The illustrations in Wainwright’s walking guides are more than just maps. They’re companions, tools for wayfinding, reminders of journeys and even artworks in their own right. Over a decade he wrote seven guidebooks to the fells of the Lake District. The Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells makes for enlightening reading, and walking to his 214 peaks today just as they did in the 1950s and 60s. 

Wainwright’s drawings were chosen by this week’s guest curator, map fan Steve Livesey, who has a collection of the guides and walks up some of the fells.  

Steve: ”The maps of the Lakeland fells are wonderful and all originally hand drawn by the author. Each of the fells gets a standard topographical map and there is then an ascent map, which switches from topography to aspect. Some drawings look at the natural features on the way to the summits and ridge routes and also viewfinders for what one can see from the summit.” 

Alfred Wainwright was the curator at the museum in Kendal for 30 years and his papers, including some of the original drawings for the books are in Kendal Archive.

Image : Steve Livesey