This year marks a significant milestone in British journalism and nature writing: the 75th anniversary of the first Guardian Country Diary penned by Arthur Harry Griffin. His inaugural column appeared in the Manchester Guardian on 8 January 1951, launching a remarkable tenure that would see his evocative missives from the English Lake District published every other Monday for more than 53 years, until July 2004.
The Birth of a Lakeland Voice
The story began in late 1950. Following the death of the previous diarist, George W Muller, Guardian editor AP Wadsworth wrote to the then little-known Kendal-based journalist with a simple proposition. His instructions were famously direct: "Write about anything you like, but for God's sake, keep off birds. We get all we want about them from the others."
Griffin embraced the challenge. His first entry described a silent ski descent down a fellside and observed hardy Rough Fell sheep surviving the cold in snow caves. He would go on to faithfully adhere to his brief, crafting concise, 300-word portraits that captured the essence of the fells. His topics ranged from mountaineering and sheep farming to the growing impact of tourism, lamenting litter like orange peel and ring pulls long before environmentalism was mainstream.
A Life Shaped by the Fells
Born in Liverpool in 1911, Harry Griffin's love for the Lakeland landscape was ignited by a childhood school trip to Stickle Pike. He became an avid rock climber, co-founding the Coniston Tigers climbing club. His journalism career started at 17 on the Barrow Guardian, leading to roles at the Lancashire Evening Post and the Daily Mail in Manchester.
His life took a dramatic turn during the Second World War, where he served in intelligence in India and Burma, rising to the rank of lieutenant-colonel and serving on Lord Mountbatten's staff. After the war, he turned down a transfer to London with the Daily Mail, choosing instead to return to the north as northern news editor for the Lancashire Evening Post in Kendal.
It was here he began writing 'Leaves From a Lakeland Notebook', which likely caught the Guardian's eye. He brought a unique discipline to the Country Diary, adjusting the paper in his manual typewriter so each entry fit perfectly.
Capturing the Spirit of the Lakes
Griffin's genius lay in his ability to condense a day's adventure into a vivid snapshot for the general reader. As fellow outdoor writer Jim Perrin noted, "For economical evocation of mood and soundness of approach, there was not a mountain writer to touch him." His columns were a breath of fresh air on the leader page.
He introduced readers to a host of Lakeland characters, from whisky smuggler Lanty Slee to cave-dwelling 'Professor of Adventure' Millican Dalton. He also shared a firm friendship with fellow guidebook legend Alfred Wainwright, who illustrated Griffin's first book. Griffin authored 14 books in total, often repurposing his rich material.
An advocate for cold-water swimming decades before it became a trend, Griffin only stopped rock climbing at 78 and skiing at 80. He continued fell walking, drawing inspiration from real experience until the very end. He died on 9 July 2004, with his final diary—a poignant piece about Black Combe, a fell he first climbed in 1924—published three days later.
A Lasting Legacy in Print
Harry Griffin's work remains a touchstone for lovers of the Lake District and fine nature writing. His diaries are occasionally republished by the Guardian, and a excellent introduction to his work is the anthology 'A Lifetime of Mountains: The Best of A. Harry Griffin's Country Diary', edited by Martin Wainwright.
The Guardian's archive holds a rich collection of his records, including an oral history recorded in 2002 where he reads his very first diary, preserving the voice of the Lake District's most enduring chronicler for future generations.
