A new book promoting the use of public transport to accomplish an increasingly popular Lake District challenge has been launched.
A good number of people gathered at the King’s Head Inn at Thirlspot, near Keswick, last Friday night to celebrate the publication of Wainwrights Without a Car with some having taken the bus to Threlkeld and then walked over High Rigg to be there.
The book is based around the climbing of all 214 Wainwright fells in 2023, without use of a car, by members of the local Eden Valley Mountaineering Club. It contains information to help encourage people to leave their cars and to use public transport – not just to get around the Lake District but also to get to the national park from out of the area.
It contains details of buses, trains and boats linked to the fells and the valleys around the Lake District. There are personal tales of climbing the Wainwrights in 2023 to give some idea of routes. It also promotes the need to get to know the area which assists in not only enjoying the national park but can help greatly from a safety point of view – be prepared, plan your route and come back safely.
Ron Kenyon, who wrote the book, thanked everyone for coming along to the reception and the many contributors who had been involved with the book.
He then introduced David Barrie from Stagecoach, the main bus company in the area, who mentioned the importance of promoting the use of the buses.
He had brought along the new summer timetable which were soon taken up by people in the room.
Emma Moody, sustainable transport officer for the Lake District National Park Authority, said her role was to highlight and promote the use of public transport and that the book connected with that ethos.
Kate Young, from the Wainwright Society, looked at the book from the perspective of Alfred Wainwright, who would have mainly used public transport, with buses and trains, when he wrote his Pictorial Guides to the Lake District in the 1950s and 1960s. He did make use of car travel and interestingly, latterly in his life, he liked to travel by car to avoid being recognised by people when on public transport – as well as famously avoiding people on the fells.
Most of the profits from the book will be given to local causes with a third being given to Fix the Fells, which is an organisation that helps to maintain high level footpaths.
Ironically the guide books written by Wainwright encouraged more people to venture onto the fells and have contributed to the problem with erosion.
The book has been published by Jagged Lakes Publications and more details are available on the website: www.jaggedlakes.co.uk. It is now available in shops and online.
