In September 1938, events were moving to a crisis. War seemed imminent - news and conversations became concentrated on the single topic of a forthcoming confrontation with Hitler. The author of this book used some of his holiday and escaped from the atmosphere of gloom and despondency by walking alone from Settle in Ribbledale to the Roman wall along the eastern flank of the Pennines, returning down the west side. This book records his experiences, the wildlife he encountered and the flora he recorded.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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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.
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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ONCE upon a time, in days of long ago, Alexander the Great complained bitterly that there were no worlds left for him to conquer. Read the first page
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ONCE upon a time, in days of long ago, Alexander the Great complained bitterly that there were no worlds left for him to conquer. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Well what can i say about this little book,apart from wainwright at his best.
This man through the information he gives you in this book draws you in and in the end you are there with him walking the walk,meeting the people and breathing the air of freedom that you can only get whilst out walking our lovely countryside.
A book more than worthy of a place on your book shelf,but please dont leave it on the bookshelf,read it and enjoy it
This man through the information he gives you in this book draws you in and in the end you are there with him walking the walk,meeting the people and breathing the air of freedom that you can only get whilst out walking our lovely countryside.
A book more than worthy of a place on your book shelf,but please dont leave it on the bookshelf,read it and enjoy it
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
If like me you are getting on a bit and no longer able to walk The Pennine Walk as Wainwright did, do the next best thing. With a copy of the book at your elbow and an OS Map in front of you do the walk with Wainwright; you'd be surprised how it all comes to life and how you are transported back to that more tranquil era, even though we were on the threshold of war. You'll love to meet the gradely folk he met on the way with their human and often amusing stories. I wouldn't be without this book. Definitely my choice for that Desert Island. Recommended!
Edward Gill
Edward Gill
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
By Salmacis
Format:Paperback
If anyone feels overworked or stressed out by the demands of modern life then this is the book is for you. It manages to encapsulate an altogether more gentle and innocent age in the readers mind. The author is preoccupied with the impending threat of war and uses his lonely tramp through the wildnerness of Northern England to escape the anxieties of the age. As the logbook of the journey was never originally intended to be published, it can make for uncomfortable reading at times, as if you were sneaking a look at someones diary. The deeply personal thoughts and observations of a man obviously far better aqquainted with nature than with the human race are painfully honest, and you do feel slight embarrasment at the more whimsical moments. That said, only AW can articulate his love of the hills in that unique style all of his own, and it is a peice of work that will inspire walkers to follow in the great mans footsteps.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
mint
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Published 4 months ago by PD Walker
5.0 out of 5 stars
Terrific book
What a great read - my third read and second buy of this book as I lent the first one and it must have so good that I never got it back!
Published 4 months ago by R. P. Thompson
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Fascinating Journey Back In Time.
A fascinating journey back in time in AW's inimitable style. Will have pride of place on my bookshelves alongside Peter Mayle's Provence books and Sean Frain's A Lake District... Read more
Published 6 months ago by fithie
4.0 out of 5 stars
Better than I expected
Having read a few biographies about Wainwright, I was intrigued enough to get this book. When you read about Wainwright, it is easy to come to the conclusion that he was a... Read more
Published 7 months ago by S Edmondson
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wainwright warts and all.
I read this in very few sittings and enjoyed most of it immensely.The subject and time setting are both compelling-a walk to Hadrian's Wall and back from Settle at the time of the... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Valentine Gersbach
5.0 out of 5 stars
A.W.
A.W. at his very best. Bought as a present and was a great success with one who has walked all the fells that Wainwright walked. Great to see it through his eyes.
Published 17 months ago by angiem
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great story
A brilliant story of Wainwright's 'eve of WW2' walk from Settle to Hadrian's wall - NOT a pictorial guide, if you want that buy the replica blue cover version that has been mocked... Read more
Published 18 months ago by rainypayload
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pennine Journey
Really enjoyed this book, as usual with Wainwright it is well written. As well as the journey it reveals much more of Wainwright the character and is worth thprice for this alone. Read more
Published 18 months ago by A. Pilling
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good read provided you're not too politically correct
Alfred Wainwright wrote this book around 1938, and then, thinking it would be of no interest to anyone, threw it in a desk draw where it was found 50 years later and he was... Read more
Published 18 months ago by T. P. Spowart
4.0 out of 5 stars
No Airs or Graces - but Life as AW Sees it
A Pennine Journey by Alfred Wainwright is a down to earth account of his walk of some 200miles northwards through the Yorkshire Dales to Hadrian's Wall and a return south on the... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Danema
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- Books > Travel & Holiday > Atlases & Maps > Special Interests > Walking and Hiking
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