Canisfamiliaris

20th June 2010
‘[The Langdale Pikes] look down on the valley of Great Langdale like a pride of crouching lions: they look fierce, hostile, repelling, yet they are greatly loved by devotees who return time after time … for another friendly wrestle with the giants of the group.’
Wainwright’s Favourite Lakeland Mountains p. 149

13th June 2010
‘Langcliffe … is a quiet village set around a pleasant green. Among its attractions are many picturesque cottages, a beautiful 17^th century Hall, a ‘big tree’ and a fountain.’
Walks in Limestone Country Walk 29 p. 2

6th June 2010
‘I felt I was some other person; this was not me. I wasn’t accustomed or entitled to such a privilege. I was an alien here. I didn’t belong. If only I could, sometime! If only I could! Those few hours on Orrest Head cast a spell that changed my life.’
Ex-Fellwanderer – A Thanksgiving

23rd May 2010
‘Dovecote Cave is the sort of place that makes an old man feel young again’
Walks on the Howgill Fells Walk 32 p. 1
Note: On a recent visit with a walking companion, we discovered that the cave is now inaccessible to the public!

16th May 2010
On Swindale (describing the ascent of Howes):
‘Here is an unknown corner of Lakeland that would be ruined by countless picnickers if it were more easily accessible. So keep it under your hat.’
The Outlying Fells of Lakeland p. 234
Note: Beattie and I will be climbing Howes as part of the ‘Best of the Rest’ Challenge of The Wainwright Society.

9th May 2010
On Yordas Cave:
‘Yordas, according to legend, was the name of a Nordic giant with a liking for hunting small boys and devouring them in this cave. What a strange thing to do!! Why not small girls?’
Walks in Limestone Country Walk 5 p. 6

2nd May 2010
On Yordas Cave:
‘The floor is of mud: mostly firm mud, but muddy mud near the subterranean stream.’
Walks in Limestone Country Walk 5 p. 6

25th April 2010
Describing Stainforth Bridge
‘… a reminder of days past when humble men had an eye for beauty and a pride in creating it, an enduring tribute to craftsmanship and good taste…’
Walks in Limestone Country Walk 29 p. 2

4th April 2010
'Orrest Head, for many of us, is ‘where we came in’ – our first ascent in Lakeland, our first sight of mountains, in tumultuous array across glittering waters, our awakening to beauty.'
The Outlying Fells of Lakeland p. 26

28th March 2010
Describing the ridge walk from Hugill Fell to Reston Scar
‘Finding a legitimate way through the network of walls is like trying to solve a bent-nail puzzle, except that in this case there is positively no solution’
The Outlying Fells of Lakeland p. 23

21st March 2010
Describing a walk on Green Quarter Fell
‘ … the long easy climb is without excitement and its accomplishment is gratifying only as evidence that there is life in the old dog yet.’
The Outlying Fells of Lakeland p. 15

14th March 2010
Describing a walk on Potter Fell:
‘Therefore it behoves a walker subject to sudden maladies to endure a companion on this expedition, however solitary he may be by nature. You should choose a looker: you never know what might happen!’
The Outlying Fells of Lakeland p. 9

7th March 2010
Describing a walk on Scout Scar:
‘… a path turns off left at a cairn and leads distinctly across open fell to a stile in a wall and a kissing gate in another (it seems a little nostalgic to be talking of kissing gates at our age) …’
The Outlying Fells of Lakeland p. 7

28th February 2010
Memories of Lakeland
‘… glittering moonlight on placid waters … stars above dark peaks … the tranquillity that comes before sleep, when thoughts are of the day that is gone and the day that is to come …’
The Eastern Fells - Introduction

21st February 2010
Memories of Lakeland
'… curling smoke from the chimneys of the farm down below amongst the trees, where the day shall end … oil lamps in flagged kitchens, huge fires in huge fireplaces, huge suppers …’
The Eastern Fells – Introduction

7th February 2010
Memories of Lakeland
'… the small ragged sheep that brave the blizzards … the symphonies of murmuring streams, unending, with never a discord …’
The Eastern Fells - Introduction

31st January 2010
Memories of Lakeland
‘… the supreme moment when the top cairn comes into sight at last, only minutes away, after the long climb …’
The Eastern Fells – Introduction

24th January 2010
Memories of Lakeland
‘… fierce winds on the heights and soft breezes that are no more than gentle caresses … a sheepdog watching its master’
The Eastern Fells - Introduction

17th January 2010
'Life did not start too well for me. I was born and brought up in Blackburn in a small four-roomed cottage, two up and two down, in a terrace of like dwellings, with flagged floors, no garden, no bathroom, a privy in the little backyard, the living room wallpapered and the others lime-washed.’
Ex-Fellwanderer
Alfred Wainwright was born 17th January 1907

10th January 2010
Memories of Lakeland
‘… the snow and ice and freezing stillnesses of midwinter: a white world, rosy-pink as the sun goes down …’
The Eastern Fells - Introduction

3rd January 2010
‘Fellwalking is action and fellwalking is fun.’
Fellwanderer

20th December 2009
Memories of Lakeland
‘… storm and tempest in the high places, and the unexpected glimpses of valleys dappled in sunlight far beneath the swirling clouds …rain, and the intimate shelter of lichened walls …’
The Eastern Fells - Introduction

13th December 2009
Memories of Lakeland
‘… silver cascades dancing and leaping down bracken steeps …autumn colours … a red fox running over snow … the silence of lonely hills …’
The Eastern Fells – Introduction

6th December 2009
Memories of Lakeland
‘… morning sun drawing aside the veils of mist; black-stockinged lambs, in springtime, amongst the daffodils …’
The Eastern Fells – Introduction

29th November 2009
Memories of Lakeland
‘… the moment of wakening, and the sudden joyful realisation that this is to be another day of freedom on the hills …’
The Eastern Fells - Introduction

22nd November 2009
‘Seathwaite … is a small farming community … and the wettest inhabited place in the country … Encompassed by steep fells, its river, the Derwent, becomes a raging torrent when in spate and the devastation caused by flood waters is clearly seen in the choke of boulders along its course …’
Fellwalking with Wainwright p. 158

15th November 2009
‘All mountain paths should be savoured slowly and treated with respect even in bad weather or when there’s a bus to catch. They are the walker’s greatest help in his wanderings amongst the fells and should be preserved with care, not kicked into unsightly ribbons of loose stones which can cause accidents.’
Wainwright on the Lakeland Mountain Passes p. 174

8th November 2009
‘This is deservedly the most popular walk from Dalegarth Station, the mile journey being charming and the final section, at Lakeland’s loveliest waterfall, exquisitely so. You have heard of sylvan beauty: it is here, in Eskdale, at Dalegarth Force.’
Walks from Ratty p. 22

1st November 2009
‘I have never carried a compass, preferring to rely on a good sense of direction, and in my case the latter has always proved reliable, more than a compass could ever be and certainly less fiddling to consult. But all authorities insist that a compass should be taken, so perhaps you should.’
Fellwanderer

11th October 2009
‘If you start, don’t give up, or you will be giving up at difficulties all your life.’
Pennine Way Companion p. 170

4th October 2009
‘Caving, of course, does nothing for pristine clothing, but the bedraggled and apparent roughnecks seen in the streets of Ingleton after a hard day can afford to ignore the caustic comments of observers: they know a wonderful world their critics will never see. I take my hat off to them.’
Wainwright in the Limestone Dales p.78

27th September 2009
‘Fellwalking is a pastime for life’
The Outlying Fells of Lakeland Introduction p. ix

20th September 2009
AW’s first visit to Lakeland, 1930
‘In the days that followed I lived in an ecstasy of delight. We climbed to the ridges, scrambled amongst the rocks and reached a few summit cairns. We walked entranced along the valleys and lakesides. I was bewitched by everything.’
Ex-Fellwanderer A Thanksgiving

13th September 2009
‘Thus, starting at Edale, which is found at the foot of page 171, the map proceeds up-page and is continued on page 169, where it goes up-page and continues on page 167, and so on. Ultimately, if you don’t give up or get lost, you will arrive at Kirk Yetholm at the top of page 5.’
Pennine Way Companion The Plan of the Guide p. 3

6th September 2009
‘Heights are given in English feet and distances in English miles despite the current regrettable practice of quoting them in foreign metres and kilometres to which the author, a jingoistic Englishman, refuses to comply.’
Wainwright on the Lakeland Mountain Passes Introduction p.9

23rd August 2009
‘Miterdale is a secret valley, little known and unfrequented … Yet this is one of Lakeland’s sweetest valleys, a hidden retreat deeply inured amongst hills, where woodland and copse and pasture combine with a delightful river to present a picture of undisturbed rural peace.’
Walks from Ratty p. 12

19th July 2009
‘One should always have a definite objective, in a walk as in life – it is so much more satisfying to reach a target by personal effort than to wander aimlessly. An objective is an ambition, and life without ambition is ….. well, aimless wandering.’
A Coast to Coast Walk p. iv

12th July 2009
‘The worst experience that befalls a solitary walker is coming face to face with a large party, especially when they are strung out along his path. In a tight place, where this many-headed and many-legged caterpillar cannot be bypassed, it must be confronted. It may be a party of 36. Every one of them ventures a greeting of sorts (the courtesy code of the hills y’know). If I am in sociable mood I mumble a response to the first. The rest must share it. I am not going to say good-afternoon 36 times in quick succession. The tail-end think me a surly beggar. Okay, so I do not like large parties on the hills.’
Fellwanderer

5th July 2009
‘Dedicated to THE SECOND PERSON (unidentifiable as yet) TO WALK FROM ST. BEES HEAD TO ROBIN HOOD’S BAY’
A Coast to Coast Walk

28th June 2009
'Mountain tops are very satisfying. … They are remote, detached from everyday life. They are new viewpoints, reminders of true values, places to refresh the soul, to banish worries, to sweep away the cobwebs that so confuse the urban mind. In a changing world they remain unchanged. … One always feels better after climbing a mountain.’
The Outlying Fells of Lakeland Introduction p. ix

14th June 2009
‘What a blessing is memory when a happy life is coming to a close; what pleasure there is in recalling days of enjoyment and exhilaration. The good times live on to the end.’
Ex-Fellwanderer A Thanksgiving

7th June 2009
On Coronation Day 1953 (2^nd June):
‘The day was memorable because it brought the news that Hillary and Tensing had reached the summit of Everest, an event that interested me more than the Coronation, for I had long cherished an impossible ambition to be the first man to reach the top of the highest mountain in the world.’
Wainwright on the Lakeland Mountain Passes p. 85

31st May 2009
'Only those who are getting on in years will remember Mardale as a charming and secluded valley – before being ‘promoted’ to reservoir, and can bring to mind the natural beaches, where primroses fringed the banks, that are now sterile shores, arid and lifeless …’
A Coast to Coast Walk p. 52

3rd May 2009
‘I have omitted, with reluctance, references to a few natural features that have been subject to abuse of privileges by a minority of visitors. … I have written this book only for visitors who behave responsibly and show respect for others.’
Wainwright in the Limestone Dales Introduction

26th April 2009
On the ascent of Ingleborough:
‘Good Yorkshiremen do this climb as a duty of their inheritance – and find it a pleasure, as will all ‘foreigners’ too. It is a fine walk on a fine day and full of reward.’
Walks in Limestone Country Walk 9 p. 1

19th April 2009
On the ascent of Whernside:
‘This is the longest walk in the book. The walking is easy but the miles are long and tempus fugits quickly.’
Walks in Limestone Country Walk 7 p. 1

29th March 2009
‘With climbing comes an uplift, not only of the body, but of the spirit and the mind. There is no competition here with one’s fellows, no silly jealousies of the man in the next salary grade; one’s aspirations are simple and decent. There is no worshipping of false idols on the mountains, but, instead, deep awareness of a Creator.’
Fellwanderer

22nd March 2009
'I climbed Blencathra every Sunday in the winter of 1960/61 and never once saw another human being. I had the mountain to myself, discovering its secrets and hidden recesses, and on the summit I was a king on his throne.'
Wainwright's Favourite Lakeland Mountains p. 19

15th March 2009
‘I think Wasdale Head must take pride of place amongst the valleys of Lakeland, not for scenic beauty but because of the sheer grandeur of its mountain setting. It is deeply inured below steep and shaggy slopes, a patchwork of bright fields intersected by walls of massive width built of stones cleared from the pastures, an emerald strath circumscribed by rough fellsides overtopped by giants: the Scafells, Great Gable and Pillar.’
Fellwalking with Wainwright p. 174

8th March 2009
‘Fellwalking accidents happen only to those who walk clumsily. The only advice you need (and this shouldn’t be necessary either) is to watch where you are putting your feet.’
Fellwanderer

1st March 2009
‘I have omitted, with reluctance, references to a few natural features that have been subject to abuse of privileges by a minority of visitors. … I have written this book only for visitors who behave responsibly and show respect for others.’
Wainwright in the Limestone Dales Introduction

22nd February 2009
‘ Fellwalking helps better than doctors to keep a man fit, and enthusiastic not only about hills but about life … The satisfaction derived from a successful climb becomes even keener with the passing years.'
The Outlying Fells of Lakeland Introduction p. ix

8th February 2009
‘The beauty of the Lake District is there for all to see. The glory of the mountains is there for all to see who climb. The secrets are for those who wander from the trodden ways.’
Fellwanderer

1st February 2009
‘I have long maintained that accidents in fellwalking invariably happen to people who think they can study the views while moving. If you want to look around, stop.’
Ex-Fellwanderer A Thanksgiving

25th January 2009
On Gaping Gill:
'the surface appearance of Gaping Gill is starkly simple and severe and its dangers are palpably and appallingly obvious. Keep children and dogs under lock and key. On no account should a visitor try to look straight down the shaft, as the author is doing in the picture, the silly old so and so. He ought to have more sense at his age.’
Walks in Limestone Country Walk 11 p. 6

18th January 2009
'I have long maintained that accidents in fellwalking invariably happen to people who think they can study the views while moving. If you want to look around, stop.’
Ex-Fellwanderer A Thanksgiving

11th January 2009
‘…fellwalking is something to do rather than talk about, …’
Fellwanderer

4th January 2009
On the writing of Fellwanderer
‘It would be an easier commission, and make better reading, if I had some thrilling adventures to recount, some hair-raising exploits to recall. But I haven’t. I have found the fells placid, and they have made me placid and given me a wonderfully serene pleasure, always.’
Fellwanderer

28th December 2008
AW’s first view of Lakeland from Orrest Head Whitsun 1930
‘I had seen landscapes of rural beauty pictured in the local art gallery, but here was no painted canvas; this was real. This was truth. God was in his heaven that day and I a humble worshipper’
Ex-Fellwanderer A Thanksgiving

21st December 2008
Days on the fells have always been for me the best days of all’
Ex-Fellwanderer A Thanksgiving

14th December 2008
AW’s first view of Lakeland from Orrest Head Whitsun 1930
‘It was a moment of magic, a revelation so unexpected that I stood transfixed, unable to believe my eyes.’
Ex-Fellwanderer A Thanksgiving

7th December 2008
‘Ardent fellwalkers never give up. They fade away, in due course, surrounded by maps, their gnarled fingers still tracing fresh routes. They die hoping for hills in heaven.’
The Outlying Fells of Lakeland Introduction p. ix

30th November 2008
‘I love the mountains of Lakeland. They have been good friends to me over a long life, always there when wanted, always reliable, always welcoming. I have often sung their praises in an attempt to repay the debt I feel I owe them.’
Wainwright’s Favourite Lakeland Mountains Introduction p. vii

23rd November 2008
'When I first climbed Penyghent the path could barely be discerned in the tough grass; today it has the dimensions of a road, its misuse being largely due to parties walking abreast and chattering instead of walking sedately in single file as all should do on narrow paths.’
Wainwright in the Limestone Dales p.123

16th November 2008
‘Fellwalking is a pastime available to everyone, and unlike games and sports is not restricted to age groups. It is a pastime for the young and the middle-aged and the old; indeed, its attractions actually increase as the years go by.’
The Outlying Fells of Lakeland Introduction p. ix

9th November 2008
‘I am a great enthusiast for zigzag paths: they have been engineered with care, always following the easiest line of ascent or descent.’
Fellwalking with Wainwright p. 21

2nd November 2008
On Gordale Scar in the Yorkshire Dales:
It is a savage and dramatic scene that would have sent John Ford into a paroxysm of excitement as a location for a Wild West movie.’
Wainwright in the Limestone Dales p.161

26th October 2008
After an early expedition to Scafell:
'I learned many lessons that day. I learned never to underestimate the fells; the Lakeland heights are small by Alpine standards but they are tough, and the summits are always further than you think. I learned always to carry food, and always to wear boots.’
Ex-Fellwanderer

19th October 2008
‘The rough fell country above the limits of cultivation has, through long acquaintance, become my special delight, my pet obsession. ...There are many people - shepherds, farmers, huntsmen and followers, rain gauge readers and surveyors - who know their own particular areas much more intimately, but probably few who have roamed the whole district so extensively and with the sole object of seeing what there is to be seen: not the obvious things only but those also that are hidden and those that are nearly forgotten. ... I have preferred most the secret places that must be searched for, the drove roads and neglected packhorse trails, the ruins of abandoned industries, the adits and levels and shafts of the old mines and quarries, the wild gullies and ravines that rarely see a two-legged visitor.'
Fellwanderer

12th October 2008
‘the Settle to Carlisle railway makes grown men little boys again.’
Wainwright in the Limestone Dales p. 185

5th October 2008
‘I count Upper Ribblesdale amongst my favourite places on earth. Here imagination catches glimpses of witches and fairies. Especially fairies.’
Wainwright in the Limestone Dales p. 110

28th September 2008
'In his own field, a bull is always right. On his own land, a farmer is always right.’
Walks in Limestone Country The Plan Of The Book

14th September 2008
On the Howgill Fells
' … 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.’
Walks on the Howgill Fells

7th September 2008
On The Three Peaks walk:
‘For those contemplating the walk, the best advice is to keep going steadily, don’t rush, don’t give up or you will give up at difficulties throughout life, don’t fall by the wayside and, above all, enjoy every mile, especially the last.’
Wainwright in the Limestone Dales p. 180

31st August 2008
‘I like to have mountain summits all to myself. They are the loneliest of places and are best appreciated in silence. Human discords, loud conversations, shouting, raucous laughter and the modern evil of transistor radios are totally out of place.’
Fellwalking with Wainwright p. 118

17th August 2008
‘Whenever I have a choice between a steep path and an easy one I prefer the latter, and if it takes me on a roundabout course and is longer in distance so much the better: less effort will be entailed and more will be seen on the way.’
Fellwalking with Wainwright p. 87

20th July 2008
‘Ridges, in general, provide the best fellwalking in Lakeland … The narrower the ridge, the greater the enjoyment. Ridgewalking is fellwalking at its best.’
Fellwalking with Wainwright p. 157

13th July 2008
It amuses me to see all the articles and treatises and even books written on the subject of walking on the fells. Goodness me, if a person needs a manual of instruction on walking he should stay at home. Walking is one of the first things we learn. Our mothers taught us, remember? We do it all our lives.’
Fellwanderer

6th July 2008
'Surely there is no other place in this whole wonderful world quite like Lakeland ... no other so exquisitely lovely, no other so charming, no other that calls so insistently across a gulf of distance. All who truly love Lakeland are exiles away from it.'
The Eastern Fells – Introduction

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