The somewhat incongruous duo of Sir Chris Bonington and Lord
Melvin Bragg will be following in Wainwright's footsteps next month
with the news that the pair will take part in The Great Wainwright
Challenge.
The
event, which is being organised by the Wainwright Society to
commemorate the 50th anniversary of Wainwright's first Lake District
guidebook, allows participants to select and scale one of the 214
'Wainwrights' in Cumbria between May 14 and May 21. Right now some
194 of the fells have been snapped up leaving just 20 to choose
from.
If you were wondering, Sir Chris will pull on his walking boots to
tackle High Pike near Caldbeck, while Lord Bragg will take on Binsey
in the western Lake District which commands a majestic panorama of
the Solway Firth.
Over 250 people have already signed up to tackle on of the tops
which range from Castle Crag in Borrowdale (985ft) - through to
England's highest mountain, Scafell Pike. (3,210ft). At the same
time, the Wainwright Society has seen its membership increase by 50
per-cent with over 150 new members signing up.
"The response has been phenomenal - the fact we did not
launch the challenge until the first week of January and yet by
Easter we have 90 per cent of the fells allocated, is superb," said
John Burland, of the Wainwright Society which exists to
venerate the memory of the legendary Lakeland guidebook writer.
Registration for the challenge costs £10 including a £3
donation to the Lake District Tourism and Conservation Partnership,
which raises money for footpath repair and other environmental
projects and you can find full details at www.wainwright.org.uk/challenge.
What would the notoriously reclusive Wainwright - above - have made of it all? Hmmm...
