Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells

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A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells being an illustrated account of a study and exploration of the mountains in the English Lake District is a series of seven books by the English author A. Wainwright , in which the mountains ( fells ) of the Lake District in northwestern England to be discribed. The books have been written over a period of 13 years since 1952 and are reproductions of the fully handwritten manuscript illustrated with numerous pen drawings.

Since it was first published between 1955 and 1966 , more than two million copies have been sold. Most hillwalkers in England consider these books the standard work of walking guides on the fells of the Lake District. The 214 fells described in the seven volumes are commonly referred to as The Wainwrights , and climbing them all is a popular challenge. It is believed that around 500 people have so far succeeded in achieving this goal.

structure

The seven books are structured as follows:

Style and layout

The books are reproductions of Wainwright's handwritten manuscripts. The chapters are justified in his meticulous handwriting. He used different font sizes to differentiate between special notes or topic blocks and there are also italic or bold emphasis, so that one gets the impression that the books are set in a handwritten font. He also made sure that there were no separations at the end of the line.

The illustrations are pen-and-ink drawings based on black and white photos that Wainwright made during his hikes.

content

Each book is structured in the same way. The introduction is followed by the descriptions of the individual mountains in alphabetical order. Final personal remarks are added at the end.

introduction

In the introduction there is an explanation of the geographical division of the Lake District into seven regions, an explanation of symbols, an alphabetical list of the mountains contained in the respective volume with a schematic overview map and a description of the area covered in the book.

Mountain descriptions

Each of the 214 Fells has its own chapter in the books. It starts with a view of the mountain and a one to multi-page description of the geographical, historical and special local conditions of the respective mountain, followed by a map on which the most important routes to the summit are drawn. Afterwards, each of these routes is described in detail on one page using ascent sketches and provided with some additional sketches. Wainwright also goes into local peculiarities, such as B. specially shaped rocks, waterfalls worth seeing, smaller streams or the tombstone of a dog owner for his particularly loyal and popular hunting dog. Illustrations show other points of interest, such as particularly conspicuous rock formations, ruins, bridges or quarries. The following pages show a view of the summit and a simplified sketch of the panorama skyline with a precise description of the recognizable mountains and their distance. There are also comments on possibilities for descent with information on whether these paths are recommended in bad weather or fog. Finally, ridge routes are described, these are direct connections between peaks without losing much height.

These chapters vary in length depending on the height, awareness and number of interesting points. The chapter with the highest number of pages (36) is not Scafell Pike , the highest mountain in England, but the chapter on Blencathra .

Personal concluding remarks

Each book closes with personal comments from the author, in which he writes down a few thoughts on the creation of the book, his experiences during the research and other information and anecdotes relating to the respective field.

In the seventh and final volume, Wainwright compiles some favorites lists in which he presents the six best fells , peaks and other places (except peaks) where a fellwalker can be .

The best furs

The best peaks

  • Dow Crag
  • Hard fur
  • Helmet crag
  • Eagle Crag
  • Slight side
  • Steeple

The six best other places

  • Striding Edge, Helvellyn
  • Lords Rake, Scafell
  • Mickledore, Scafell
  • Sharp Edge, Blencathra
  • South Traverse, Great Gable
  • Shamrock Traverse, Pillar

dedication

Unlike many authors who dedicate their works to special people from their environment, Wainwright's books each begin with a rather unusual dedication:

  • Volume 1: "The Men of the Ordnance Survey "
  • Volume 2: "The builders of the stone walls"
  • Volume 3: "The Dogs of Lakeland"
  • Volume 4: "The Sheep of Lakeland"
  • Volume 5: "The lonely wanderer in the Fells"
  • Volume 6: "My right and my left leg"
  • Volume 7: "Everyone who helped me"

Personal representation

Although Wainwright was a very shy and introverted person, he included a drawing in each volume that depicts himself. However, they do not show him in portrait, but only from behind, looking at a panorama of the Lake District. Since the other illustrations in the books generally do not show any people and the characteristics of the person depicted are clear, there is no doubt that he depicted himself:

history

Originally, Wainwright's notes and sketches were not intended for publication. The first book, The Eastern Fells , was written for "personal pleasure and as a reminder for future times, to wander in the Fells long after the legs have failed". After the book was finished, however, Wainwright felt a desire to share his experiences with others and was supported by friends. After the publication of the first book, in which he announced further books, he was the duty of his readers, the number of which grew steadily, and he worked continuously on the descriptions of the 214 fells for the next few years.

In 2003 the sales figures, which had been constant up to that point in time, declined and the publisher wanted to stop publishing. However, the rights were bought by the publisher Frances Lincoln , which has since published the most famous and popular hiking guides of the Lake District.

revision

From 2007 to 2010, the books were revised by Chris Jesty and reprinted by the publisher Frances Lincoln . However, the appearance and layout are not changed. The changes were made in a font specially made for this purpose in order to make them as inconspicuous as possible and not to destroy the overall look of the pages. Instead of a pen drawing as in the original books, there is a color photo on the dust jacket.

This revision is not without controversy among lovers of books. For one, the need for a revision is recognized, although Wainwright has always stressed that he did not want to make such an update. But in the 50 years since it was first published, many of the features described have changed. At one point Wainwright describes a “gate between two young oaks”. The gate is still there - and so are the oaks. However, if you are looking for young oaks, you will look in vain. It goes without saying that these have grown into stately trees over the years. Something similar has happened with "uninhabited and abandoned" farmhouses, which have now been rebuilt and used as holiday homes or have been demolished and have finally disappeared. In places where Wainwright describes fords through a stream, there are now bridges, quarries have been closed and roads built, open areas have been planted and have grown into dense forests.

On the other hand, you see the books as a kind of work of art and think they should be left as the author created them. The changes in nature are not so serious that they cannot be understood with reflection and observation and therefore would not contribute to confusion and misinterpretation.

Collect Wainwrights

The fells described in 214 are commonly referred to as The Wainwrights . The height of the fells is between 985 feet (300 m) and 3210 feet (1070 m). In contrast to the other categorized English mountains ( Munros or Marilyns ), which were classified according to objective criteria such as altitude or topographical characteristics, this list contains completely different mountains. Wainwright had no intention of making such a list, the only thing in common is that these mountains are in his books. Many hillwalkers have set a goal of climbing all of the 214 Wainwrights described in the books, which is commonly referred to as skin bagging .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Wainwright Society: The Alfred Wainwright Centenary 2007 ( Memento of December 23, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ The Wainwrights at Striding Edge ( Memento of the original from February 8, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.stridingedge.net
  3. ↑ Dave Hewitt, "Interlude: A Few Thoughts on Fellbagging," from A Bit of Grit on Haystacks (Disley: Millrace, 2004), pp. 87-88
  4. ↑ Charmers Grave , Volume 4 - "The Southern Fells", Description of Coniston Old Man
  5. ^ Hunter Davies, Wainwright The Biography , p. 137
  6. ↑ Wainwright guides are shelved , BBC News 14 January 2003
  7. ^ Wainwright finds new home , The Wainwright Society, February 14, 2003 ( Memento of August 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive )

Web links