Evergreen

54 EVERGREEN Autumn
Wainwright’s Ratty Walks
Afew years ago I was asked
to write a chapter for
a book celebrating the
achievements of Alfred Wainwright,
the pen-and-ink bard and artist of
Westmorland and Cumberland.
Wainwright (1907-1991) was a local
authority accountant, but between
1955 and 1966 he scoured the
Lake District fells (by bus, as he
never learned to drive) writing,
drawing and recording. The result
was his seven-volume Pictorial Guide
to the Lakeland Fells which showed
walkers how to reach all the major
summits of the region, but with
every map and illustration handdrawn,
all the text in immaculate
manuscript. The books are all still
in print and sell extremely well —
they are beautiful items to read and
handle, even if you never set foot on
a fell.
Eskdale viewed from the Blea Tarn path.
After completing this series,
Wainwright published many other
volumes, and my chapter in the book
was intended to focus on his work
after the classic seven. One lesserknown
publication that I was keen
to highlight was a work of very local
interest that’s no more than a small
pamphlet; Walks from Ratty.
Walks from Ratty was Wainwright’s
first book not to be published
by the Westmorland Gazette; it was
published directly (and still is) by
the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway
Company and originally appeared in
1978. Wainwright was commissioned
to do the job by Lord Wakefield
of Kendal who had been vital in
securing the future of the railway
and who then headed the railway
company.