15 Facts About Alfred Wainwright

Alfred Wainwright was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, into a family which was relatively poor, mostly because of his stonemason father's alcoholism.

Alfred Wainwright did very well at school although he left at the age of 13.

Alfred Wainwright spent several years studying at night school, gaining qualifications in accountancy which enabled him to further his career at Blackburn Borough Council.

In 1930, at the age of 23, Alfred Wainwright saved up for a week's walking holiday in the Lake District with his cousin Eric Beardsall.

In 1941 Alfred Wainwright moved closer to the fells when he took a job at the Borough Treasurer's office in Kendal, Westmorland.

Alfred Wainwright lived and worked in the town for the rest of his life, serving as Borough Treasurer from 1948 until he retired in 1967.

Alfred Wainwright was a lifelong Blackburn Rovers fan and a founder member of the Blackburn Rovers Supporters Club.

Alfred Wainwright had no time for organised religion, and was agnostic.

Alfred Wainwright started work on the first page of his Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells on 9 November 1952.

Alfred Wainwright planned the precise scope and content of the seven volumes and worked conscientiously and meticulously on the series for the next 13 years at an average rate of one page per evening.

Alfred Wainwright's books were in turn taken over by Michael Joseph in the 1990s.

The publishers announced in 2014 that Clive Hutchby, the author of The Alfred Wainwright Companion, was working on the third edition of the Pictorial Guide, with the first volume, The Eastern Fells, published on 26 March 2015 followed by The Far Eastern Fells on 8 October 2015.

Alfred Wainwright followed the Pictorial Guides in 1968 with the Pennine Way Companion, applying the same detailed approach to Britain's first long-distance footpath.

Alfred Wainwright was a supporter of animal rights and explained that the publisher of his books gave most of the profits from his books to animal charities.

John Burland, a founding member of the Alfred Wainwright Society, wrote and devised a dramatic presentation of his life and works which was presented at the Wildman Theatre at Ilkley Playhouse as part of the Ilkley Literature Festival on 15 October 2009.