2:30pm Friday 25th December 2009
FANS of legendary fell walker and writer Alfred Wainwright are planning to recreate his first walk up a Lake District fell after uncovering new details.
2010 is the 80th anniversary of Wainwright’s first visit to when, as a 23-year-old living in Blackburn, he travelled to Windermere and climbed Orrest Head.
The experience proved to be a huge inspiration and Wainwright went on to write the classic seven Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells, plus many other books which have become bibles for thousands of people who love to walk the fells.
John Burland, of the Wainwright Society, said: “It was only in his later years that Alfred Wainwright began to reveal details of his early explorations in Lakeland before the writing of the Pictorial Guides.
“However, he did leave an account of his first visit to Lakeland and, considering the length of time that had elapsed, it is remarkably detailed.
“He was 23 and was on his first proper holiday with his cousin, Eric Beardsall.
“They set off ‘in a state of great excitement’ and arriving on the bus at Windermere proceeded to climb Orrest Head."
As Wainwright was to write many years later: ‘It was a moment of magic, a revelation so unexpected that I stood transfixed, unable to believe my eyes. … Those few hours on Orrest Head cast a spell that changed my life’.”
Wainwright left a fairly detailed account of the weather he and Eric encountered during the first four days of their walks.
Using this data, Derek Cockell, one of the Wainwright Society members, checked with the national weather archive office and discovered they must have gone up to Windermere on June 7, Whit Saturday in 1930.
Based on this research, the society plans to celebrate Wainwright’s first visit to Lakeland by climbing Orrest Head from Windermere Station on that day in 2010.
Those interested should email John Burland at publicity@wainwright. org.uk.
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