Looking for Lake District Guidebooks? Try Mark Richards

Absolute Escapes recommends the guidebooks of Mark Richards.

At Absolute Escapes we want to make sure you get the most out of your trips to the Lake District. That means more than just finding the best places for you to stay. We also want to make sure you know the best things to do and see.

As you’d expect of one of the UK’s top tourist destinations, there’s a lot to do in the Lakes. Without a little bit of help, all the choice might seem a bit overwhelming. So we set out to take some of the stress away by giving you recommendations to help you choose.

What better way to guarantee you see the best sights and enjoy the best walks than with a guide book?

When it comes to Lake District guide books, we don’t hesitate to recommend the work of Mark Richards.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the hills and mountains of the Lake District were charted and described by Alfred Wainwright in his Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. The influence of the seven volume collection was so much that those fells are now commonly referred to as the 214 Wainwrights.

Something of a spiritual successor, Mark Richards was encouraged to start writing walking guides by Wainwright himself. He wrote his first guide to walking the Cotswold Way in 1973. Since then he’s written (and illustrated) a lot more, including his Fellranger series.

Fancy Mark’s Great Mountain Days in the Lake District for free? Take a look at our competition. But hurry, you’ve only got until 16th December.

Even before meeting Wainwright, Mark was influenced by him. At the age of thirteen on a holiday to the Lakes he came across Wainwright’s Southern Fells. Exploring with this book in tow he became enamoured with Lakeland. Already a keen line artist, he was further inspired by Wainwright’s drawings of the fells he charted.

With Mark Richards’ guide books, you get as close to that of Wainwright as possible. His books are filled with straightforward, yet inspiring descriptions and his own unique illustrations.

Mark’s entertaining guides to Lakeland walks are published by Cicerone Press. You can view the full range here.

Intrigued? If you want updates from Mark himself, in the form of blog posts and line drawings, take a look at his personal site.

Why not try out one of Mark’s walking guides for free? Head over to SightVisit to get your FREE Hadrian’s Wall Walking Guide.

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About the author

Shirley Thomson is the owner and director of Absolute Escapes Lettings and has been for over ten years. Her passion is for the Lake District, so she established Absolute Escapes to offer a personal service to those wanting to stay in the Lakes. She deals with every part of the business herself from finding cottages and managing bookings. If you’re looking for a Lake District cottage or an Eden Valley cottage, Shirley’s the woman for you.