Online Fellwalking Club - WAINWRIGHT - His Life from Milltown to Mountain

WAINWRIGHT - His Life from Milltown to Mountain

Written by Peter Burgess

Saturday, 21 November 2009

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Book cover

Since the centenary of Alfred Wainwright's birth in 2007, there has been a massive resurgence in interest in the man himself. With the revival of the Pictorial Guides republished by Frances Lincoln, the recent televising of Wainwright's Walks with Julia Bradbury and the formation of the Society in his name, there has been renewed enthusiasm for anything AW. Along with Hunter Davies' biography of Wainwright, this new book also announces itself as the biography of Alfred Wainwright. This review focuses on Wainwright, His life from Milltown to Mountain by W.R.Mitchell.

I think it's only fare to get the bad news out of the way first. I have to say, after the recent durge of poorly and hastily produced tomes published to reap the financial profits of the recent AW resurgence (Martin Wainwright's - 'Wainwright: The Man Who Loved the Lakes' for instance), I was not expecting more to be added to the AW chapter, after all many of us own the biography already written by Hunter Davies.

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At first glance I was bewildered at the lack of an index in such a book and some of the photographs lack quality and just don't do the job. There's a view of Grasmere where you can actually see the pixellation in the digital image. I accept that some of the photographs are historically interesting, but there are better images of The Lake District available from a myriad of sources. I am sure that Bill Mitchell could easily have sourced a photo or two from the likes of Sean McMahon or Andrew Leaney who are well-known via this club and who would've welcomed the limelight. Is it really necessary to have two photographs of Hadrian's Wall in black and white? There are other photographs in the book which just don't do the region justice and some of Scotland, although fine in a personal album, are surely not good enough for public consumption. I think it would've been better to leave the landscape out altogether. After all, it is meant to be a life story, not a coffee table picture book. The amount of errors is also disconcerting and it seems that better proof-reading was needed. One obvious error was the incorrect spelling of Kapellan to mention one, something that should not happen in a book about AW. The photographs of the people are interesting - there's a good shot of Jos Naylor and his wife for instance.

The Pendle Club

Photographs, index and some typographical errors aside, Wainwright: His Life from Milltown to Mountain is quite a good read. The style is friendly and Bill has managed to incorporate his own happy band of walkers, the Geriatric Blunderers Walking Club (GBWC) into the fold. Whether this is too 'pad' the book out a little, (I believe it may well be) I doubt there is little that the AW afficianado would not already know. However, Bill's time as The Dalesman and also Cumbria Magazine's editor has empowered him with the skills for making what might otherwise be a dull read into something a little more spirited. I don't think it matters that he's included some of his own time on the fells.

Apart from his own acquaintance with AW and Betty, his accounts of walks with the GBWC of which Betty was president by dint of providing afternoon tea, bring some interesting anecdotes into the text. These anecdotes breath life into some of the AW biographical detail and facts that might otherwise remain dry and benal. I wouldn't say that the book is astounding, but it does bridge the gap between some of the profit chasing productions of recent times and those that might genuinely interest the enthusiast. I guess there may well be great anticipation for Hunter Davies's next AW publication.

Betty Wainwright

It was interesting to read about Blackburn, my home town and AW's interest in other areas apart from Lakeland. Mention of Desert Island Discs, Pendle Hill, Harry Griffin and a batch of correspondence with Bob Swallow bring some new dimension. There is a genuine attempt at research to add new twists. The information on Betty also endeared me to the book and it shows that it is her that Bill knew well. It doesn't bring any more knowledge to the way AW was as a man. For anyone interested in Alfred Wainwright this would be a good addition to the fold and deserves shelf space in your Lakeland library. Move over the Martin Wainwright (or relegate it altogether) and make way for someone who seems to do a little more thinking with a genuine love and feeling for high places and of course with affection for AW himself. With Christmas approaching this is certainly worth considering for that AW fan in your life.

BAA Rating: full rating point half rating point no rating point [3.5 / 5]

W.R. Mitchell

Wainwright: Milltown to Mountain by WR Mitchell, published by Great Northern Books, October 2009. Hardback, 160 pages, £15.99. ISBN 9781905080663. To order your copy telephone 01274 735056 or visit www.greatnorthernbooks.co.uk

Bill Mitchell has written nearly 200 books during a career spanning more than 60 years. He was the former editor of The Dalesman and Cumbria magazines and has interviewed many great figures such as Alfred Wainwright, J.B. Priestly and Alf Wright (aka James Herriot). In 2008, the Outdoor Writers and Photographers' Guild presented him with the Golden Eagle award.

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