Published Thursday 21 July 2016 at 11:12
Famous fell walker, Alfred Wainwright is to be honoured by his former home town of Blackburn with the naming of a road after the countryside champion.
The writer and illustrator of guides to the Lake District will be remembered with Wainwright Way, part of the Blackburn Town Centre Orbital Route.
The road will see a special naming ceremony on Monday, July 25, attended by Wainwright’s great niece Linda Collinge and members of the Wainwright Society.
Representatives of Blackburn with Darwen Council will also attend as well as Mayor Councillor Hussain Akhtar.
Wainwright Way will link Montague and King Street with Wainwright Bridge and Towns Moor.
It sees the completion of the town’s orbital route and will allow new development to take place.
Between 1955 and 1990 Alfred Wainwright created 50 books, including guidebooks and sketchbooks detailing areas mainly in Northern England and Scotland. He also took part in several television series about the Lake District encouraging people to discover it for themselves.
Born in 1907, he lived the first 34 years of his life in Blackburn.
He attended Accrington Road School and Blakey Moor School before starting work in 1920 at Blackburn Town Hall at the age of thirteen.
There he worked as an accountancy assistant until 1941 when he moved to Kendal for a new job.
Wainwright’s early passion for walking was ignited in Blackburn as he ventured out of the town to the surrounding countryside including Darwen Tower and the Ribble Valley.
The new link road is an important part of the completion of the Orbital Route and will open up the area for regeneration, bringing new businesses and jobs to the
borough.
Executive member for Regeneration at Blackburn with Darwen Council, Councillor Phil Riley said:
Wainwright contributed a huge amount to people’s enjoyment of and appreciation for the countryside around us.
And he was of course he was also a proud Blackburnian, so we think it is only fitting that we do our best to remember him for his achievements.
I am particularly delighted that a member of his family will be able to join to mark this special occasion.
Derek Cockell, Society Secretary at The Wainwright Society, said:
The Wainwright Society is delighted that Alfred Wainwright is being honoured in this way by the citizens of his home town of Blackburn.