John Burland in his guise as Alfred Wainwright

A writer is offering audiences the chance of spending an evening with Alfred Wainwright, the celebrated guidebook author.

John Burland, who founded the Wainwright Society to keep alive the works of the Lakeland fellwalker, has created an hour-long talk featuring himself in the role of the taciturn lover of the Lakeland mountains.

The presentation features almost 40 pictures of Wainwright’s Blackburn birthplace, the Lake District fells and his home and work in Kendal.

Mr Burland, who lives in West Yorkshire, said: “Just over two years ago I was asked by Ilkley Literature Festival, as founder of The Wainwright Society, to present an evening about Alfred Wainwright.

“I spent three months writing this presentation in which I take on the role of AW and talk about his life from his humble beginnings in Blackburn through to the writing of the fantastic Pictorial Guides that have now sold in excess of two million copies.

“The presentation ends with AW’s passing in 1991 and the formation 11 years later in November 2002 of the society that now bears his name.”

The performance draws on material from Hunter Davies’s biography and his letters, which have just been published by Frances Lincoln in a collection edited by Cumbrian-born Davies.

Over the last two years, Mr Burland has presented his talk to more than 20 groups, raising thousands of pounds for charities.

He is now on the lookout for further venues for his Evening with Alfred Wainwright in 2012.

The writer can be contacted on 07725 434036 or by emailing him.