes, on a manageable scale for climbing. Plus it rarely rains.

Have you done/considered doing the Coast to Coast?

It’s been on my To Do list for many years but with only five weeks’ holiday a year I’ve never got round to it. Now I’m retired, I must do it.

Why are the Lakes so special for you?

Because they’ve been such a major part of my life, both in work and leisure. I always feel as if I’m coming home as soon as I see the Pikes. The scale is perfect for whatever length of time you have.

What, if anything, spoils the Lake District for you?

The rest of you! Traffic, thoughtlessly parked cars, crowded pavements, full car parks, pubs where I can’t get a seat ... Need I go on?

If you retired to the Lakes, where would you choose to live?

Ten yards outside the National Park boundary so I could enjoy the benefits but not have to put up with the bureaucracy. I’d love the quiet side of Windermere and did once bid for a house in St John’s in the Vale.

Terry Fletcher is former editor of Cumbria magazine and still writes a regular column each month for the publication.

What I love about the Lakes – Terry Fletcher

14

I knew of Alfred Wainwright from the time his first Pictorial Guide was marketed. As Editor of Cumbria magazine, which was also printed in the works department of the Westmorland Gazette at Kendal, I gradually became aware that a specific machine was devoted to the Wainwright project.

Eventually, on my way to the office of Harry Firth, the manager, on Cumbria business, I found myself walking between white cliffs of paper allocated for work on the unique hand-written, hand-drawn guide books. Cumbria carried the first advertisement for the guides. It was a page display – hand-written, hand-drawn in true Wainwright style. Before I retired in 1988, over a million copies of the books had been printed.

It was Harry who, almost sixty years ago, arranged for me to meet the shy and taciturn Wainwright in the accounts department at Kendal Town Hall. He was the Borough Treasurer. What should have been an interview about the first of his unique books on the Lakeland fells fizzled out when AW subjected me to a welter of technical questions, such as how many words I proposed to write in the article and the style of presentation.

He fumbled in a drawer and brought out some partly completed drawings, an old-fashioned pen and a bottle of Indian ink – his basic writing materials. Scarcely a word was uttered. It was a good-natured brush-off. I prepared myself for journalistic history – the first wordless interview!

I negotiated an alternative to what had been intended to be a spell of straight talking. I would jot down several questions and post them to him. He would return the answered questions in a stamped addressed envelope I’d provide. Indeed, AW wrote the answers then filed the papers at his home. They came to light when my old friend Hunter Davies was preparing the authorised Wainwright biography.

AW was living at Kendal Green in 1989 when I next met him – by appointment, of course. A representative from the printer was left outdoors to admire the flowers in the garden. AW did not

like to be crowded. Cups of coffee were produced. We sat in Quaker-like silence for a while before I felt able to broach the matter in hand.

I had written a light-hearted book, It’s a Long Way to Muckle Flugga, dealing with the holiday adventures in Scotland of three Yorkshiremen and a Scot. Knowing of AW’s love of the Highlands, I had the temerity to ask him for a foreword. AW thought for a while. Then he quibbled about the name Muckle Flugga, so I added a sub-title: Journeys in Northern Scotland.

That did the trick and AW contributed a foreword. I blushed at his reference to me as ‘a leading literary figure in the north of England’ and cheered at his last paragraph: ‘This is an enjoyable account of his travels, and will appeal not only to those who have an affinity with the places he describes so well but also to others who like to sit in an armchair with a jolly good book.’ Whew!

Wainwright needed little encouragement to talk about his beloved Scotland, which he first visited by train and bus, then by car, first driven by a friend and subsequently by Betty. In 1987, the transport was provided by BBC-TV for the series of programmes he did with Eric Robson.

He was wryly amused by a quotation I had culled from a letter written by Felix Mendelssohn who, with a friend, strode through the Highlands in 1829. They had ‘laughed at every opportunity, rhymed and sketched together, growled at one another and at the world if they happened to be vexed or found nothing to eat, devoured everything in sight when they did find it and slept 12 hours every night’.

When I got to know AW well, I amused myself by listing his likes and dislikes. He liked, among other things, skylines, pipe and tobacco, fish and chips and well-used boots. Among his dislikes were Gaelic names for Scottish mountains, over-sociable fell-walkers, bad grammar and most places south of Blackburn.

Red-haired Alfred Wainwright, having grown up in a terrace house in Blackburn, stretched his legs on Pendle and Bowland moors. It is now well known

Wainwright Face to Face

15

that he discovered heaven on earth during his first visit to the Lake District with a cousin. He wrote later, in Fellwanderer, how they stood on Orrest Head, and he saw the Langdale Pikes for the first time.

AW was also partial to the limestone landscape of Craven, presenting it in prose and drawings in 1970 under the title Walks in Limestone Country. We at the Dalesman allowed him to reproduce illustrations of cave systems from our books. He wrote about limestone adding a sparkle to sombre landscapes, these being millstone grit.

Four of us, disciples of Wainwright, formed the Geriatric Blunderers walking group (motto: ‘You name it; we’ve been lost on it’). We were in the dale country on the day when Wainwright was featured on Desert Island Discs. AW had refused to travel to the London studio from which the programme was usually transmitted, so the interview took place in Manchester. Subsequently, by arrangement, he was taken out for a meal: it’s not difficult to guess what he had –his favourite fish and chips. Listening to the broadcast, we smiled at his first choice of music: ‘Oh what a beautiful mornin’.’ We groaned when he picked a piece about a cowboy’s lament on the death of his faithful horse. But that was his choice, not ours!

In the spring of 1988, as I was about to retire from the editorship of Dalesman and Cumbria magazines, AW and Betty called at my office at the village of Clapham to wish me well. It was a bonnie day. Ingleborough was clear of cloud. Curlews made the air shiver with their song glides. AW was smiling through his pipe-smoke.

Once he was seated in my little sanctum, and had turned down the offer of a cup of coffee, Betty announced she was going for a walk. I watched her small, trim figure as she made for the door. She turned and said, teasingly: ‘I’m sure you’ll find something interesting to talk about.’ Indeed. We were soon heading down Memory Lane.

We chatted mainly about his interest in animals – from the tough sheep on the hills, which had to endure every type of weather, to the fortunate cats and dogs which benefited from the supreme care that Animal Rescue Cumbria gave them while they were waiting to be re-homed. It is now well known that, in his later years, AW gave all the royalties he received from the sales of his books to the welfare of these animals housed at Kapellan near Kendal.

Betty returned from her walk and drove the three of us to Austwick for lunch in the local pub. Afterwards, I asked her if she could drop me off short of Clapham so I could complete my journey to the office on foot. I clambered out of the car, waved farewell, and my last view was of cloth-capped, pipe-smoking AW framed by the back window of the car. I then completed my journey at a jog-trot – in a sudden, fierce shower of rain.

W. R. MitchellClapham, North Yorkshire.

Footnote – With regard to the Lake District, a friend of mine whose surname is Wordsworth was walking across a mist-shrouded Lakeland fell when another walker confronted him and said: ‘Are you Wainwright?’ The reply was: ‘No: I’m Wordsworth.’

AW photographed by Derry Brabbs

16

Fifteen years ago, Eric Robson growled characteristically down the phone at me: ‘I want to film a series of walks in the Lakes – except we’re actually going to do them.’ I didn’t see the point he was making. Surely if we were going to film them we’d have to do them?

The trouble was that for me the Lake District had no other connotation than the hardships of a shopping trip to Keswick. The project that Eric was proposing, on further examination, was ... er ... slightly mad. Let me explain.

The idea of filming the Lake District isn’t mad; it’s the plan to carry television equipment several thousand feet into the sky that was removed from mainstream thinking. The underlying philosophy was that broadcast quality equipment would capture the best pictures. The term ‘minimal kit’ was bandied about, mostly by Eric who was trying to minimize the downside, but there is, after all, a minimum requirement. Perhaps a hardened commando wouldn’t be shy about taking a camera the size of a small suitcase up a mountain but mere mortals usually think twice.

My burden would be shared with David Powell-Thompson, researcher for these programmes; he won my tripod. Terry Black, soundman, completed the team. So there we were, a merry band of four lunatics riddled with the insane desire to hump a load of electronics and metal to the top of numerous mountains in order to show folk what they were missing.

The first expedition was not an extreme challenge, but the route from Wasdale Head to Irton Pike via Illgill Head was a fair introduction to the adventures which would engage us for many years. We each adopted our own individual walking style. I rushed at mountains, sticking to the principle that a short, sharp shock is better than a nagging pain. David favoured a steady rhythm and I often found it useful to tag on behind him, mimicking his pace, to get up the longer slogs. Terry was a line-of-sight man, frequently to be seen out in the wings but as we arrived at the same time it was debatable whether his technique was worthwhile.

From the rear, Eric would periodically call us back with the excuse that he’d just spotted another shot. I suspected that he insisted on carrying the sandwiches because he knew they were the only means he had to maintain any discipline. Lunch was usually delayed until the summits, a habit which placed us at the top table with the finest views. Restoring the crew’s motivation proved tricky sometimes, but Eric normally succeeded by conjuring up some chocolate. Our trick was to sneak a few rocks into his empty rucksack for the descent, to balance the books, as it were. But then nobody said we had to be grown-up about it.

For fifteen years we haunted the National Parks and wild places of the north. It was never our objective simply to record pretty scenery: we told the stories of people and places, all of them adding colour to our backdrop. Eric firmly linked human activity to the countryside. While the elements invisibly sculpted the landscape, man’s hand could almost instantaneously turn hill into quarry and river into reservoir. We were interested more in landscape evolution, less in the toffee tin pictures, although of course these were quite yummy.

Filming in Lakeland

Filming Wainwright Walks on Catbells

17

In 2006 the Lake District was noticed by national BBC, and I was invited to film Wainwright Walks presented by Julia Bradbury. Julia who? I admit I didn’t know the name then. My excuse was (still is) that I am not a telly addict, despite twenty-five years in the industry. Julia and I hit it off immediately and I was pleased to discover that she was relaxed enough to make work fun. We worked some heavy days and it never failed to impress me when she turned exhaustion into enthusiasm in the flick of a switch. That’s professionalism!

Most of the adjustments had to be made by me. We had a network budget with more kit and more hands. After years of tuna mayonnaise sandwiches, the choice of smoked brie and cranberry or some other five-star concoction left me somewhat dazed.

Operationally it was business as usual. My old friend David was part of the crew on both sides of the camera offering his mountain expertise. Consequently, he has enjoyed some fame as the man who led a very nervous Julia up Sharp Edge. He played the same role in the second series on Striding Edge, although on that occasion the low cloud masked the views. The big budgets saved the day as every programme had an aerial overview of the route filmed from a helicopter.

Eventually I filmed four great series with Julia but Wainwright-mania had really gripped commissioning editors and soon the Robson crew (David, Terry and I) were working on a Granada project. These programmes had a different flavour. Fred Talbot (people remember his floating weather map on GMTV) is Everyman, a willing adventurer but the kind of guy who scorns gym membership. As a walker he has a heroic determination – even though, he admits, he came close to surrendering.

The final day was the toughest as we climbed out of Mosedale to Dore Head, en route to Yewbarrow. The gear had never been so heavy and my nose had never been so close to the ground. Fred earned his own ‘Iron Man’ badge that day and as he cheerfully told his viewers, ‘If I can do it, so can you.’

Julia’s programmes have hardly been off the air since first transmission, and Fred’s Lakeland experience, originally filmed for the Granada audience, is now getting more widely shown. David refuses to get his hair cut because his wild red mop gets him recognised and sometimes wins him a free pint. Terry, who repeatedly claimed that he’s too old for all this, has finally hung up his walking boots. Eric still produces walking videos for his Striding Edge DVD catalogue and I still get to film them. Long may it last!

Jan Ostrowski - Capheaton, Northumberland Membership No 961

Fred Talbot, David Powell-Thompson, Jan Ostrowski and Terry Black on Dore Head

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19

A Walk Around the Lakes ISBN 978-0-7112-3036-1 Published by Frances Lincoln Ltd. Price £9.99

A Walk Along the Wall ISBN 978-0-7112-3046-0 Published by Frances Lincoln Ltd. Price £9.99

William Wordsworth ISBN 978-0-7112-3045-3 Published by Frances Lincoln Ltd. Price £12.99

Society members can save 20% on the above prices when buying direct from the publishers.

In the autumn of 2009, Frances Lincoln Ltd, having taken over publishing Hunter Davies’ books, reprinted three of his books that were originally published in the late 1970s. I spent a fascinating time reading these, all of which have north of England backgrounds.

Apart from new introductions in each of the three books, the remainder of the text is as the author originally wrote it thirty years ago. This means that the prices mentioned in the books are wildly out of date, be it admission prices to attractions in the Lake District or to the various excavations and forts on the Wall. Although the introduction mentions that none of the text has been amended, I think this is an unfortunate economy.

I found A Walk Around the Lakes very easy to read as there is a great variety of subjects in its 28 chapters, ranging from interviews with personalities such as Wainwright, Joss Naylor, Chris Bonington and the poet Norman Nicholson, to the places walked to and frequented by the great writers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries such as William Wordsworth, Robert Southey and Thomas de Quincey. The author visits many of Lakeland’s famous valleys – Wasdale, Ennerdale, Buttermere

and Patterdale –during the course of his journey, bringing anecdotes to the book from these places.

A Walk Along the Wall is the journey taken by the author from Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway. Having been born in Carlisle near to the western end of the Wall, he was inevitably drawn to walk its length at some time during his life and he did so in 1974. He writes about the various people he met during the walk, and describes the excavations and forts visited. At the time of his visit, many of the excavations were only just starting but now it has become big industry with school visits and thousands of tourists visiting Housesteads and Vindolanda each year. Again, the fact that none of this has been up-dated makes somewhat surreal reading.

I found the biography, William Wordsworth, the most interesting of the three re-issued books. The famous poet was born in Cockermouth in 1770 and lived much of his life in the Lake District. I had, of course, heard of Wordsworth – who hasn’t? – and I remember learning Daffodils at school, but that was about the limit of my knowledge prior to reading the book as I hadn’t read any of the many other biographies about the poet.

Now I feel a greater affinity with Wordsworth and the other Lake Poets, and I have vowed to visit Dove Cottage at Grasmere and Wordsworth’s birthplace in Cockermouth during my next few visits to the Lake District. Dove Cottage, along with the Wordsworth Museum and Art Gallery, is owned by the Wordsworth Trust, and the poet’s birthplace is owned by the National Trust.

These are three good books, well worth reading, and full of very useful information (albeit some of it out of date).

John BurlandMembership No. 2

Three books by Hunter Davies

BOOK REVIEW

20

In each of the forthcoming issues, we will be featuring details of articles containing either news items about AW or the Society that have appeared recently. If anyone spots newspaper or magazine articles with details about either subject, could they please either scan these and email them to footsteps@wainwright.orkg.uk or photocopy the item and send it by post to Footsteps c/o 76 The Whartons, Otley, LS21 2BS.

A Pennine Journey

The March issue of Dalesman magazine had a single-page article about the new Pennine Journey book being produced by the Society and there was also a 4-page article in the February/March issue of The Northumbrian magazine. Additionally, there was a 2-page article written by David Pitt in the Strider magazine issued by the Long Distance Walkers Association. If members wish to read any of these, copies of the articles can be downloaded from the members’ section of the website.

Westmorland Gazette

Over recent months the Westmorland Gazette has run several articles about the pros and cons concerning the proposed statue of AW that is planned for Kendal. Eric Robson’s article on behalf of the Society coming out in favour of the statue featured prominently. The discussion is bound to continue throughout the remainder of 2010. The Westmorland Gazette also featured the Society as their ‘Club of the Month’ in their free newspaper, the Citizen, which is distributed to thousands of homes in the Kendal area.

A Competition that’s worth walking for

The long-established family brewery, Daniel Thwaites, is hosting a golden competition to get people walking! In conjunction with their mouth-watering ale Thwaites Wainwright, the brewery is urging people to follow in the footsteps of AW to get outside, explore the countryside and discover what’s on their doorstep. Lee Williams, Marketing Manager at Daniel Thwaites, is excited about the competition. He said: ‘Thwaites Wainwright is renowned for its golden colour and sweet taste associated with spring and the fresh outdoors. Because of this and its obvious links with Alfred Wainwright, we have decided to host a walking competition throughout England and Wales where people can discover the virtual location of a Thwaites Wainwright golden bottle and win a cheque for £3,000.’

The Daniel Thwaites Brewery has teamed up with www.walkingworld.co.uk and has over 100 walks across the country for people to choose from. ‘It’s all very simple. All people have to do is log on to www.worthwalkingfor.co.uk and select one of the walks. Whilst on the walk, they should take a digital photograph of the listed landmark.

‘Once they have completed the walk, they log back onto www.worthwalkingfor.co.uk, upload their photo and a map will then appear. The person who correctly guesses the secret location of the bottle on the map will be entered into the prize draw,’ said Lee.

Wainwright in the News

21

In 1972, after months of painstaking research and many miles of walking, AW completed a book describing a walk he had devised and created from St Bees Head on the Irish Sea to Robin Hood’s Bay on the North Sea. Over the subsequent 38 years, this route has been followed by many thousands of walkers.

When AW planned the route of this wonderful walk, he did not stick absolutely to rights of way and inevitably there were complaints from a few landowners, which I suppose was understandable bearing in mind the increasing amount of human traffic. In 1994, after AW’s death, the book was revised by Michael Joseph Ltd to address this problem. Although the map revisions, which were carried out by Chris Jesty, were as good as one would expect, the typeset text corrections were not very attractively done. However, I understand that Betty Wainwright would not then allow look-alike Wainwright handwriting so, in the circumstances, this was the best that could be done. Now a completely new revised version has been produced and, using the advances in modern technology, the revisions have been incorporated in the original text, using the Wainwright font devised by Frances Lincoln Ltd to replicate AW’s handwriting. This means that new text has slotted almost seamlessly into the book.

In the 1994 revised edition, one of the major changes was the use of the three seasonal routes adopted in Nine Standards Rigg area; these were introduced to help minimise erosion in this popular area. In this new edition, the paths have been helpfully printed in red, blue and green to match the three seasonal routes. It seems a pity that these were not also shown on the section map on page 72. In this section, on page 77, there is a bad error where the instruction is to ‘Bear LEFT at the signpost at 600 feet’ when this is quite clearly shown on the 1600’ contour line on the map.

As with the earlier revised Pictorial Guides, the remainder of the route is shown on the maps in russet red with alternative high-level routes shown in black. Throughout the book, there have been myriad changes to both text and maps to bring the walk up to date. I noted for example that on page 106 in the description of Richmond that reference to the Woolworth store that was in the original book has been removed following it’s closure last year has been replaced with a reference to Lewis Carrol [sic], the author of the famous Alice in Wonderland, who was a pupil at Richmond School – but, oh dear, why could they not have spelled the author’s name correctly! There is a further error on page 121 about the Arts and Crafts water tower in Ingleby Arncliffe. One may think such errors are not important but they would have caused AW much grief.

One might also wonder what AW would have thought about the insertion of website addresses in his peerless text, see page 121. This could so easily have been avoided by putting the address with the rest of the ‘Useful Information’ on the last page of the book. And why suddenly name a specific bed & breakfast establishment on page 159 when no other appears in the book?

With A Coast to Coast Walk now revised, Chris Jesty is now turning his attention to the revisions for The Outlying Fells of Lakeland.

ISBN: 978-0-7112-3063-7. Published by Frances Lincoln £13.99 (£11.19 to Society members).

John BurlandMembership No. 2

A. Wainwright – A Coast to Coast Walk revised by Chris Jesty

BOOK REVIEW

22

‘Crinkle Crags is much too good to be missed,’ wrote AW in his chapter on Crinkle Crags in The Southern Fells. ‘For the mountaineer who prefers his mountains rough, who likes to see steep craggy slopes towering before him into the sky ... this is a climb deserving of high priority.’

The ascent of Crinkle Crags captured my imagination long before I ever set foot in Great Langdale and gazed at that serrated outline of rocky crags high on the skyline above Oxendale. I first became acquainted with Crinkle Crags around 1995 in the lounge of my mother-in-law. She had a shelf full of books and a cupboard stuffed with maps of places she had never seen or visited and amongst her collection was a copy of Fellwalking with Wainwright.

It was this book that first introduced me to Wainwright and it was the chapter detailing a walk over Pike o’Blisco on to Crinkle Crags that stood out in particular and inspired me to go and see this fine mountain for myself.

Crinkle Crags, seen from the car park of New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel at the beginning of a day on the fells, is a mouth-watering prospect. And, as Wainwright wrote in Fellwalking with Wainwright, the finest approach is over the summit of Pike o’Blisco since ‘from the summit the Crinkles are seen to perfection and in true perspective’. The slight disadvantage with this route is that height must be lost in the descent to Red Tarn, but the climb to the top is more than compensation for the extra effort required.

A pitched path leads delightfully to the rocky crown where some mild scrambling is enjoyed before the summit cairn is reached. The cairn is not in the condition that AW found it in 1959, but it is an airy perch from which to apprise the rest of the walk, and the Crinkles are seen in all their glory. What a view!

There can be no excuse for losing one’s way on the wide track across the tilted plateau leading to the first of the five Crinkles. If time permits, a visit to Cold Pike may be contemplated or a more interesting search for Gladstone’s Finger might be undertaken. Wainwright never marked the exact location of this monolith and I once spent a fruitless half-hour searching for its location. It remains an ambition of mine to locate this rock hidden in a gully, a task that defeated Derry Brabbs, the photographer for Fellwalking with Wainwright, when he was taking the photographs for the book.

Everyone who has studied AW’s descriptions of Crinkle Crags before they set foot upon the mountain will have read about the fearsome ‘Bad Step’. Despite his affection for the fell, Wainwright warned of the dangers about ‘the most difficult obstacle on any pedestrian path in the district … and quite beyond the powers of the average walker to scale.’ [Fellwalking with Wainwright]

The first time I encountered the Bad Step, I was following two walkers, and I joined them at the base of the short climb as they were debating how to negotiate the obstacle. The more intrepid of

My Favourite Wainwright Walk: Crinkle Crags

The summit cairn on Pike o’Blisco

23

the two climbed the 10-foot rock step and then took our rucksacks in order to make the climb that little bit easier for us. It was one of those occasions when the encouragement of a fellow walker is just what is needed to banish one’s fears.

It’s a short climb to the summit of the second Crinkle, the highest of the five at 2816 feet and named on the Ordnance Survey map, Long Top. On a clear day, the views from Long Top are magnificent – the Scafell range is particularly well seen in profile: all the effort of the climb is well rewarded and it is a place to linger. Yet it is sensible to keep an eye on the weather, as the mile-long rocky ridge is not well blazed and, in places, only cairns mark a safe path to take.

There are three more Crinkles en route to Three Tarns and each provides stunning views down into Oxendale and across to the Langdale Pikes. This is a ridge walk that will stay long in the memory. Ahead is Bowfell, a top that some may take in on the same walk, but I think it deserves a full day of exploration.

Before dropping down to Three Tarns, one needs to negotiate the knobbly tops of Shelter Crags before the rocky descent leads to a place for a breather and a decision. From Three Tarns, there are two possible routes of descent. The first and by far the most popular is The Band, a spur of neighbouring Bowfell, descending east into Great Langdale. I prefer to use this route as a line of ascent on to Bowfell itself.

A much more interesting route follows Buscoe Sike, an insignificant beck that drops down into Hell Gill in its lower reaches. There is no way through the gill for the walker, but occasional glimpses may be had on the descent, and great care is needed near the edge of the narrow chasm. The landscape at the foot of Hell Gill is a delight with waterfalls and cascades and, in late summer, a profusion of rowan trees with their bright red berries provides a splash of colour in the rocky terrain. This is Oxendale, and the path beside the wide, shallow Oxendale Beck leads through Stool Farm back to the car park of the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel. Here is a welcome Walkers Bar where one can enjoy a drink whilst reflecting on a superb day on the fells.

The route described is 8 miles long and involves 3,400 feet of ascent. This is a walk to take your time over, as it is too good to be rushed. Allow up to six hours.

Derek Cockell - LowestoftMembership No. 13

Crinkle Crags viewed from Pike o’Blisco

The Scafells as seen from Long Top

24

Patrick Pritchard, one of our members from the USA came over to the UK in October to walk the Coast to Coast. He kept a daily diary of his fourteen-day trek which he posted as often as he could on the internet and now hopes Society members might like to share his experiences from one of these days, Tuesday 10 November.

Guess what I had for breakfast? Yeah, it doesn’t take a genius to figure that one out. Full English Breakfasts keep me walking all day long with barely a thought for food. Actually this morning, Mrs Pearson of Lovesome Farm (I so want to call her and her husband Mr and Mrs Lovesome) did cut the black pudding. Doing so, she added several crispy strips of their own home-cured bacon. Very good.

It was spitting a bit of rain as I headed out this morning. My pack was light because I had most of my clothes on my back. After a mile or two of walking on farm paths and lanes, I took off my not-so-waterproof jacket and tied it over my pack and around my chest in a square knot since I was working up quite a bit of heat. Of course, a half hour later the sky darkened from the south-west and it began to rain lightly so the jacket and hood went back on.

The Vale of York, or Vale of Mowbray, as the locals call it, is pure farm country. There are cattle, sheep and pigs everywhere. Manure is everywhere; in the fields, on the paths, on the roadsides. Though the trail guide has almost nothing good to say about this part of the hike, and I understand Wainwright’s advice was to get through as quickly as possible, I liked it. It reminded me of Mennonite country in Virginia a little. You learn to live with, excuse me but I will say it in Pennsylvanishe Deutsch, Scheiss. The smell in the air, on the soles of your boots; there is no illusion about what makes the poetic green growth of the landscape. It is Scheiss.

I made very good time through the countryside and over stile after stile. Some farmers (illegally or at least inhospitably) changed path signs for the convenience of their own farming operations. I certainly don’t mind as long as I can get to where

I’m going. I love using my map and compass. I just make sure I’m headed in the general direction and I will never get far from Mr Wainwright’s footsteps.

I left Lovesome Hill Farm at about 8.30 am and at about 9.30 I hit a stretch of path that was a wide, empty lane between hedgerows of hawthorn. It was raining and a little windy. No cars. The map showed that this would go on for an hour so I decided that this was the place to get out my iPod. I had not until then used it while I was walking. I have a strict rule not to use it when I’m on roads for obvious reasons.

I stopped by a signpost, got the little device out of my pocket, put in the earphones and selected … of course, Kate Rusby. This is her countryside. She had a legitimate claim on my ears and affections for the next 50 miles. She was singing away. The rain was coming down gently. I could feel myself tending toward the rhythm of her songs with my footfalls. I was swiftly losing myself in a sweet melancholy that cannot be called up. It can only come as a gift.

Across the Vale of Mowbray

Patrick with Blackbeck Tarn behind

25

Then one of those funny, inexplicable things happened that has happened so often on this journey. I glanced down at my striding (aching) legs wrapped in gaiters (what they used to call leggings to keep your trouser legs dry) and immediately had an image of my dad in a photograph that had been taken in France in the deadly summer of 1918.

He was standing with his artillery company; just a seventeen-year-old from Thorndale, Texas, standing there, awkwardly holding his open mess kit out for the camera, as if to say: ‘I don’t know what the hell I’m doing here’. All his comrades, who appeared to be several years older, were around him. He and they all had on leggings, a vain effort by the war department to guard against the dreadful mud of France.

My father had come to England on his way to hell in February of 1918. The troop carrier he was on stopped in Liverpool and Southampton before heading to the Abyss. Yet there he was, in my mind’s eye, a year younger than my youngest son; a big country boy with just enough geography to know that France and England do not border Texas – with leggings on. They are white in that sepia photo. My fancy-pants gaiters were muddier than his on that day in 1918.

He was on a journey too, but he had not a clue of the destination. I know it now. The war that took such a toll on every English village and town took a toll on Texas as well. He lived and died with his stories, and like most men of his generation, spoke seldom of his experiences in the Great War. He would occasionally get his few photos from that time out of his top dresser drawer and show them to me, mostly in silence. I almost brought one of these to plant in this country on whose shores he so briefly set foot those 91 years ago, but I dismissed the thought; too sentimental.

Now, as it turns out, I am walking in his leggings. They are muddy. I know he does not see me, but I wish he did. I wish he could see me walking across England in these muddy leggings.

At about 11 am, as I was correcting myself on a short misdirection I had taken, a man about my age walked up behind me. I hurried to disconnect my iPod. I was embarrassed to have someone see me

with it on, especially an Englishman like this chap. As he walked over to me, I greeted him. He said, ‘Sorry, I’ve got my iPod going. Let me take it out so I can hear you.’

His name was Leslie, and came from Bristol. He was a retired teacher who was now working for the county of North Yorkshire surveying the signage, stiles, kissing gates, bridges, etc. along the Coast to Coast trail in this area. We talked geography, nature, Bristol, Wells, Weston-super-Mare and other interesting topics as we walked. He asked my opinion on a couple of Coast to Coast issues. I gave them and he jotted them down. He left me just before Ingleby Cross but first directed me to a lorry-stop café where I could get a good cup of tea, which I did. Actually, I ordered what I like to call the Walker’s Special: two Ibuprofen and hot tea.

I made such good time that I honestly think my mileage estimates must be wrong. I arrived at Mount Grace Priory at 1 pm and took an hour to take in this truly magnificent ruin.

The man who bought it from the Crown after the Dissolution of the Monasteries didn’t demolish it as he was requested. His ancestors were all buried

Patrick near Bolton-on-Swale

26

there and he wanted to preserve it. He did tear the roof off to make a show of obedience. It gives such a vivid picture of the space in which monastic life was lived. The monk cells could be seen, one restored exactly as it had been. The stone work, of course, is extraordinary. The size of the space was probably ten acres, all walled in with a very high, very artfully built heavy stone wall. I was supposed to pay for this privilege but I couldn’t raise anyone, so looked around free of charge.

I then ventured into Osmotherley where I am staying tonight. The village is quite pretty with several pubs, a store and an outdoor shop. The most interesting thing is the market cross and barter stone on which John Wesley preached to the folks of the village in the early 1750s. Additionally, the oldest Methodist Church in England is there. There is also an active Roman Catholic monastery.

After a pleasant hour in the pub eating some upmarket fish and chips (the mushy peas were called ‘pea purée’), I walked the half-mile to the

hostel. Of course, no one was there. It was only 3.30 pm, so out came the iPod, I lay down on the sofa of the lounge and I was soon in dream land. Then a very lively group of ramblers came in. They invited me into their banter session (and can you believe that I actually understood everything they were saying in spite of their northern accents?) and we passed a pleasant half- hour before the hostel manager came and opened for business.

I am in a room with 5 bunk beds by myself. This is great but rather unusual. I got in the shower earlier and not only bathed myself but washed all my stinky clothing, which is now hanging in the drying room. I’m going to go downstairs in a minute and see what’s going on. Then, as usual, an early night. No posting tonight. No internet. You’ll be reading this tomorrow or the next day when I am a small dot moving across the bleak North York Moors.

Patrick Pritchard - Macon, Georgia, USAMembership No 1330

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27

Steve Larkin had a plan to walk all the 214 Wainwright fells within 12 months. Nothing unusual about that, you may think. However, this chap was in his sixties but, again, you may find that unremarkable – after all, numerous people at that age are still climbing the Lakeland fells.

What does make this story noteworthy is that just before his plan was due to begin, with the purpose of raising money for a charity that was close to his heart, that same heart had other plans for him. A walk up Blencathra to celebrate his 60th birthday nearly became his last fell walk ever.

It was three years later, following cardiac problems and a brush with cancer, that his plan eventually got underway. As if his medical problems were not enough to cause self doubt, the author describes himself as being a fair-weather walker, more of a tourist than a fellsman, a very dodgy navigator and a wimp! Oh, and let’s not forget, he also suffers from vertigo!

The reader is taken along with the author as he realises and accepts his limitations, and then how he eventually overcomes them. His vulnerability, trepidation and doubts are shared with the reader but so also are the joys and exhilaration of achievements as the year progresses. The book is written in a very easy and personable style. The author gives a very honest account of how he went about achieving his goals. He discusses bad habits and mistakes made along the way and the part that planning played in his attempt to finish the challenge within 12 months.

This is a book that many a fell walker (and armchair walker alike) will relate to and they will also empathise with the author as each and every achingly tired step is taken to achieve the goals that he set himself. For the reader who may, or may not be acquainted with the fells, especially those of a certain age who have put off challenges in life, this will be an inspirational read. So too it will be for those of you who are currently undergoing your own personal 214 challenge, or those completers of all the Wainwright fells who have experienced the great privileges the fells can afford an individual.

This is an absorbing book following Steve Larkin’s trials and tribulations through the year. It should be appreciated that this was a great achievement and this reviewer for one, does not, for one minute consider the author a wimp!

ISBN 978-1-905449-34-7. Published by Know The Score Books Limited. Price £9.99

Ray Bradshaw - SunderlandMembership No. 1139

Doing the Wainwrights: 214 Fells, Four Seasons and A Caravan by Steve Larkin

BOOK REVIEW

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Since this is the first report on fundraising in the new style Footsteps, we thought it would be interesting to go back over the years since the Wainwright Society was formed to see how the members’ fundraising has developed.

As you can see from the chart, the amount that we were able to donate in the early years was very small, coming totally as it did from Society funds. In fact, the total in the first four years was less than £1,000. The turning point came with the decision to organise a Challenge Walk in 2005, The Great Lakeland Challenge. This was really the first time that the Society organised a specific fundraising event. As a result, we were very pleased to donate nearly £600 to the Tourism and Conservation Partnership.

In 2007 the Challenge was to climb ‘Everest the Easy Way’, with every 10 members ascending and descending Skiddaw being the equivalent of one person ascending Everest. Some really took the fundraising to heart and splendidly raised additional sponsorship money. As a result, Keswick Mountain Rescue Team received £2,000 from the Society. The following year, 2008, the Challenge was to walk all of Wainwright’s routes on the Western Fells; this time Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team was the beneficiary of a similar amount from the members’ generosity.

Last year, 2009, really saw the efforts gathering momentum. The 214 Challenge raised £6,500 for SARDA. The amount of money paid by members to take part was more than doubled by numerous

members raising extra sponsorship funds. One of our members, Andy Beck, organised a limited edition painting of a SARDA dog to be auctioned and, through the prints sold, he has raised a staggering £2,180 to date. The members made major additional contributions through donations, coffee mornings and other events to our Cumbria Flood Appeal which was started in October 2009 and resulted in the collection of over £4,000. In 2009, we broke the £10,000 mark for the first time.

The current year, 2010, looks like being even more successful. A number of members, led by Martin Roberts and Jenny Whalley, produced our first Wainwright Society calendar. The beneficiary was Fix the Fells, and with Heritage funding matching our amount in a 2:1 ratio, we raised well over £10,000. This was reported in detail in March Footsteps. And, with our Cumbria Flood Appeal gaining momentum, we were able to organise a special lecture by Doug Scott and Chris Bonington to raise funds for the rescues services who made such a contribution to the flood rescues, their own funds being severely hit by their endeavours.

Including the calendar proceeds in this year, we have already passed £15,000 with the Best of The Rest Challenge to come. It’s going to be a hard year to follow! Society members certainly can be very proud of what they are doing from such a humble start.

RESCUE SERVICES GIVEN £6,500

Following the successful Flood Appeal and the Scott/Bonington lecture in February, Richard Warren, in his capacity as head of LDSAMRA (the umbrella organisation representing Lake District Mountain Rescue Teams), was presented with a cheque for £6,500 at our AGM in March. Richard had earlier entertained the members with a fascinating insight into the workings of the MRTs and was given Honorary Membership of the Society. He has since been making very interesting posts on our Forum.

John Bewick - MansfieldMembership No 225

Fundraising News£16k

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2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

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Bill Mitchell, the well-known former editor of Dalesman and Cumbria magazines, followed the life of A. Wainwright from 1954 when he first encountered AW’s hand-drawn and written pages for The Eastern Fells prior to its publication (see article on page 14–15).

Because Bill got to know AW reasonably well (as well as most people were ever allowed to) over the following thirty-five years, this book perhaps gives a more personal insight into the life of AW than Hunter Davies’ biography did. Bill and three of his friends formed what is known as the Geriatric Blunderers walking group and they regularly called upon AW and Betty. After AW’s death in 1991, their friendship continued for the rest of Betty’s life until her own death in the summer of 2008.

In the book there are new, previously unpublished, details about AW’s family, supplied to Bill by Jack Fish (AW’s nephew) and Linda Collinge (AW’s great-niece) along with several family and archive pictures also previously unpublished, making this a book that will appeal to all Wainwright aficionados.

However, a word of warning! Unfortunately, the author did not appear to have the services of a good editor who might have picked up some errors, for instance, the spelling of Cleater instead of Cleator. There is a quotation from a letter from Betty on page 122 mentioning an outing with AW to High Pike in 1962 which totally contradicts Hunter Davies’ information in the biography (page 204 ) that they didn’t meet until September 1965 when Betty went to see him at the Town Hall, and this has been confirmed to me by Betty’s daughter, Jane King. Perhaps the author meant 1972?

Another error occurs on page 132 where Bill says that Castle Crag was Joss Naylor’s penultimate fell when he ran the 214 fells in seven days. This is incorrect – it was Outerside: Castle Crag was number 193, not the 213th. It is a pity that Great Northern Books did not arrange for the book to be sub-edited by someone who knew the Lake District well so these errors could have been corrected prior to publication.

I am disappointed that there is no index in the book making it difficult to look up specific items; I was also disappointed in the quality of a number of the photographs. But worst of all, there is no acknowledgement to the Wainwright Estate for permission to quote from the letters – the copyright of a letter is with the writer or the writer’s heirs, not the recipient. I just hope that verbal permission was cleared.

Having got the brickbats out of the way, let us move onto some positives. There are some very interesting chapters with people who knew AW – letters from Bob Swallow, for example; quotes from Joss Naylor and the late Harry Griffin also help to make this a good read. It is certainly a much better book than Martin Wainwright’s Wainwright: The Man Who Loved the Lakes where too much plagiarism took place from both Hunter Davies’s biography and various other books.

Despite the errors mentioned above, Bill Mitchell’s book is certainly worth buying as part of your essential Wainwright collection if you have not done so already.

ISBN 9781905080663. Published by Great Northern Books. Price £16.99

John BurlandMembership No. 2

Wainwright – His Life from Milltown to Mountain by W. R. Mitchell

BOOK REVIEW

www.danielthwaites.com www.drinkaware.co.uk

Worth Walking For Best enjoyed in the pub, Wainwright is inspired by Alfred Wainwright, whose books have guided generations of walkers to experience a taste of the outdoors for many years.

With refreshing fruit flavours and a hint of sweetness, this exquisitely lovely golden ale has become universally popular with men and women alike. Whether you’re finishing a five-mile trek or taking a stroll to your local, it’s certainly worth walking for.

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Ian Tyler, who gave the Society Lecture in 2009, has sent us details of his MINE HERITAGE WALKS FOR 2010. The first two are all classed as ‘Hard’. The rest are well within the capability of the average fellwalker.

These are as follows:

• Sunday 27 June – Silverband Mine, 8 miles. Meet at Dufton Car Park, Dufton.

• Sunday July 11 – Dufton Mines, 7 miles. Meet at Dufton Car Park, Dufton.

• Sunday August 15 – Katelock Mine, 8 miles. Meet Kirkland village.

• Sunday September 5 – Elterwater Quarries, 6 miles. Meet Elterwater village.

• Sunday September 26 – Hartsop Hall Mines, 6 miles. Meet Low Hartsop Car Park.

• Sunday October 10 – Goldscope and Yewthwaite Mines, 6 miles. Meet Little Town bridge, Newlands.

All walks start at 10.30 and last approximately 5 hours. Boots or strong shoes should be worn and a packed lunch taken. Well-behaved dogs permitted.

As part of our ongoing drive for new members, we are producing a WAINWRIGHT SOCIETY BOOKMARK. We will link with some of the main bookshops in the Lake District and they will give a free bookmark to anyone buying a Wainwright book. We believe this should be a very cost-efficient way of reaching a key target audience.

We are also producing some leaflets which will be included with mailers being sent out by some of our ‘partners’; we are calling this the 3rd Party Flyer Scheme. We are grateful to our first two participants, The Coast to Coast Packhorse Company and Striding Edge, for joining this scheme, as a result of which we hope to reach nearly 10,000 potential members at very little cost to the Society.

When this issue of Footsteps is published, members will have completed their allocated fells on the BEST OF THE REST CHALLENGE. We hope all the participants enjoyed their walk and we will let you know as soon as possible how much money this event has raised for ‘Fix the Fells’. We will be going ahead with the publication of a ‘Best of The Rest Challenge Book’ provided we get everyone’s reports in a timely manner. Therefore, assuming you have completed your challenge, please make sure you have filed your report and photographs. This was a major problem last year so everyone’s help would be appreciated.

Since the last issue of Footsteps, we have produced our first E-BULLETIN. This was emailed to all members who have given us permission to contact them in this way. The Bulletin covered around twenty items of news and seemed to have been very well received. It is intended to produce a similar bulletin every three months, approximately between Footsteps issues. If you are on email and didn’t receive the bulletin but wish to in future, please let the Secretary know by using the contact email shown on the website.

The Society’s 2010 MEMORIAL LECTURE will be given by John Merrill, marathon walker, and is to be held at Rheged on 9 October at 6pm. In 1978, John became the first person to walk the entire coastline of Britain - 6,824 miles in ten months. He created more than thirty-five challenge walks which have been used to raise more than £760,000 for charity. From his own walks, he has raised over £160,000. He is author of more than 300 walking guides which he prints and publishes himself and his book sales are in excess of 3 million. Tickets for the lecture are available from Rheged (phone 01768 868000) at £8 each to Society members. A hot meal is also available at 5pm, again to be booked with Rheged.

Society News

• Sunday June 27 Mine Walk with Ian Tyler – Silverband Mine

• Sunday July 11 Mine Walk with Ian Tyler – Dufton Mines

• Sunday July 18 Coniston Show

• Saturday July 24 Society Walk – Troutbeck & Thornthwaite Beacon

• Thursday July 29 Ambleside Show

• Sunday August 15 Mine Walk with Ian Tyler – Katelock Mine

• Tuesday August 24 Hawkshead Show

• Sunday August 29 Grasmere Show

• Sunday September 5 Mine Walk with Ian Tyler – Elterwater Quarries

• Thursday September 9 Westmorland County Show, Kendal

• Sunday September 19 Borrowdale Show

• Saturday September 25 Society Walk – Easdale Tarn, Blea Rigg & Silver How plus pub meal afterwards

• Sunday September 26 Mine Walk with Ian Tyler – Hartsop Hall Mines

• Saturday October 9 Society Walk – Birkhouse Moor & Red Tarn

• Saturday October 9 8th Annual Wainwright Memorial Lecture at Rheged

Speaker – John Merrill, celebrated long– distance walker

• Sunday October 10 Mine Walk with Ian Tyler – Goldscope & Yewthwaite Mines

Dates for your Diary - 2010

Tarn Crag and Easdale Tarn by Gary Richardson

Borrowdale Show 2009

The Wainwright Society accepts no responsibility for the views, opinions, products or services contained within the Society newsletter, Footsteps, neither is it responsible for their content or accuracy.

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