NOW that we are both meteorologically and astrologically in the season of Spring, with the longer days many people’s attention will be turning to getting out into the great outdoors.

For many of us that means either walking in the Dales or a little further afield and heading for the Lake District.

To walkers in the Lake District, the name Wainwright is synonymous with fellwalking and many people will have used his seven pictorial guides to the Lake District Fells that he produced between 1955 and 1968.

His first book, The Eastern Fells, was first published exactly 60 years ago and was revised in 2005 by Chris Jesty to bring it up to date.

Another revision has now taken place and this new publication, entitled the “Walkers Edition”, is now available. This has been written by Clive Hutchby who produced The Wainwright Companion three years ago.

Even though it has only been ten years since Chris Jesty last updated this particular guide, Clive says that there have been many changes on the fells during this period.

To some “messing about” with Wainwright’s guides is sacrilege, but to those of us who walk the fells regularly I think this is essential so that the present generation of walkers is given the most accurate and up to date information possible. Forty five years ago when I first started using these guides (my aunt and uncle in Ilkley having bought me my first book in the series for my 18th birthday) they were entirely up to date, Book 7, for example, being only two years old at the time, but in the years subsequently changes to paths, ridge routes and gates replacing stiles have meant they have not kept pace with the times – hence the need for these revisions.

So what has changed in this new edition? Well, for a start each of the fells in the book now has a grid reference applied to it as many walkers now use GPS whilst out on the hills. There is now an ascent diagram to the summit of Red Screes from the top of Kirkstone Pass that was not included before, a two page description of the route over Striding Edge on Helvellyn which did not exist previously and also details of crossing points in the wall running from the summit of Low Pike to Dove Crag on the Fairfield Horseshoe.

The paths on the maps are in a bolder russet red than before, making them easier to follow and three of the summit views from Catsycam, Dollywagon Pike and Nethermost Pike where Wainwright had drawn little outline pictures of the fells seen (which I never personally liked) have been changed to a circular wheel with distances of fells seen which applies to most of the other views in all seven books.

Clive Hutchby spent the first half of last year working on this book and is now getting towards the end of his revision of Book 2 – The Far Eastern Fells, the aim of the publishers being to bring out the Walkers Edition of each of the guides exactly ten years after the Chris Jesty revisions were published.

I think these changes that Clive Hutchby has made make the book more user friendly and as the new title implies much better for walkers. It is priced £12.99 and published by Frances Lincoln. ISBN: 978-0-7112-3628-8.

by John Burland