Wainwright ‘Out of Print’ Titles
The most ambitious part of our publishing project became possible during 2019. Various book titles by AW had become ‘Out of Print’ and had become difficult to source. Following an agreement with the Estate of A. Wainwright the Society decided to commence on a project to re-publish some of the key titles making them available for future generations. By re-publishing these we would help to meet one of our principal objects ‘To keep alive the fellwalking traditions promoted by AW through his guidebooks and other publications’.
A Pennine Journey describes an eleven-day journey from Settle in Yorkshire to Hadrian’s Wall and back by Alfred Wainwright as Britain faced the prospect of war with Germany. It is a travelogue, a genre popular in the 1930s, and describes the landscape and people Wainwright met along the way and gives a revealing insight into his attitudes and beliefs at that time. The book lay unpublished for 48 years and is considered by many to be AW’s finest work. This new edition, re-published by the Society in June 2019, includes additional material produced by Wainwright at the time it was written in 1938, and which was not included in previous editions.
The Outlying Fells of Lakeland, was re-published by the Society in July 2020. Since then we have twice reprinted the title due to demand for this superb guidebook. Following the completion of his seven-volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, Alfred Wainwright decided to cater for those walkers who, because of age or infirmity, must be content with milder expeditions on lesser fells. This book describes 56 of the foothills of Lakeland excluded from the earlier Pictorial Guides but within the National Park boundary. It is thus in the nature of a ‘mopping-up’ operation. A second edition was revised by Chris Jesty who trained as a cartographer with the Ordnance Survey and Wainwright himself said, not long before he died, that if ever the guides were to be revised, Chris Jesty should be given the job. The book is hardback with a dust jacket and 2 colour text.
The success of the Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells inspired Alfred Wainwright to write a guidebook to another of his favourite landscapes: the limestone area of the Yorkshire Dales. In his introduction to Walks in Limestone Country, he wrote: ‘Unlike the Lake District, where beauty is lavishly displayed all around and needs no seeking, the delights of this limestone countryside are not obviously in view. The delights are there, in full measure and in amazing variety, but they have to be sought on foot. It is a land of surprises’. The Second Edition, revised by Chris Jesty, was published in 2014. This book is a reprint of Chris’ revision and no changes have been made to the walks, route descriptions or maps. It is printed in 2 colours with a flexi cover and was re-published by the Society in 2021.
This book was a companion to Walks in Limestone Country, originally published in 1970. Wainwright loved the peace and tranquillity of the Howgill Fells. In his introduction he wrote: ‘As more and more people flee to the countryside for a brief respite from the towns, the opportunities of quiet rural enjoyment are shrinking. … As yet the Howgills are relatively unknown. They are not, and never will be, a popular magnet, and in this lack of general appeal lies their great attraction … Here is a pervading tranquillity. … their greatest appeal must ever be to those who love to walk freely ’over the tops’ and commune with nature in solitude. There is no better place for doing this than the Howgill Fells, bless them.’ Chris Jesty’s revised edition was republished by the Society in 2022, the book being printed in 2 colours with a flexi cover.
The Pennine Way was inaugurated as Britain’s first National Trail in April 1965 after a 30-year campaign inspired by Tom Stephenson in the 1930s. Wainwright was aware of the campaign and was planning his own guide to the trail years before it became a reality. He recruited four men to undertake preliminary research on the route in 1965, prior to his own detailed exploration the following year. The original guidebook was published in 1968. This is a reprint of the Second Edition that was updated by Chris Jesty in 2012. The book includes new updates to the route descriptions and other amendments relating to accommodation, useful landmarks, other miscellaneous features and information that were researched by Chris Jesty in 2023.
The book is hardback with a dust jacket and 2 colour text.