There is no better introduction to the splendors of the Lake District than Eric Robson's re-creation of Alfred Wainwright's 1931 walk through 102 miles of fells, valleys, and lakes in this spectacular part of Cumbria. Wainwright and his three companions took 7 days to make what they originally planned as a 6-day walk covering 35,000 feet of ascent. Robson covers the same ground in a more leisurely 11 days, stopping to talk to other fellwalkers, young, middle aged, and old, including one man who has climbed the Himalayas but still finds plenty of challenge in the Lakeland fells. He also has fascinating chats with Wainwright's widow Betty (now also deceased) and Wainwright's biographer Hunter Davies. At one point an exhausted Robson stops to watch a group of passing fell runners and observes that though they may be faster than him, they're not enjoying the views as much. At one treacherously rocky stretch--the infamous Sharp Edge near the summit of Blencathra--he demonstrates the "ruptured crab maneuver" (hands and feet). Aerial views and careful day-by-day tracking on Wainwright's own maps punctuate the breathtaking ground-level shots. This gold-standard Striding Edge title bears repeated re-watching.

Larry B | Ventura, California | October 2018