Pictorial Guides To The Lakeland Fells
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''A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells'' is a series of seven books by A. Wainwright, detailing the
fell A fell (from Old Norse ''fell'', ''fjall'', "mountain"Falk and Torp (2006:161).) is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or Moorland, moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle o ...
s (the local word for hills and mountains) of the
Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...
in northwest England. Written over a period of 13 years from 1952, they consist entirely of reproductions of Wainwright's
manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...
, hand-produced in
pen and ink A pen is a common writing tool, writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a Nib (pen), nib or in a sm ...
with no
typeset Typesetting is the composition of text by means of arranging physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or ''glyphs'' in digital systems representing '' characters'' (letters and other symbols).Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random H ...
material. The series has been in print almost continuously since it was first published between 1955 and 1966, with more than 2 million copies sold. It is still regarded by many walkers as the definitive guide to the Lakeland mountains. The 214 fells described in the seven volumes have become known as the Wainwrights. the
LDWA The Long Distance Walkers Association (LDWA) is a British not for profit, volunteer-led association whose aim is "to further the common interests of those who enjoy long distance walking". The LDWA is an association of people with the common inte ...
register of those who have climbed all the fells listed 674 names. The Wainwright Society maintains a "register of current Society members who have climbed all 214 fells".


First editions

The first five books were originally published by Wainwright's friend, Henry Marshall, Chief Librarian of Kendal and Westmorland, who took charge of publicity and administration. Another friend, Sandy Hewitson (of Bateman and Hewitson Ltd) agreed to print the books using Wainwright's original manuscript, although in fact the printing was done by ''
The Westmorland Gazette ''The Westmorland Gazette'' is a weekly newspaper published in Kendal, England, covering " South Lakeland and surrounding areas", including Barrow and North Lancashire. Its name refers to the historic county of Westmorland. The paper is now owned ...
'' in Kendal, who had taken over Bateman and Hewitson Ltd. From 1963, Westmorland Gazette also became the publisher, and their name appears as such on the first impressions of Books Six and Seven. The books, together with details of the first impressions, are: *Book One — ''The Eastern Fells'', published by Henry Marshall in 1955 (no dustwrapper, dark green cloth boards with gold lettering) *Book Two — ''The Far Eastern Fells'', published by Henry Marshall in 1957 (dustwrapper priced 12/6, grey cloth boards with red lettering) *Book Three — ''The Central Fells'', published by Henry Marshall in 1958 (dustwrapper priced 12/6, light blue cloth boards with silver lettering) *Book Four — ''The Southern Fells'', published by Henry Marshall in 1960 (dustwrapper priced 12/6, brownish orange cloth boards with dark blue lettering) *Book Five — ''The Northern Fells'', published by Henry Marshall in 1962 (dustwrapper priced 12/6, reddish brown cloth boards with silver lettering) *Book Six — ''The North Western Fells'', published by Westmorland Gazette in 1964 (dustwrapper priced 12/6, yellow cloth boards with dark blue lettering) *Book Seven — ''The Western Fells'', published by Westmorland Gazette in 1966 (dustwrapper priced 15/-, green boards with silver lettering) The second impression of Book One, released at Easter 1956, came with a dustwrapper, and customers who had previously bought a jacket-less first impression could obtain a dustwrapper from the printer.''Wainwright: The Biography'' by Hunter Davis (1995) First Edition, pp. 165–166 As a result, most first impressions of Book One still in existence usually have a dustwrapper priced at 12/6. In 1992, a year after Wainwright's death, Michael Joseph took control of all of Wainwright's books, including the Pictorial Guides, a change of which Wainwright himself was in favour. When they ceased publication in 2003, the rights were bought by Frances Lincoln who shortly afterwards embarked on a revised Second Edition of the guides.


Style and layout

Each of the fells covered by the guides has its own chapter, which normally includes a
map A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...
of the fell, comprehensive details and 3-dimensional drawings of ascent routes,
ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...
routes to other fells, routes of descent and a description of the summit. Carefully annotated
pen and ink A pen is a common writing tool, writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a Nib (pen), nib or in a sm ...
drawings of ascents and views accompany the details of each fell. Each book starts with a description of the geography of the area and ends with ''Some personal notes in conclusion''. Unlike many authors who
dedicate Dedication is the act of consecrating an altar, temple, church, or other sacred building. Feast of Dedication The Feast of Dedication, today Hanukkah, once also called "Feast of the Maccabees," is a Jewish festival observed for eight days f ...
books to particular people known to them, Wainwright commences each book with an unusual dedication. These are: * Book 1: "The Men of the
Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...
" * Book 2: "The Men who Built the Stone Walls" * Book 3: "The Dogs of Lakeland" * Book 4: "The Sheep of Lakeland" * Book 5: "The Solitary wanderers on the fells" * Book 6: "My right leg and my left leg" * Book 7: "All who have helped me" Wainwright, notoriously shy, also includes one drawing of himself in each book, generally from behind, of him admiring a particular view. These are: *Book 1: View of
Blencathra Blencathra, also known as Saddleback, is one of the most northerly hills in the English Lake District. It has six separate fell tops, of which the highest is the Hallsfell Top at 2,848 feet (868 metres). Name For many years, Ordnance Sur ...
from
Clough Head Clough Head () (meaning: ''hill-top above the ravine'') is a fell, or hill, in the English Lake District. It marks the northern end of the main ridge of the Helvellyn range and is often walked as part of the ridge walk. The fell stands south o ...
*Book 2: View of
Haweswater Haweswater is a reservoir in the valley of Mardale, Cumbria in the Lake District, England. Work to raise the height of the original natural lake was started in 1929. It was controversially dammed after the UK Parliament passed a Private Act ...
from Harter Fell *Book 3: View of
Thirlmere Thirlmere is a reservoir in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria and the English Lake District. The Helvellyn ridge lies to the east of Thirlmere. To the west of Thirlmere are a number of fells; for instance, Armboth Fell and Raven Crag both ...
from
Raven Crag Raven Crag is a fell in the English Lake District that overlooks Thirlmere reservoir. It has subsidiary summits The Benn and Castle Crag. Topography The fell is the high point on a 2-mile-long spur running up the western shore of Thirlmere, br ...
*Book 4: View of the Pinnacle,
Scafell Scafell ( or ; also spelled Sca Fell, previously Scawfell) is a mountain in the English Lake District, part of the Southern Fells. Its height of makes it the second-highest mountain in England after its neighbour Scafell Pike, from which i ...
*Book 5:
Binsey Binsey is a hill on the northern edge of the Lake District in Cumbria, England. It is detached from the rest of the Lakeland hills, and thus provides a good spot to look out at the Northern and North Western Fells of the Lake District, as we ...
summit with "ancient Briton" (i.e. the author) *Book 6: View of
High Stile High Stile is a mountain in the western part of the Lake District in North West England. It is the eleventh-highest English Marilyn, standing 807 metres (2,648 ft) high, and has a relative height of 362 metres (1,187 ft). I ...
from Lanthwaite Hill *Book 7: View of
Yewbarrow Yewbarrow is a fell, in the English Lake District, which lies immediately north of the head of Wast Water. It is 628 metres (2,060 feet) high and in shape resembles the upturned hull of a boat or a barrow. Yewbarrow is on the left in the ...
from Gatherstone Head In the notes at the end of Book 7, Wainwright lists what he considers to be the 'finest half-dozen' fells in Lakeland. His list consists of: *
Scafell Pike Scafell Pike () is the highest and the most prominent mountain in England, at an elevation of above sea level. It is located in the Lake District National Park, in Cumbria, and is part of the Southern Fells and the Scafell massif. Scafell P ...
*
Bowfell Bowfell (named ''Bow Fell'' on Ordnance Survey maps) is a pyramid-shaped mountain lying at the heart of the English Lake District, in the Southern Fells area. It is the sixth-highest mountain in the Lake District and one of the most popular ...
*
Pillar A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
*
Great Gable Great Gable is a mountain in the Lake District, United Kingdom. It is named after its appearance as a pyramid from Wasdale, though it is dome-shaped from most other directions. It is one of the most popular of the Lakeland fells, and there are ...
*
Blencathra Blencathra, also known as Saddleback, is one of the most northerly hills in the English Lake District. It has six separate fell tops, of which the highest is the Hallsfell Top at 2,848 feet (868 metres). Name For many years, Ordnance Sur ...
*
Crinkle Crags Crinkle Crags is a fell in the English Lake District in the county of Cumbria. It forms part of two major rings of mountains, surrounding the valleys of Great Langdale and Upper Eskdale. The name reflects the fell's physical appearance ...
A 50th anniversary edition and a box set of the original edition have been published. Leather bound versions can be found secondhand.


Second editions

Between 2005 and 2009, the series was factually revised by the publishers Frances Lincoln, to adjust the content to the present-day Lake District. Chris Jesty undertook the revisions, using an imitation of Wainwright's hand lettering to make the alterations look as unobtrusive as possible. The most notable changes are that the covers of the revised books show photographs of the Lake District by
Derry Brabbs Derry Brabbs is a British landscape photographer and author. From 1984 onwards he worked with Alfred Wainwright on a series of books, including ''Fellwalking with Wainwright'' which won the 1985 Lakeland Book of the Year. He judged the annual ph ...
, rather than the drawings that were on the covers of the originals, and the maps show the main paths in red. The books, with the ISBNs of the revised editions, are: *Book 1 — ''The Eastern Fells'' (2005) *Book 2 — ''The Far Eastern Fells'' (2005) *Book 3 — ''The Central Fells'' (2006) *Book 4 — ''The Southern Fells'' (2007) *Book 5 — ''The Northern Fells'' (2008) *Book 6 — ''The Northwestern Fells'' (2008) *Book 7 — ''The Western Fells'' (2009) Revised editions of Wainwright's other Pictorial Guides, ''A Coast to Coast Walk'', ''
The Outlying Fells of Lakeland ''The Outlying Fells of Lakeland'' is a 1974 book written by Alfred Wainwright dealing with hills in and around the Lake District of England. It differs from Wainwright's '' Pictorial Guides'' in that each of its 56 chapters describes a walk, ...
'' and ''Pennine Way Companion'' were published between 2010 and 2012, with the amendments again being made by Chris Jesty. Revised editions of ''Walks in Limestone Country'' and ''Walks on the
Howgill Fells The Howgill Fells are uplands in Northern England between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales, lying roughly within a triangle formed by the towns of Sedbergh and Kirkby Stephen and the village of Tebay.
'' were published in April 2014.


Third editions

a third edition of the guides, known as the Walkers Edition, is being prepared by Clive Hutchby. Book One: The Eastern Fells was published in March 2015; Book Two: The Far Eastern Fells was published in October 2015. Book Three: The Central Fells, was published in March 2016. Books Four, Five, Six and Seven will follow in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2019 respectively.


Wainwright bagging

The 214 fells included in the series are now generally known as 'the
Wainwrights Wainwrights are the 214 English peaks (known locally as '' fells'') described in Alfred Wainwright's seven-volume '' Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells'' (1955–66). They all lie within the boundary of the Lake District National Park in Cum ...
'. These range in height from 985 feet ( Castle Crag) to 3210 feet (
Scafell Pike Scafell Pike () is the highest and the most prominent mountain in England, at an elevation of above sea level. It is located in the Lake District National Park, in Cumbria, and is part of the Southern Fells and the Scafell massif. Scafell P ...
). Completing all the Wainwrights is a popular
peak bagging Peak bagging or hill bagging is an activity in which hikers, climbers, and mountaineers attempt to reach a collection of summits, published in the form of a list. This activity has been popularized around the world, with lists such as 100 Peaks ...
challenge. The Wainwrights differ from other bagging lists such as the
Munro A Munro () is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nevis ...
s and Marilyns, however, in that Wainwright never set out to compile such a list himself, and inclusion is not based on objective criteria such as elevation or
prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...
.


See also

*
List of Wainwrights Wainwrights are the 214 English peaks (known locally as ''fells'') described in Alfred Wainwright's seven-volume ''Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells'' (1955–66). They all lie within the boundary of the Lake District National Park in Cumb ...
*''
The Outlying Fells of Lakeland ''The Outlying Fells of Lakeland'' is a 1974 book written by Alfred Wainwright dealing with hills in and around the Lake District of England. It differs from Wainwright's '' Pictorial Guides'' in that each of its 56 chapters describes a walk, ...
''
Alfred Wainwright Books & Memorabilia


Notes

{{reflist English non-fiction books Travel guide books Fells of the Lake District Walking in the United Kingdom Geography of Cumbria Tourist attractions in Cumbria Books about the Lake District Hiking books