Posted by Phil Davies on December 08, 2001 at 15:59:24 from 212.248.139.135:
Like many others I have visited the suggested sites that inspired AR. Many were disappointing because they didn't match my expectations from reading the books as a boy, but they were interesting and made me reread the books more carefully.
I have been drawing a fictitious map by combining the maps in the AR books. I find the map in my head is in great detail from my childhood reading but that it was very influenced by my experience. Eg. I knew a lot about the Peak District as a child but nothing of the Lake District, so my image of AR country is lots of heather which doesn't fit well with the reality of lots of grass & bracken!
Rather than look for the real places that AR used I now look for places which are evocative of the books. Eg. Go up Wetherlam from Skelwith Bridge to get the feel of climbing Kanchenjunga or climb Coniston Old Man from Torver by the Boo Tarn route.
Does anyone know of a published fictitious map of AR country?