The Art of Fellwalking: Alfred Wainwright’s A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells
University of Cumbria in Ambleside, Percival Lecture Theatre, Langdale Building, LA22 9BB
Tuesday 3rd November 2026
Title: The Art of Fellwalking: Alfred Wainwright’s A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells (a Cultural Landscapes event)
About the Talk:
No other guidebook writer has become synonymous with fellwalking and the landscape of the English Lake District in the same way as Alfred Wainwright. The naming of the 214 fells in the Pictorial Guides as “Wainwrights” after the author has cemented his place both in English Lake District literature and the history of fellwalking.
This talk explores Wainwright’s exposition of the art of fellwalking through his hand-drawn walker’s geography of the uplands of the English Lake District and his description of the practice of the ‘true fellwalker’. It examines how Wainwright resolved tensions between beauty and utility in preceding guidebooks and, as guide-companion, contributed to our understanding of the region as a cultural landscape.
Our speaker:
Liz Woodham was awarded a PhD from Lancaster University in 2026 for her thesis on the relationship between English Lake District guidebooks and fellwalking from 1855 to 1966. She has recently recorded a podcast for Countrystride and presented a fundraising talk for St John’s Hospice, Lancaster, alongside Alfred Wainwright’s great-great niece Lizzi Collinge, MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale. Her latest publication is a chapter on Wainwright for Print and Tourism (Peter Lang: 2026).
Venue:
Percival Lecture Theatre, Langdale Building, at the University of Cumbria's Ambleside Campus. Please note this is an in-person event only.
Image credit: The Oracle, A Pictorial Guide, The Southern Fells, © the Estate of A. Wainwright
About the Talk:
No other guidebook writer has become synonymous with fellwalking and the landscape of the English Lake District in the same way as Alfred Wainwright. The naming of the 214 fells in the Pictorial Guides as “Wainwrights” after the author has cemented his place both in English Lake District literature and the history of fellwalking.
This talk explores Wainwright’s exposition of the art of fellwalking through his hand-drawn walker’s geography of the uplands of the English Lake District and his description of the practice of the ‘true fellwalker’. It examines how Wainwright resolved tensions between beauty and utility in preceding guidebooks and, as guide-companion, contributed to our understanding of the region as a cultural landscape.
Our speaker:
Liz Woodham was awarded a PhD from Lancaster University in 2026 for her thesis on the relationship between English Lake District guidebooks and fellwalking from 1855 to 1966. She has recently recorded a podcast for Countrystride and presented a fundraising talk for St John’s Hospice, Lancaster, alongside Alfred Wainwright’s great-great niece Lizzi Collinge, MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale. Her latest publication is a chapter on Wainwright for Print and Tourism (Peter Lang: 2026).
Venue:
Percival Lecture Theatre, Langdale Building, at the University of Cumbria's Ambleside Campus. Please note this is an in-person event only.
Image credit: The Oracle, A Pictorial Guide, The Southern Fells, © the Estate of A. Wainwright
Price
Ticket price
£0.00
