Alfred Wainwright Lake District sketch sells for 'record price'

A sketch by fell-walking legend Alfred Wainright which was expected to sell for hundreds of pounds has been auctioned for more than £10,000.

The signed and framed drawing of Striding Edge on Helvellyn - the Lake District's third highest peak- went under the hammer at 1818 Auctioneers.

It was thought the sketch and two others would make make between £400 and £600 based on previous estimates.

But on its own it sold for what is thought was a record price of £10,200.

The two other drawings, of Doddick Gill, Blencathra, and Cul Mor, sold for £740 and £820 respectively.

Wainwright is famous for his pictorial walking guides to his beloved Lakeland fells.

Bill Nelson, saleroom manager for 1818 Auctioneers said: "We think £10,200 is a record price for a pen and ink sketch by Wainwright, and it's certainly one for us.

"Wainwright wrote that mountain tops were places to refresh the soul, find new perspectives and banish worries and that's particularly meaningful right now.

"His depiction of the Lake District's most talked-about ridge, Striding Edge, would tick all those boxes,"