Tower and Town, May 2024 (view the full edition)And the larks sang a song of welcome'On 22 March I took him to Haystacks. We left Kendal at 6 am when it was still dark, and we were near the summit of Haystacks just before 9 am. No one else was about. The day before was sullen and wet and so was the following, but that morning was perfect. The sun rose steadily in a blue sky. I left him as he had requested, beside Innominate Tarn, and the larks sang a song of welcome.' There were times in Britain when the pace of life was much more humane, and a determined shy character, Alfred Wainright, (1907-1991), had ample time to flourish. His love-letter to the fells of Lakeland, and desire to escape from the common round by stepping off the well-trodden path, resonated with many of us. Wainright grew up poor in Blackburn during the 'Matchstick Men' cotton mills era of Lancashire, becoming an accountant, and a much-loved fell walker, guidebook author, and book illustrator. His encounter with the Lake District at the age of 23, using saved £5, sealed his obsessive love affair with the fells of Lakeland, prompting him to relocate to Keswick from the age of 34 till his death. He did describe himself as having once been shy but having grown up to be antisocial, saving his energy and time for fell wandering and producing one page per night of his meticulous handwritten pictorial guidebooks of the 214 Lakeland fells, (1955-1966), which he started in 1951. 'Memories crowd on you as you delicately bring to life on paper the various features of the mountains you have seen so often. Your pen moves through a mist of dreams ... Yes, drawing was a good idea.' 'And if you, dear reader, should get a bit of grit in your boot as you are crossing Haystacks in the years to come, please treat it with respect. It might be me.' Alfred Wainright, whose ashes were scattered in 1991. Raik Jarjis |