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Wainwright's WeekPublisher: Neil's ToursReview Author: John O'RourkeSuggested Price: $9.99/images/fsc/wbicons/store-buy-now-button.png /images/reviews/wainwrit/t/wainwrights-week-04.jpgAt first sight 'Wainwight's Week'seemed an unusual choice for a flight simulator add-on, but the more Iread it, the more I wanted to visit the places in the book. The English Lake District, the jewel in the English Crown is byAmerican standards tiny, covering a mere 930 square miles. However,the beauty of the place really is what sets it apart. There is so much to see and do in the Lake District, and this iswhat first attracted Alfred Wainwright to this part of England wayback in the 1930s. This book covers as much as possible the route he and his friendstook when they spent their first ever week here in May 1931. Note: All images in this review are taken from the book inquestion. /images/reviews/wainwrit/t/wainwrights-week-02.jpgAlfred Wainwright 1907 - 1991 /images/reviews/wainwrit/t/wainwrights-week-01.jpgAlfred Wainwright loved the Lake District like no one else andspent over 50 years walking over the hills in all weather conditions(once he went down Borrowdale in the middle of winter with 6 foot snowdrifts). The walks he undertook were written down in a series of books forpeople who wished to follow in his footsteps. /images/reviews/wainwrit/t/wainwrights-week-09.jpgIf memory saves me correctly, Neil Birch first wrote about the LakeDistrict way back when FS98 was the current simulator of choice, inwhich he introduced us to his "flying bike". Neil's father apparently used to enjoy cycling around the LakeDistrict at around the same time as Afred Wainwright (I wonder if theyever bumped into each other). He used to cycle up from Lancashire,throw his bike over a wall and go camping. A few days later he wouldcome back to the same wall and his bike was always there, just as heleft it (try and do that today)! FS98 (perhaps a tad later), was about the time when photographicscenery was becoming available for flight simulators. As such, Neilupdated it for FSX, then X-Plane, and then to its latest version,Flight Simulator 2020. Neil's book goes into great detail following Wainwright's journeyfrom the first day over the fells to the tiny hamlet of Patterdalewhen it rained all day (plenty of guide arrows to help you). In fact,according to the book, this was the worst weather since 1925, so not agood start to the week. On the second day, following in Wainwright's footsteps, Neil tookus over the famous or infamous Striding Edge, and then further on tothe summit of Helvellyn. Finally, before landing at a fictional fieldnear the town of Keswick, we performed a quick tour aroundBlencathra. Striding Edge /images/reviews/wainwrit/t/wainwrights-week-11.jpg /images/reviews/wainwrit/t/wainwrights-week-14.jpgOn the third day of our journey, we travelled over many of thebeautiful mountains situated in the Lake District. Some of theseincluded Cat Bells, Dale Head, Hindscarth and Robinson, beforelanding in a field right next to Lake Buttermere, which just happensto overlook the impressive bulk of Fleetwith Pike. Cat Bells /images/reviews/wainwrit/t/wainwrights-week-06.jpgSomething which became quite apparent as I progressed through thebook, is that you start to see the Lake District in a completely newlight when viewing it from above, as opposed to by foot or car. I havea feeling Alfred Wainwright would really have loved it from up here! Fleetwith Pike /images/reviews/wainwrit/t/wainwrights-week-05.jpgThe fourth day began with us flying to the tiny hamlet ofButtermere, then up the steep 3000ft+ climb over Dodd. From here, itwas up to Red Pike, then along the ridges and over Haystack's whereWainwright's ashes were scattered in a small tarn. After climbing oversome impressive looking mountains, we landed at a picturesque fieldright next to the lake in the Wasdale Valley. /images/reviews/wainwrit/t/wainwrights-week-12.jpg /images/reviews/wainwrit/t/wainwrights-week-08.jpg WastwaterOn the fifth day we tackled the impressive 3000ft+ Scafell Pike,passing over a few more mountains before spending the night in thebeautiful Langdale Valley. /images/reviews/wainwrit/t/wainwrights-week-13.jpgThe view below shows the fantastic clarity of the Bing Maps inFlight Simulator 2020. /images/reviews/wainwrit/t/wainwrights-week-07.jpgThere are various ways to climb Scafell Pike; I've done it fromboth sides with my much fitter and younger son, and personally Iprefer approaching it from the side shown in the image above as it'svisually more impressive...if a little more tiring on the legs. The National Trust who maintain and look after the Lake District,had to build a new path up the mountain as the original one was beingworn away from use. As you can see from Neil's screen shot, thefootpath is quite clearly shown zigzagging its way up to thesummit. If you look closely you can see the other steeper footpath onthe right. Again, viewing the hills/mountains from the air, you can't fail tobe impressed by the scenery as shown below: /images/reviews/wainwrit/t/wainwrights-week-15.jpgAt the end of this day's flight we landed in the beautiful LangdaleValley, with the Langdale Pikes in full view. Compared to the hustleand bustle of much of the Lake District (too many people onoccasions), the Langdale Valley has always seemed to be a lot morepeaceful, at least it was when I visited. Langdale PikesOur final day took us up and over the Langdale Pikes following theclearly marked footpaths towards the village of Grasmere, passing overthe rock formation known as The Lion and the Lamb (shown below): /images/reviews/wainwrit/t/wainwrights-week-10.jpgThe Lion and the Lamb /images/reviews/wainwrit/t/wainwrights-week-03.jpgGrasmere Water, as seen in the image above, is quite different tothe village Grasmere, which is an incredibly busy place, especially inthe summer. This is due mainly to its connections with the poetWilliam Wordsworth. Alfred Wainwright and his friends passed through here beforepicking up the bus at Ambleside and then catching the train back tothe smokey mill town of Blackburn. ConclusionHaving made my way through Neil's book, I must say it's certainly aunique and enjoyable way of introducing people to the LakeDistrict. In fact, even if you are familiar with certain areas (as Iam), there is still plenty of new sights to take in. What's also clear from reading through Neil's book, is the love andattention to detail he has put into it. Having purchased quite anumber of add-ons this year (the joys of lockdown), I must say thatthis is perhaps the most fascinating addition to my library yet. Having not been to the Lake District for quite some time now(mainly due to the reason above), Neil's book provides a good excusein which to go exploring, and one that I wholeheartedly recommendothers to try. /images/reviews/wainwrit/title3.jpg Purchase Wainwright's Week for MSFS 2020 Also available for X-Plane 11 Also available for Prepar3D v4 See other Neil's Tours packages for MSFS 2020
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/images/notams/notams19/neil1123.jpgTour The English Lake District With Neil's ToursThe Lake District is a popular tourist destination in themountainous region of northwestern England. Its scenery is famous, withbeautiful lakes, forests and mountains. Alfred Wainwright helped makethe area popular with his pictorial guide books. It's a great place tovisit on foot, and now thanks to Neil's Tours, by air. /images/notams/notams19/neil0330/wainwright-2.jpgNeil's Tours, now on sale at the FlightSim.Com Store at 50% off, offstour guides and scenery for FSX, Prepar3D and X-Plane pilots to explorethis scenic country, following in the footsteps of Alfred Wainwright. /images/notams/notams19/neil0330/wainwright-3.jpgFree background scenery for X-Plane is available from the FlightSim.Comfile library either as a regular browser download or viatorrents. These are the three scenery files: Part 1: Lake-District.zip Part 2: Lake-District-2-4-4.zip Part 3: overlay.zip About The Author Neil BirchNeil Birch is a long time flightsimmer and has been creating sceneryand tours for FSX for many years. This is his first venture into X-Plane.Neil is a pensioner who lives not far from the Lake District. Read our interview with Neil Birch Purchase Neil's Tours - now on sale
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/images/notams/notams19/neil0330/neil0330.jpgThe English Lake District for X-Plane 11 onlyThe Lake District is a popular tourist destination in themountainous region of northwestern England. Its scenery is famous, withbeautiful lakes, forests and mountains. Alfred Wainwright helped makethe area popular with his pictorial guide books. It's a great place tovisit on foot, and now thanks to Neil's Tours, by air. /images/notams/notams19/neil0330/wainwright-2.jpgThis is the first of possibly 6/7 volumes of flights exploring andshowing people from all over the world what the English Lake Districthas to offer. The first being Wainwright's Walk of 1931. This was Alfred Wainwright's first ever weeks holiday in the LakeDistrict where along with three of his friends they went on to walkover many of the hills and mountains. To make these flights possible Ihave created three ortho files @ 18 magnification which is the best(although I can supply 19X which is even better (USB only) which arefree to download here on FlightSim.Com (or if you prefer they can besupplied (for a deposit + postage) on a USB stick as two of the filesare quite large). You can of course use these free ortho files ontheir own for you to enjoy the scenery. /images/notams/notams19/neil0330/wainwright-3.jpgThe free background scenery is available from the FlightSim.Comfile library either as a regular browser download or viatorrents. These are the three scenery files: Part 1: Lake-District.zip Part 2: Lake-District-2-4-4.zip Part 3: overlay.zip To obtain the scenery on USB stick contact the author: neil.birch@ntlworld.com /images/notams/notams19/neil0330/wainwright-1.jpgThe TourThe tour package includes additional scenery of airfields, a full setof flight plans and an extensive guidebook in the form of a PDF file. Alsoincluded is a new/old livery for the Aerolite 103, which is an idealaircraft for exploring the region low and slow. The 54 page guidebook is the heart of the tour, offering maps, photos,instructions and a detailed week-long itinerary that will guide yourflights to the best parts of the scenery. /images/notams/notams19/neil0330/wainwright-4.jpgAbout The Author Neil BirchNeil Birch is a long time flightsimmer and has been creating sceneryand tours for FSX for many years. This is his first venture into X-Plane.Neil is a pensioner who lives not far from the Lake District. Read our interview with Neil Birch Purchase Neil's Tours - Wainwright's Week for X-Plane 11