to download a PDF of Footsteps - The Wainwright Society

A BreAth of fresh Ale
Wainwright is a long way from ordinary beer.
With its citrus, subtly sweet flavour this award-winning
golden ale is like country air – totally refreshing.
www.thwaites.co.uk
Orrest Head View Indicator Unveiled
In the Spring issue of Footsteps we
announced that we would be working on
a project with Windermere Town Council
to replace the View Indicator (or diorama,
as we called it then) at the top of Orrest
Head, the previous version having been
vandalised.
The Society took the lead in investigating numerous
different material and design options and the final
specification was agreed in May. We were very
keen to get the new View Indicator in place to
coincide with our Society walk to the summit of
Orrest Head at the end of July and make this the
date for an unveiling ceremony.
We decided that Lakeland slate would be the most
appropriate material and, after discussions with
potential suppliers, we selected a local company,
Gordon Greaves of Troutbeck Bridge, to do the
work. Samples were produced in a variety of
slate colours and finishes; we selected a piece of
local slate from the Bursting Stone Quarry near
Coniston, this being a rich, dark colour that would
contrast well with the design, and had excellent
abrasion and weather resistance qualities.
The unveiling party
The design we used was based on AW’s panorama
in The Outlying Fells of Lakeland (pp. 28 and 29).
Society designer, Andrew Stainthorpe, meticulously
extended the drawing to the south-west so as to
include Coniston Old Man. Following numerous
visits to Gordon Greaves, the final design and
specification was handed over at the end of June
and we were able to confirm that everything would
be ready for an unveiling ceremony on Saturday
28 July. A few days before the unveiling date, the
engraved slate was fixed in place to the existing
plinth, which had been restored and prepared by
Windermere Town Council.
After an initially grey, drizzly morning on 28 July, over
thirty Society members plus representatives of the
Town Council gathered at Windermere railway station
to make the short journey in clearer skies to the top of
Orrest Head, where we were joined by the members
who had completed the Society walk earlier in the
day (see page 12). We were delighted that Betty’s
daughters, Jane King and Annie Sellar (Honorary
Presidents of the Society), were able to make long
journeys with their husbands to walk with us and make
it an occasion to remember. Peter Linney, Society
Secretary, Kathleen Atkinson (Deputy Mayor of WTC)
and Jane King made some introductory remarks and
then Kathleen, Annie and Jane performed the unveiling.
With the sun now flitting between white clouds, the
new View Indicator looked resplendent as it witnessed
the ‘sight of mountains in tumultuous array across
glittering waters’ (The Outlying Fells of Lakeland p.26).
Following the ceremony, we repaired to the
Marchesi Centre in Windermere with our new
friends from WTC for refreshments. The completion
of the project has, we believe, been an excellent
way to use Society funds and lies at the heart of our
Society objectives. We hope that when members, in
years to come, retrace AW’s first ascent in Lakeland,
they reflect on the contribution we have made to
remember him in a most appropriate way.
John Bewick
Society Development
27