Chris Butterfield explains how his fascination with legendary Lakeland walker Alfred Wainwright led to his new book
I developed a love of the outdoors from an early age. During my late teens, I spent much of my time on the rugged but beautiful South Pennines, with their rolling hills and smoke-blackened gritstone rocks. One day, I fell upon a long-distance path called the Pennine Way and was eager to walk it. Unfortunately, being a student, I had neither the time nor money to take on the challenge. Yet, eventually, I realised my ambition. My wife, Priscilla, and I completed the Pennine Way in 2013 and Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Walk in 2015.
This was my first introduction to this Wainwright fellow. Who was he? Priscilla kindly bought me my first set of Wainwright’s Pictorial Guides, and I was instantly mesmerised by these wonderfully handwritten guides and the way he brought these 3D mountains to life on 2D paper with pen and ink. His poetic prose and love for the environment and nature shone through on every page. I knew Wainwright’s story had long since been told, but this was all new to me. I quickly bought all his books and connected with people who once knew him.
Little did I know that this would inspire me to embark on the long journey of discovery about this great man. There was very little about Wainwright on social media, so in 2017, I created a Facebook group Alfred Wainwright Books & Memorabilia, to share knowledge and learn from like-minded Wainwright aficionados, which is now 11,000 strong. Later that same year, I met a gentleman called Andrew Nichol, who changed my life. He was the former manager of general printing and book publishing at the Westmorland Gazette and an associate and friend of Alfred Wainwright.
Andrew has been my mentor for the last six years, and I have learned much from him. He introduced me to David Rigg, the owner of the printer Titus Wilson, who were the last to print the books in Kendal. It was a great honour to eventually become the custodian of all the original Wainwright book printing materials. It took months at the printers to find it all, as much of it had been hidden away for decades. The time spent searching was more than worth it. I have been fortunate to share the work through the media, publish numerous articles, and appear on television and radio to discuss Wainwright’s life, work and achievements.
Throughout my journey, it has been a privilege to meet many people who helped me understand the man whose work I so greatly admire. Over the last few years, assisted by Priscilla, I have amassed an extensive archive of Wainwright’s books and other unique items, including an original book manuscript. I began cataloguing his entire publishing and printing history and created a website dedicated to all this work – alfredwainwright.co.uk
In 2012, Andrew wrote a book about his time with Wainwright called Behind the Scenes with Wainwright. During our discussions, I encouraged Andrew to expand on some of the stories in the book. Three, in particular, piqued my interest because they revealed a side of Wainwright’s personality that few people knew. I told Andrew that if he were willing to be my advisor, I would love to write a book on these expanded stories and do them justice. He agreed, and Wainwright Memories was born! I was able to acquire all the original photo negatives from all three stories, with many of the photos previously unpublished.
Author and cartographer Chris Jesty is another Wainwright associate who’s become a friend and fellwalking partner. Chris had Wainwright’s blessing to revise the Pictorial Guides after his death, and these new guides, named Second Editions, were published between 2005-2013. Chris has provided the maps for this book, and the work he has done is exceptional. My brother-in-law, Glenn Adams, has also become interested in Wainwright and he has worked with me on the project.
The book focuses on three stories about Wainwright that occurred in 1988, 89 and 90:
The Scotland Trip: Alfred Wainwright loved Scotland and visited regularly. A close friendship had developed with his publishing manager, Andrew Nichol, and Wainwright decided to invite him on his next holiday, along with their wives.
The Unfinished Book: Wainwright started work on a new book to complement his best-selling guidebook A Coast to Coast Walk. It was intended for those who prefer to meander and sightsee rather than tackle the hills, but would it ever come to fruition?
The Langdale Shoot: Andrew wanted some new photographs taken of Wainwright to be preserved as part of his legacy. Their good friend Ken Shepherd would be the photographer for one of Wainwright's final photo shoots in the Lake District.
Absorbed by these tales, I recreated the original journeys as closely as possible to understand Wainwright better. Each story revealed something new about this enigmatic character.
Signed copies of Wainwright Memories are available from chrisbutterfield.com
