William Wordsworth
There are two ways in which the authors on the lake District have served it. Firstly there are the authors who have tried to stretch the readers imagination about the scenery they are looking at and guide them on walks around the most scenic points in the Lake District. There are also those authors who write ‘coffee table’ books, i.e. those books which are not intended to be used in an informative means but solely for the occasional reader to look at and enjoy the scenery without ever having to visit.
Although these ‘coffee table’ books are very picturesque to look at they are not very interesting. They normally simply state the location of the position that the photograph was taken and what it was taken of. They usually contain little or no information about what the shot is geographical or how the landform was shaped. This is in contrast to Wainwright whose commentaries include information on the rock type and land formation.
The main problems with these type of ‘coffee table’ books is that they encourage people who would not normally visit the Lake District. Even when they do they travel by car and then only visit the ‘honeypots’ in the area, seldom venturing farther from their car than to go to the café or look around the shops.
This causes an increase in the congestion, by White Moss common, one of the honeypots and also a main route longitudinally through the District from Windermere to Keswick and Ambleside, up to 19,000 cars a day may pass through on the single-carriageway. Not only does this make it difficult for people who live their to get around but also increases the amount of pollution in the area; which naturally has a higher than average amount of oxygen than the rest of the country.
Another problem with unprepared people travelling to the Lakes District is that they venture on to the fells. Once there they may become lost due to inaccurate maps or fog, or even fall and have to be rescued by the Mountain Rescue Teams. Last year the majority of Mountain Rescue callouts were for inexperienced climbers.
One of the other problems with inexperienced walkers attempting the fells is that they only use the lower slopes and so they become eroded far more than the upper slopes. This causes two things to happen. Firstly the lower slopes become scarred with large wide paths forcing the walkers onto higher slopes to find the same level of beauty, and secondly the landowner is forced to repair the paths. The reparation of the current paths on land owned by the National Park comes to half of its yearly budget. Some local companies such as Hawkshead, based in the village of the same name, donates £1 for every pair of boots that it sells to the National Parks in order that the paths can be repaired.
The other style of book written by Bragg and Wainwright have geographical information and informative sketch diagrams. Much information can also be found on the Internet. These sources often grade the difficulty of the walk:
…Strong walkers…may care to give attention to the little known zig-zag path rising by Troughton Beck…to the top of the pass…
A. Wainwright 1956
Here he has given consideration to the ability of the walker, however by suggesting the route he has now popularised it. Farther on he writes:
But now like many another…the original path with all its delightful turns and twists has been savagely scored from top to bottom by deep stony gashes – the ugly ‘short cuts’ of the walkers who have not the art of walking leisurely and seem unable to appreciate the skill of those who first plotted the route. Sedate travellers will faithfully follow the zigzags. They are always easier.
A. Wainwright 1956
Authors who write about the Lake District are often hypocritical. Wainwright was no exception. We know that he enjoyed the Fells and we also known that he felt that they were superior experienced on their own:
…and in places is much frequented; indeed the presence of other walkers was often an embarrassment to me, although my mission was never suspected. The popular heights above Derwentwater I left until the holiday crowds had all departed from the scene. Alone, what a celestial beauty I found there in the quiet of late autumn and early winter!
A. Wainwright 1956
The authors of the Lake District have however brought a badly needed source of income to the area. It is unlikely that the area would ever have had quite as many restrictions placed upon it and hence been allowed to take a more ‘natural’ progression if the authors had not popularised the area and brought tourists in.
It is important however to realise that the amount of people that visit the Lake District must be limited. Last year nine million visited the Lake District. At this rate the Lake District will be burnt out from the need for provision of services and accommodation to say nothing of the erosion on the fells and the air pollution from the cars.
Bibliography
W. A. Poucher
Michael Dunn
Wordsworth
Wainwright
Bragg
Anciently spelt Langden, and so called by the old inhabitants to this day –dean, from which the latter part of the word is derived, being in many parts of England a name for a valley