Wainwright's Pennine Books Republished

It's hard to believe now, but once upon a time, the Pennine Way simply didn't exist - okay, the specific rights of way were mostly there, but no-one had ever thought of joining them up.

Like his guides to the Lakeland fells, the book is based on photographs of his original handwritten manuscripts and includes detailed sketch maps and illustrations of points along the way.

There are modern guide books with more efficient route maps and snappier, more contemporary prose, but there's something still charming and evocative, otherworldly even, about the man's uniquely crusty turn of phrase and flights of imagination.

As a 17 year old walking the Pennine Way for the first time with the book as our bible, I can still remember specific phrases and references from the book. Black Hill still scares me after Wainwright's pronouncement that it is a 'frightening place in bad weather, a dangerous place after heavy rain' where you risk being 'entombed in the seepage hollows'.

And the curious reference to the 'fleshpots' of, I think, Lothersdale, baffled me then and still does. Even then we cursed some of his useless diversions to non-existent cafes and forays off the proper route, but the good news is that the guide was updated in 1994, so there should be less of those at any rate.

If you're thinking of walking the Pennine Way, it's a must, along with a decent set of OS maps, somehow it seems to perfectly capture the character and intent of the route. Re-published at the same time, is Wainwright's 'A Pennine Journey', the story of a 1938 solo walk through the Pennines.

More details at the publisher's web site. See links below for details of the Wainwright Society and the recent history of Wainwright publishing.

Prices are £11.99 for the Pennine Way Companion and £7.99 for A Pennine Journey.