0:00:04 > 0:00:09Nestled in the far north-west of England, this is the Lake District.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13A land defined by its natural beauty.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25And known to millions who love the Lakes was
0:00:25 > 0:00:30the late Alfred Wainwright - author, guide-writer and talented artist.
0:00:30 > 0:00:34But, above all, he was the greatest fell walker.
0:00:36 > 0:00:42Wainwright's guides have inspired generations of walkers to roam these glorious fells
0:00:42 > 0:00:44and now, a century after his birth,
0:00:44 > 0:00:49it's my turn to go in search of the real Wainwright experience.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16I'm here in the Lake District to experience the magic of the fells
0:01:16 > 0:01:20that inspired a lifetime of work from the late Alfred Wainwright.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23My first challenge is arguably Wainwright's favourite.
0:01:23 > 0:01:29It's the place he chose as his final resting place, and the fell on which he took his last walk...
0:01:29 > 0:01:31It's Haystacks.
0:01:45 > 0:01:51Haystacks stands at 1,900ft in the western area of the Lakes on the edge of Buttermere.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57Wainwright made no secret of his fondness for this fell, so
0:01:57 > 0:02:02I'm hoping to discover just why it captured his heart and imagination.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09These guides have made the fells accessible to hundreds of thousands of walkers.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13I've got to admit, when I first saw one, it was on my dad's bookshelf when I was a teenager.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15I didn't pay it much attention then.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17But now, at first glance, what you notice is the incredible
0:02:17 > 0:02:21attention to detail, which I hope I don't find too confusing.
0:02:27 > 0:02:32In 1930, aged 23, Wainwright left the industrial landscape
0:02:32 > 0:02:36of his home town in Blackburn and made his first visit to the Lakes.
0:02:36 > 0:02:38It was to change his life forever,
0:02:38 > 0:02:41inspiring a lifetime of work in Lakeland.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47Before I head off, I'm going to meet a Lake District local, broadcaster
0:02:47 > 0:02:51and friend of Alfred Wainwright, Eric Robson.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56- Hello. Nice to see you, Eric. - Look, we've got the weather.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00I know! As long as the rain stays off, we're in good shape.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02And I've brought the symbol of Haystacks, of course.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06- The shaggy terrier! - The shaggy terrier among foxhounds.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10'Twenty years ago Eric Robson made four series with Alfred Wainwright,
0:03:10 > 0:03:13'or AW, as he was know to his friends,
0:03:13 > 0:03:20'including the North Country, Scotland, Coast to Coast and AW's final walk, here on Haystacks.'
0:03:20 > 0:03:25What was it about Haystacks that captivated Wainwright so?
0:03:25 > 0:03:30I think because it's a very special mountain.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32It's in a wonderful place in the Lake District.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35The views from it are tremendous in every direction.
0:03:35 > 0:03:41It's on a route between Buttermere and the great mountains of Gavel and Scafell.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43Also, it's...
0:03:44 > 0:03:47It's just got a...spirit.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49It's got a real spirit.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52I've been up there lots and lots of times.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55It really does capture
0:03:55 > 0:03:57the changing light,
0:03:57 > 0:04:01those little bits of water on the top, Innominate Tarn, places like that.
0:04:01 > 0:04:06Why do you think people still like the Wainwright guides so much?
0:04:06 > 0:04:08There's so much choice out there now.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12You could argue they're not the most up-to-date, not the most modern,
0:04:12 > 0:04:18yet still hundreds of thousands of people use his words and pictures to guide themselves across the fells.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21Because nobody has interpreted mountain landscapes better.
0:04:21 > 0:04:26As you say, you can pick up any number of daft guide books -
0:04:26 > 0:04:31glossy colour jobs. But colour photography doesn't
0:04:31 > 0:04:36fillet the mountain the way Wainwright's drawings do.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40He devised a unique way of turning a three-dimensional image
0:04:40 > 0:04:44into a two-dimensional image that was still understandable.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47You can actually see your way through the mountain.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49But it wasn't just that.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53The big mistake he made was calling these pictorial guides.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56Any fool can write a guidebook. I've written guidebooks!
0:04:56 > 0:05:00These are not guidebooks. They're works of philosophy and poetry.
0:05:00 > 0:05:05He encapsulates all those things in his writing and also he was
0:05:05 > 0:05:08fascinated by the relationship between man and landscape.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11That was really at the core of his work.
0:05:11 > 0:05:12He knew this wasn't a wilderness.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16He knew this was a landscape generated by man.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18The fingerprints of man are all over it.
0:05:18 > 0:05:24It was that inter-link between man and landscape that really made his books special.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27He revelled in that and he drew those strands out.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29He brought those mountains to life.
0:05:29 > 0:05:35- Part of his books as well is that there was no one right way up or down a mountain.- That's right.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37He gave you many options.
0:05:37 > 0:05:43All his pictorial guides were...were an indication that you could do it.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47Because, when Wainwright started writing his books in the '50s,
0:05:47 > 0:05:52the vast majority of people who visited the Lake District thought, "I can't get up there."
0:05:52 > 0:05:55Suddenly he produced these books that proved they could.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57If you can't go that way, go the other way.
0:05:57 > 0:06:02He was going up in a pair of old boots, scruffy sweater and an old anorak.
0:06:02 > 0:06:03He wasn't kitted out.
0:06:03 > 0:06:09You might be able to help me here. There's one half of me that likes Wainwright - the poetic, romantic,
0:06:09 > 0:06:12descriptive man who was in love with the fells.
0:06:12 > 0:06:17There's another side of me that thinks he was just a bit of a grumpy old man, a bit old-fashioned.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19He wasn't a grumpy old man.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22Legend has him being so,
0:06:22 > 0:06:26but actually he was a gentle, generous chap.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28He didn't say a lot.
0:06:28 > 0:06:34He engaged his brain before he opened his mouth, which is a very endearing characteristic.
0:06:34 > 0:06:39He thought very deeply and cared very deeply about the landscapes he was in. These places mattered to him.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42They were not places to gabble.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44They were places to savour.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48He taught me a huge amount about how to appreciate these hills,
0:06:48 > 0:06:52to actually get yourself out there, time and again perhaps,
0:06:52 > 0:06:55to one particular place, just enjoying what's there.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57He was this mystery character.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00The cult started very early on. People started to look for him.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02It was like sightings of the great white whale.
0:07:02 > 0:07:08He managed to be the ghost in the machine for so many years, because, yes, there were little
0:07:08 > 0:07:13line drawings in his book, but then he started doing the coffee-table books,
0:07:13 > 0:07:15where the photographs of him were there.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18People could recognise him instantly.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21Out on the hill, you could see out of the corner of your eye...
0:07:21 > 0:07:26I'd be doing an interview with him and there'd be people saying...
0:07:26 > 0:07:30- There he is! - They'd be straight towards us. The only other thing,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33something he did grump about, was people
0:07:33 > 0:07:37misusing the hills, misusing the mountains.
0:07:37 > 0:07:38He hated organised parties.
0:07:38 > 0:07:43He hated great swarms of people walking together. He didn't approve of that.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46- Go discover on your own. - Go discover on your own.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50The solitary quality of this place is what he tried to capture for himself
0:07:50 > 0:07:54and I think what he communicates so well in those books.
0:07:54 > 0:07:59It's that communication that echoes down the decades.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02I shall go and discover, see if he's up there.
0:08:02 > 0:08:03Maybe I'll see him up there!
0:08:03 > 0:08:06- Enjoy your walk.- I will. - Nice to meet you. Bye-bye.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15Before I head off, let's take a moment to look at the route ahead.
0:08:29 > 0:08:34Haystacks rises between the deep hollow of Warnscale Bottom and Ennerdale.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38I'll start at a point known as Gatesgarth Farm,
0:08:38 > 0:08:40nestled on the edge of Buttermere.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42The path takes me across farmland
0:08:42 > 0:08:44along the southern edge of the water.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50The initial ascent is a steep climb northwest before the path
0:08:50 > 0:08:54turns sharply and heads southward through the bracken-covered hill.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59The path takes me along the edge of the hillside,
0:08:59 > 0:09:03giving spectacular views into the valley below,
0:09:03 > 0:09:07before reaching the flatter parts known as Low and High Wax Knot.
0:09:10 > 0:09:15I'll head across the zigzag path at Scarth Gap, where the terrain becomes rocky underfoot,
0:09:16 > 0:09:18before reaching a grassy saddle,
0:09:18 > 0:09:22from where I have a clear view of the summit ascent.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33I'll then approach the peak via a small unnamed tarn...
0:09:36 > 0:09:40..before reaching the breathtaking views from the summit cairn.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10This nice gentle path isn't in the book.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13This steep one is,
0:10:13 > 0:10:15so that must be the way,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18which is a bit unfortunate really, isn't it?
0:10:18 > 0:10:20Start with a bang.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24Hope I don't get lost.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27Embarrassing to get lost from the start of the walk!
0:10:39 > 0:10:42I have to admit, I was expecting
0:10:42 > 0:10:44a more gradual climb from the beginning.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47This is hard work - already!
0:11:05 > 0:11:08This is just a few minutes into the walk proper.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11About 500ft up now and already
0:11:11 > 0:11:14the view is just spectacular.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16Buttermere looking mellifluous.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20Beautiful. You just want to dive in, part the water.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23And I think the weather's gonna hold.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27Over there is a chink of beautiful blue sky.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39Lakeland is known for its changeable weather patterns,
0:11:39 > 0:11:42each valley almost having its own microclimate.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46Even the most experienced of walkers can be caught unawares
0:11:46 > 0:11:49by a sudden burst of rain or low mist creeping in.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55I'm really looking forward to getting to the top
0:11:55 > 0:12:00to find out exactly why Wainwright found this fell so special.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02Assuming I make it, of course!
0:12:11 > 0:12:13Fell walking means "rough walking".
0:12:13 > 0:12:17Those who take to the hills, whatever their motivation, are rewarded with
0:12:17 > 0:12:21a variety of spectacular views and distant panoramas,
0:12:21 > 0:12:23from where the lakes below
0:12:23 > 0:12:26are transformed into sparkling jewels in the sunlight.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34Look at that shaft of sunlight!
0:12:34 > 0:12:36It's almost godly.
0:13:11 > 0:13:16I've been going for about 25 minutes now, so I think it's time
0:13:16 > 0:13:18to soak in some more of the views.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27And see exactly what Wainwright's got in store for me.
0:13:33 > 0:13:39'Interestingly, Wainwright maps are not strictly plan or elevation views.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42'He deliberately distorted perspectives and scales
0:13:42 > 0:13:46'in order to get in all the information he thought would be valuable for any walker.'
0:13:57 > 0:14:00You wouldn't think the same view could get any better, but it does.
0:14:04 > 0:14:09Now, this, according to AW, is Low Wax Knott.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12There are meant to be lots of boulders in your way.
0:14:12 > 0:14:17Clearly someone has got here before me and moved them all, which is very kind of them.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29'Wainwright describes his passion for this landscape
0:14:29 > 0:14:31'in the first of his pictorial guides.'
0:14:31 > 0:14:35The magical atmosphere of the Lakes,
0:14:35 > 0:14:40the silence of lonely hills, the dawn chorus of birdsong,
0:14:40 > 0:14:45silver cascades dancing and leaping down bracken steeps
0:14:45 > 0:14:48and the symphonies of murmuring streams.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57It's easy to see why Wainwright, who was office-bound all week,
0:14:57 > 0:15:02loved to escape to this, the peace and the quiet and the scenery.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05But he always argued that you should walk alone.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08He didn't like other people, it was a distraction.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12He especially didn't like schoolchildren, gangs of them.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15And you could say that was a bit unsociable,
0:15:15 > 0:15:18but actually being here alone now,
0:15:18 > 0:15:22it is so serene and so peaceful,
0:15:22 > 0:15:26and it's a real luxury to have all this space to yourself.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35It's beautiful, really beautiful.
0:16:02 > 0:16:07If you take a peek across the valley there, you can see
0:16:07 > 0:16:10two different paths to get to the top of Haystacks.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17In the book there are actually six different ways to get to the top,
0:16:17 > 0:16:19so no chance of getting bored.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24'Wainwright indicates in book six
0:16:24 > 0:16:26'that his preferred route up Haystacks
0:16:26 > 0:16:29'was the ascent from Gatesgarth, where I started,
0:16:29 > 0:16:32'but via this path at Wharnscale Bottom.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36'This takes you on a longer ascent of two-and-three-quarter miles.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41'Wainwright liked the imposing crag overhanging the path.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44'He would then enjoy the views on my walk
0:16:44 > 0:16:47'as he made his leisurely descent.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10'It's already becoming clearer to me just what an achievement it was
0:17:10 > 0:17:15'to finish seven hand-drawn books like these in only 13 years.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18'The more I look at them, and around me,
0:17:18 > 0:17:22'the more I can appreciate his work, his passion and sheer dedication.'
0:17:34 > 0:17:37I'm approaching Scarth Gap now,
0:17:37 > 0:17:42and suddenly the terrain's become much rougher underfoot and also the path has just widened.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44Actually, you can't really see the path.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47What was once an "S" shape up the mountain has just,
0:17:47 > 0:17:51in the words of Wainwright, "been butchered by short-cutters".
0:17:51 > 0:17:55You see, people just walk straight up the middle and create this mess.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08'Wainwright described this route in book six.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14The ascent of Haystacks via the pass of Scarth Gap
0:18:14 > 0:18:16is a prelude of much merit and beauty
0:18:16 > 0:18:19to a mountain walk of unique character.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26After an hour and a half, I am into the rhythm of this Lakeland walk.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33I have been looking forward to this because this is the last cairn at the top of Scarth Gap,
0:18:33 > 0:18:38and Wainwright marks significant cairns with triangles, and it's definitely here.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42But it also means it's been here since 1966, because that's when
0:18:42 > 0:18:46this book was published, so a lot of tired legs have wandered past,
0:18:46 > 0:18:49and right now mine are no exception.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56'Cairns like this are familiar sights across the Lakes,
0:18:56 > 0:19:00'made by the simple act of adding a stone as you pass.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03'Now, I've been incredibly lucky with the weather so far,
0:19:03 > 0:19:08'but imagine trying to navigate your way in the mist and rain.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11'The cairns are an invaluable tool for helping you stick to the path.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31'From this grassy saddle,
0:19:31 > 0:19:35'I can now get a clear view of all the surrounding fells.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38'Wainwright captures the character of this walk
0:19:38 > 0:19:41'in the opening sentence of his introduction.'
0:19:41 > 0:19:45Haystacks stands unabashed and unashamed in the midst of a circle
0:19:45 > 0:19:50of much loftier fells, like a shaggy terrier in the company of foxhounds.
0:19:52 > 0:19:58It's lovely and soft underfoot here, on this saddle that's nestled in between the mountains.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00That way is Kirk Fell, but more importantly,
0:20:00 > 0:20:05up there is my first clear view of the climb to the summit.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22'In his first guide Wainwright acknowledged...'
0:20:22 > 0:20:25Many are they who have fallen under the spell of Lakeland,
0:20:25 > 0:20:30and so many are they who have been moved to tell of their affection,
0:20:30 > 0:20:35in story and verse and picture and song.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41That is a cracking view of Buttermere
0:20:41 > 0:20:43and Crummock water behind it.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47I'm not sure if that's Grasmoor or not, the big mountain.
0:20:49 > 0:20:57Because this is the view from the summit, but there isn't a definitive page from here. I think it is.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00It's lovely anyway.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06'This is such a clear day that I can see
0:21:06 > 0:21:10'all the way beyond Crummock Water to the Solway Firth in Scotland.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21'Wainwright always maintained that he began writing the guidebooks
0:21:21 > 0:21:24'for his own memory of the places he had visited and loved.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30'Something to look back on when he could no longer walk the fells.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38'It was on Haystacks that AW took his final walk, with eyesight
0:21:38 > 0:21:42'that had deteriorated too far for it to be safe any longer.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44'He famously said...'
0:21:44 > 0:21:47Haystacks wept tears for me that day.
0:21:54 > 0:22:00It's amazing to think that Wainwright was still walking when he was nearly 80.
0:22:00 > 0:22:05'From the opening sentence of book one, his motivation was clear...
0:22:05 > 0:22:11Surely there is no other place in this whole wonderful world quite like Lakeland.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15No other so exquisitely lovely, no other so charming,
0:22:15 > 0:22:19no other that calls so insistently across a gulf of distance.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24All who truly love Lakeland are exiles when away from it.
0:22:29 > 0:22:35I can appreciate why Wainwright was so enchanted with Haystacks, and he never travelled abroad.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39And I suppose when you've got this on your doorstep,
0:22:39 > 0:22:41why would you?
0:22:46 > 0:22:50Wainwright says that, "For a man trying to get persistent worry
0:22:50 > 0:22:54"out of his mind, the top of Haystacks is a wonderful cure."
0:22:54 > 0:22:56I like that.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58Persistent worry.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01We've all got persistent worries, haven't we?
0:23:01 > 0:23:03Haven't we?
0:23:12 > 0:23:15As tempting as it is to linger, it's only 20 minutes to go,
0:23:15 > 0:23:18I'm reliably informed, to the top,
0:23:18 > 0:23:19so let's get going.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28Oh! That is my first view of the summit,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31and there's the beautiful Ennerdale Valley,
0:23:31 > 0:23:34which is a particularly quiet spot of the Lakes,
0:23:34 > 0:23:36because there's no vehicle access.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38But enough of that...more of that!
0:24:00 > 0:24:02Here we are,
0:24:02 > 0:24:05my first Lakeland summit.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07And there's the cairn.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09Nearly there.
0:24:11 > 0:24:12Nearly.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20That's it.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25Oh, fantastic!
0:24:29 > 0:24:30It's an incredible feeling.
0:24:30 > 0:24:36It's exhilarating, exciting, to have made it to your first proper summit.
0:24:44 > 0:24:45Hello, lakes.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16'On reaching the top, what I've discovered and can appreciate
0:25:16 > 0:25:20'is that this summit is more than a peak and a cairn.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24'There are the three tarns, plunging edges of the rocky crags,
0:25:24 > 0:25:27'and sumptuous views from every vantage point.'
0:25:35 > 0:25:40Wainwright described this as, in fact, "The best fell top of all.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44"A place of great charm and fairyland attractiveness.
0:25:44 > 0:25:49"For beauty, variety and interesting detail, for sheer fascination
0:25:49 > 0:25:54"and unique individuality, the summit of Haystacks is supreme.
0:25:54 > 0:25:59"One can forget even a raging toothache on Haystacks."
0:25:59 > 0:26:03But we're not gonna end our walk here, we're gonna head over that way
0:26:03 > 0:26:06to his final destination,
0:26:06 > 0:26:07Innominate Tarn.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15'Such was his love of Haystacks,
0:26:15 > 0:26:19'it was the place where he chose to have his ashes scattered.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23'Alfred Wainwright died in 1991 aged 84.'
0:26:29 > 0:26:33This is a fantastic introduction to the Lakeland Fells.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36Of all 214 fells in the Lake District,
0:26:36 > 0:26:41Haystacks clearly captured his heart and his imagination,
0:26:41 > 0:26:43and it's easy to see why.
0:27:15 > 0:27:22"All I ask for at the end is a last long resting place by the side of Innominate Tarn on Haystacks,
0:27:22 > 0:27:27"where the water gently laps on the gravelly shore and the heather blooms,
0:27:27 > 0:27:30"and Pillar and Gable keep unfailing watch.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32"A quiet place, a lonely place.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36"I shall go to it for the last time, and be carried.
0:27:36 > 0:27:42"Someone who knew me in life will take me there and empty me out of a little box and leave me there alone.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46"And if you, dear reader, should get a bit of grit in your boots
0:27:46 > 0:27:50"as you are crossing Haystacks in years to come, please treat it with respect.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53"It might be me."
0:28:19 > 0:28:24In the end, Wainwright's widow, Betty, and his best friend granted his last wish.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29Wainwright said, "A walk in Lakeland is like a walk in Heaven,"
0:28:29 > 0:28:30and I'm inclined to agree.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd - 2007
0:28:50 > 0:28:52E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk