How it happened
I spent about five years of my early childhood in Cumberland, where I learned to love the Lake District. Later, I returned at least once a year, sometimes more, to walk in the mountains. Eventually I decided I'd like to write and illustrate a book about walking in the Lakes, a slightly crazy project that took about ten years to complete. The result was A Fellwalker's Notes.
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What are people saying about it?
Here's a great review in The Cumberland News, September 9th 2016
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What about the drawings? |
The drawings are pen and ink (all but one) sometimes with wash (diluted ink painted on with a brush). Many were done on the spot, but the Lake District weather isn't always kind to would-be artists, especially at high altitudes, so many were done at home based on photographs and quick sketches. You can see some of them here.
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Acknowledgements
All the walking, drawing and writing was my own work. However I'd like to acknowledge help from two people.
First is Eddie Armer, who encouraged me to write the book after seeing some early drawings and hearing my vague ideas about writing a guide. He also created the cover design, based on one of the drawings (Grisedale, seen from Birkhouse Moor, on page 111). Second is my editor, Georgia Laval, who fixed errors and made many improvements without altering the sense of it being my 'voice'. |