Book Review - Old versus New "Wainwrights"?

Wainwrights original "Lakeland Fells" still remain a viable source of information aven after the passage of many years. For many walkers hiking in the Lakes, they provide reliable but dated information on the routes over all the Fells.

After being out of print for a few years a different publisher now prints them and the full series is once again available. The review issue covered the Central Fells and although not my favourite Wainwright is still provides hours of reading when I am unable to get to the Lake District either giving me ideas for the future or helping me to relive happy hours spent walking the fells.

BOXED SET NOW AVAILABLE

You can order them online -

Eastern Fells   Far Eastern Fells   Central Fells   Southern Fells   

Northern Fells   North Western Fells   Western Fells   Outlying Fells

A "new kid" on the block are the Lakeland Fellranger series. These cover the same fells as the original Wainwrights but are written in a modern style. Illustrated with colour pictures and maps of the fells much as pioneered by Wainwright they do offer many similarities with AW's icons of fellwalking. As such they have a hard act to follow and surprisingly they manage to live up to expectations.

Published by Collins they are more substantial than the "real" Wainwrights although routes are described using text rather than line drawings. This is probably their only drawback as it is much harder to relate your location to the fell. The colour illustrations are generally good although some pictures are rather small. Verdict - a good buy for anyone with an interest in Lakeland.

At the moment two volumes are available and although the review copy of the Central Fells corresponded with an original Wainwright, this will not always be true for other titles in the series. You can buyy them online -

Central Fells   Near Eastern Fells

Review date - 16th May 2003 - Reviewed by LJ