Wainwrights Secret Lakeland

75 of Wainwright's ascent and ridge routes in Lakeland are described, and selected for their secret and secluded nature. The routes are described from a modern perspective with a comparison where appropriate with how Wainwright described them in his day. Each walk is conveyed as a story with details along the way about features of geology, local history and associated literature. An excellent enabler for those walkers who want to get away from the crowds and away from the traditional popular routes.

Walks:  66




About the Authors:
Chris Stanbury has been walking the Lakeland Fells for over 20 years and in 2007, the Centenary of Alfred Wainwright's birth, completed the 214 Wainwright Fells. He is author of the popular book 'The World of a Wainwight Bagger' also published by Sigma.
 

Endorsement:
Chris Stanbury is a sinner come to repentance. His last book was 'The World of a Wainwright Bagger'. OK, he wasn't at the extreme end of that black art and he took my sending him up a bit in After Wainwright – trainspotters with altitude sort of stuff - with remarkably good grace. But now he's back with a finer book that draws its inspiration from the asides and hints and gentle appreciations of peace and silence that breathe between the main ascents of AW's Pictorial Guides.

Of course the secret Lakeland of Wainwright's time is less secret now. There are simply more people on the hill, but what Chris proves comprehensively in this gently written book is that solitude can be found if you put your mind to it; if you take Wainwright's advice to follow your nose not just the guide book. The places he visits are not honey-pots and all the sweeter for that. What he finds in the process is the beating heart of the mountains. There's a lot of space out there if, like Chris, you take the trouble to go in search of it.

Eric Robson