Wainwright: The Man Who Loved Lakes

Martin Wainwright £16.99

I'll be honest: I was sick of Wainwright before I even knew much about him. He was everywhere.

He is everywhere. Still. TV shows, memorials, new books, re-released old books. In the walking world his name is like a plague of locusts: flapping around everywhere all at once, hard to ignore. I hear you all draw an angry breath at such heretical bile. Well, I'm not a Brit, so to me he's just a bloke who loved walking, rather than a walking god. That said, this latest offering is undoubtedly a musthave in any collection, Wainwrightophile or not. An excellent account of his life and times reveals what really drove the man, followed by a section detailing, well, what drove the man: the Lake District. The photography, including some great examples of Wainwright himself, is aptly moody and broody plus there's a prologue of 10 of the Great Man's favourite (and easy-tofollow) walks. Did I just use capitals for Great Man? I think I'm converting to the flock.

BBC Books / Random House, www.randomhouse.co.uk
ISBN: 978 1 84607 294 9

Reviewed on 22/08/2007 by Chris Ord