I’ve been aware of Alfred Wainwright for many years and done three tours in The Lakes, albeit on a mountain bike.
Having just recently had to give up mountain biking due to flattened spinal discs and become restricted to smooth tarmac cycling, I’ve taken up pole walking for my off-road jollies, in the meantime ordering a boxed set of his seven guides for my summer reading.
Whilst toying with the idea of a walking tour in the Lakes next year, I’ve done a deep dive into AW’s life via a few YT vids and the like, including a detailed documentary on the great man.
Near the end of the documentary, it explores his love of the great outdoors, during which he says:
“It’s a wonderful world, but… it would be even more wonderful, if it were not for some of the people who live in it.”
Sadly I realised some years ago that my brain does not retain most great quotes so I started an iOS note with them in. It serves a purpose from time to time.
Always started with “In my defence I was left unsupervised.”
This fabulous quote that the move to suggest being nice is good enough isn’t actually good enough.
“Nice and good are not the same thing. Nice says nothing about morals or integrity or beliefs, it’s just a knowledge of how to appear affable. It’s dependent on whoever is calling you nice, it doesn’t stand on its own. Nice isn’t something I should work for. Being good and kind, that means something.”
“Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.”
“It’s not the voting that’s democracy, it’s the counting”.
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
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