R nswer
Kirkby was also Wainwright ’ s walking partner , and he gave Ena his Wainwright letters before he died in the latter half of the 1980s .
Recently I had lunch with author and photographer Sheila Richardson . She was a good friend of Wainwright , so I brought up the subject of him using taxis and showed her his letter . To my complete astonishment , she knew the story . In the late 1970s , Sheila gave a talk for the Women ’ s Institute in Lorton . There she met Jeanie Hope , the general secretary of the Loweswater and Brackenthwaite show committee . They became friends , and Sheila regularly visited Jeanie at her cottage in High Lorton .
Jeanie was originally from Montana . She moved to West Cumbria in 1919 when she was just a baby to live with her grandparents . Jeanie married farmer William Hope , one of four brothers who farmed in the Loweswater area . They ran High Nook Farm for 25 years . Jeanie left the farm after William died in 1975 and moved to High Lorton . In 2002 she received an MBE in recognition of her services to the local community . Jeanie died in 2011 at the age of 92 .
Around the late 70s , Sheila mentioned Wainwright to Jeanie . To her surprise , Jeanie said he ’ d been a guest at their farm on many occasions . As well as running a farm , William and Jeanie ran a bed and breakfast , which supplemented their income . “ He was a very nice gentleman ,” she told Sheila . Wainwright kept himself to himself and was treated like any other guest .
The farm was the perfect location for Wainwright to complete the �ieldwork for the fells near Loweswater and Ennerdale , but how did he get there ? The bus from Keswick only went as far as Seatoller . Jeanie had also revealed to Sheila that Wainwright travelled to and from the farm by taxi from Keswick . The most likely route for a taxi from Keswick to Loweswater would have been through Whinlatter Forest .
It was common knowledge throughout Loweswater that Wainwright stayed at High Nook . Combining that with Wainwright ’ s letter and Sheila ’ s conversation with Jeanie , a direct source , gave the story more weight . I tried to identify which taxi company Wainwright may have used . He was unlikely to reveal his identity to any driver , so this part of the story was always a long shot . Tom Davies and his wife Rene founded Davies Taxis of Keswick in 1965 , the same year Wainwright travelled to Loweswater . The Davies family suspect Wainwright may have used more established taxis , such as John Harrison , whom I was unable to contact , or Harry Braithwaite , who had died .
Mellbreak A section of Wainwright ’ s letter to his friend Mr Kirkby , written in December 1965
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