Caroline Nichol, right, organiser of the charity challenge, presents the £1,500 cheque to Fix the Fells programme manager Joanne Backshall, left, with members of the Wainwright Society and volunteers from Fix the Fells. Photo: Tim Backshall
Aficionados of the celebrated Lakeland writer Alfred Wainwright have raised £1,500 in their annual charity challenge.
The cash will go to Fix the Fells, the organisation that cares for paths on the mountains described by the author in his series of guidebooks.
This year’s Wainwright Society challenge celebrated the 60th anniversary of the publication of the second volume of his Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells, which described the far eastern fells.
Members of the society visited 80 locations detailed in the book, including Long Stile on High Street, the path Fix the Fells is planning to repair in 2018 with donations from the group. Members met on the slopes of Wansfell overlooking Ambleside on the final day of the challenge, along with volunteers from Fix the Fells.
Society secretary Derek Cockell said that when Wainwright undertook his walks in the area way 60 years ago, there were fewer people on the fells. He said Wainwright wrote in his conclusion to Book Two: “Usually I walked from morning till dusk without a sight of human beings.”
“But the tremendous work by Fix the Fells in repairing footpaths in this area was testament to the growing popularity of walking on these fells,” Mr Cockell said. He thanked the dedicated band of volunteers for the amazing job they were doing.
Joanne Backshall from Fix the Fells said: “We are very grateful to the Wainwright Society for their generous donation to the work of Fix the Fells.
“Alfred Wainwright’s beautiful books have enabled so many people to enjoy and appreciate the Lake District fells. Fix the Fells is working hard to repair and maintain the paths so that the scenery remains as spectacular now as when he walked here himself.”
Further donations will be given to Fix the Fells from sales of the society’s 2018 calendar, which will go on sale later in the year.
