Thwaites employees Martin and Paul Shearer unfurl one of the flags en route for HelvellynIn a move that would have bemused the Grumpy Old Fellwalker and quite possibly met with his stern disapproval, fellwalkers are being asked to raise a flag to his memory on peaks across the country.

Thwaites employees Martin and Paul Shearer unfurl one of the flags en route for Helvellyn

Alfred Wainwright’s name is fast becoming a brand to rival the likes of Berghaus and Burger King, and a brewery in his home town is now shipping bottled beer bearing his moniker to supermarkets across the country. And they want you to pose for pictures with specially produced Wainwright flags.


Daniel Thwaites brewery, in the Lancashire town of Blackburn where Wainwright spent much of his working life, has produced limited-edition flags bearing the logo of the Wainwright ale. The brewers are asking fellwalkers to snap their flag-flying exploits on any of his Lake District routes or the Coast-to-Coast Walk.

Thwaites is setting up an online gallery of the photographs and the best ten entries will win a case of the bottled beer.

The brew was originally produced to celebrate the centenary of Wainwright’s birth and the 200th anniversary of the Blackburn firm.

Flags can be obtained by contacting Thwaites at customerservices@thwaites.co.uk.

  • Members of the Wainwright Society, which was formed to keep alive the ideals of the curmudgeonly guide book writer, raised £1,500 for mountain rescuers by taking part in a walking challenge.

Julia Bradbury, presenter of the BBC Wainwright Walks series, helped society members Mick Boddy and Peter Linney hand over a cheque to Gwyn Lewis of the Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team.

Members were challenged to raise cash by tackling the 95 routes in Waiwright’s sixth pictorial guide, The North-Western Fells.

The challenge took place during the week-long Keswick Mountain Festival.