We take a look at the life of Alfred Wainwright, the man who did so much to popularise the Lakes and fell walking
Alfred Wainwright is synonymous with the Lake District and, thanks to his popular guides, he made the fells accessible to the masses and revolutionised fell walking. But who was he?
What is Wainwright most famous for?
Alfred Wainwright is best known for his series of seven books, Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells, first published between 1955 and 1966. In these books, handwritten and illustrated with his own pen-and-ink drawings, he described routes on to 214 different fells, their natural features and the view from each summit. He also devised the 192-mile Coast to Coast long-distance hike from St Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hood’s Bay in North Yorkshire.
When was Alfred Wainwright born?
Wainwright was born in 1907, the youngest of four children.
Where is Alfred Wainwright from?
Wainwright was from the mill town of Blackburn, Lancashire.
When did Wainwright first visit the Lake District?
Wainwright first visited the Lake District in 1830. According to the Wainwright Society: “He travelled by bus from Blackburn to Windermere with his cousin and on their arrival they climbed the 780’ of Orrest Head” where, as Wainwright wrote later, “Orrest Head cast a spell that changed my life”.
When did Wainwright move to the Lake District?
He moved to Lakeland in 1941 when he got a job in the Borough Treasurer’s Office in Kendal, where he worked until he retired in 1967.
When did he start writing his guides?
He started his guides in November 1952.
What are the 214 Wainwrights?
The 214 fells described in Wainwright’s seven Pictorial Guides are all within the Lake District National Park and all but one (Castle Crag) are over 304.8 metres (1,000 feet) in height.
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Who did Wainwright marry?
Wainwright married twice. He married his first wife Ruth Holden in 1931 but they had divorced by 1968. In 1970 he married Betty McNally.
Did Alfred Wainwright have children?
Wainwright had one son Peter from his marriage with Ruth.
When did Alfred Wainwright die?
Alfred Wainwright died on 20 January 1991.
Main image: Wainwright in front of his beloved Haystacks, where his ashes are scattered © Andrew Nichol (Chris Butterfield Collection).