Product Description

This boxed set contains all seven of the Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells by the fell walking legend, A. Wainwright. For this Anniversary edition the pages were freshly reproduced from the original artwork and printed and bound to match the original books as closely as possible. Maps and text are as Wainwright wrote them. Since the guides were compiled half a century ago, they have been treasured by generations of walkers, and television programmes in the year of the centenary of Wainwright's birth introduced them to new enthusiasts. There were no guides like these before Wainwright devised them, and in the years since they were first published, they have never been matched. This boxed set of all seven books is the perfect gift for walkers and lovers of the Lakeland fells.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1786 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-01
• Formats: Box set, Facsimile, Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 7
• Binding: Hardcover
• 2128 pages

Review
With enhanced drawings that show the loving detail of the originals, this truly reflects Wainwright's legacy. If you ever get bored with looking at it, you could even use it to go walking! (Independent on Sunday )

About the Author
Born in Blackburn in 1907, Alfred Wainwright left school at the age of 13. A holiday at the age of 23 kindled a life-long love affair with the Lake District. Following a move to Kendal in 1941 he began to devote every spare moment he had to researching and compiling the original seven Pictorial Guides. He described these as his 'love letters' to the Lakeland Fells and at the end of the first, The Eastern Fells, he wrote about what the mountains had come to mean to him:

"I suppose it might be said, to add impressiveness to the whole thing, that this book has been twenty years in the making, for it is so long, and more, since I first came from a smoky mill-town (forgive me, Blackburn!) and beheld, from Orrest Head, a scene of great beauty, a fascinating paradise, Lakeland's mountains and trees and water. That was the first time I had looked upon beauty, or imagined it, even.

Afterwards I went often, whenever I could, and always my eyes were lifted to the hills. I was to find then, and it has been so ever since, a spiritual and physical satisfaction in climbing mountains – and a tranquil mind upon reaching their summits, as though I had escaped from the disappointments and unkindnesses of life and emerged above them into a new world, a better world.

In due course I came to live within sight of the hills, and I was well content. If I could not be climbing, I was happy to sit idly and dream of them, serenely. Then came a restlessness and the feeling that it was not enough to take their gifts and do nothing in return. I must dedicate something of myself, the best part of me, to them. I started to write about them, and to draw pictures of them. Doing these things, I found they were still giving and I still receiving, for a great pleasure filled me when I was so engaged – I had found a new way of escape to them and from all else less worth while.

Thus it comes about that I have written this book. Not for material gain, welcome though that would be (you see I have not escaped entirely!); not for the benefit of my contemporaries, though if it brings them also to the hills I shall be well pleased; certainly not for posterity, about which I can work up no enthusiasm at all. No, this book has been written, carefully and with infinite patience, for my own pleasure and because it has seemed to bring the hills to my own fireside. If it has merit, it is because the hills have merit."

A. Wainwright died in 1991 at the age of 84.

Customer Reviews

Brilliant - but you have a choice
These books are truly a Lakeland Companion. In the pages the author not only sets out the details of the fells (with scrupulous accuracy) but shares himself. And this is not in an intrusive way; indeed it is rare insight into the thinking of a middle-aged man of 40 plus years ago.

As guide books the series is second to none. They are brilliantly designed for use on the fells (in wind or rain they are so much easier than a map). They also are great pre and post holiday reading; as valuable for reminiscing as planning.

There is a weakness. They are out of date! Some of the changes do not matter a jot (everyone knows that the railway to Keswick is no more) but some could be significant - for example some paths have been re-routed and others have suffered erosion. Before buying consider whether the second edition (with revisions by Chris Jesty) is more appropriate for your needs.

A unique set of guidebooks for walkers.
Wainwright's legacy to the fell walkers of the Lake District will be as popular in a hundred years from now as it is today, a decade after his demise. These seven wonderful books began in the 1950's as a labour of love which would take up most of Wainwright's leisure time over a period of over 12 years. He embarked on this venture without a thought of making a profit; the idea was simply to provide meticulous advice and information for walkers, set out in his own unique style. His attention to detail and gentle humour have reassured and entertained generations of walkers visiting this hallowed corner of our beautiful earth. Similarly people who are not fit enough to visit the highest mountains can relive past adventures by their own fireside on a cold winter's evening. So, my friend, feel inspired, splash out a little on these wonderful guidebooks, get out on the hills, and, as the great Wainwright himself said, watch where you are putting your feet. Your life will never be quite the same again.

Bargain Price
This is a brilliant boxed set, i managed to get this for under £45 which is incredible given the books individually are priced at £13 each !!

The attention to detail in these books are second to none - buy it now before the price goes back up !!