Field Notes : Alp & Ash
Walking all 214 Lake District Wainwrights in a year is no mean feat, but in 2014 Debs Slater did just that. Since completing this epic challenge, an arm of her business Alp & Ash is dedicated to helping other keen hikers to celebrate such an achievement, in the form of a collection of beautifully designed and made note books, posters, and certificates. The Wainwrights Collection came together in 2020 over lockdown 1, as a creative outlet whilst looking after & entertaining her two girls (who were both under 3 at the time!). All of Debs’s work helps others to capture memories of time well spent in the fells; I first came across her work whilst searching for a gift for my sister and partner, who’d recently completed the National Three Peaks walk, and were also doing up their first home, so her contour coaster set of the mountains went down a treat.
I was intrigued to know where Debs would pick for her chosen map location. I had a (strong) inkling that it would be somewhere in the Lake District, but the story she gave me was truly touching…
Q - If you were to commission a bespoke contour map piece, what landscape would the map feature and why does it mean so much to you?
It would have to be Loughrigg Fell for three reasons, the second two of which tie into the first. The first is that my dad’s ashes were scattered up there the year after he died in 2005. He was a keen hiker and loved the Lake District, so it was a fitting resting place, somewhere beautiful we could go when we wanted to feel closer to him. I’ve been up countless times in the following years and also taken many friends up there as it’s a great introduction to the Lake District: incredible views without too strenuous a hike.
The second reason is because my husband proposed to me on Loughrigg, as a way to include my dad in some small way in the event. I’ve hidden some painted stones where we scattered my dad’s ashes, and my husband even painted a stone for the occasion that read “Debbie, will you marry me?”
The third is because it’s where I completed my Wainwrights challenge. To mark the tenth year of life without my dad, I decided to take on the challenge of hiking all 214 Wainwrights in one year. This was a huge challenge for me as I hadn’t done much hiking beforehand. Friends and my hiking-hating husband joined me for 142 of the fells, but I completed 72 solo with only a map for guidance; it was such an incredible boost for my confidence. When I hiked up Loughrigg with ease as the 214th Wainwright on the 365th day, a hill that had previously made me pause several times on the ascent, I felt I could do anything!
Loughrigg holds so many memories for me and I will continue to visit it for as long as my legs can carry me, I’m really quite thankful we decided on Loughrigg and not Scafell for those ashes!
Q - how Does the outdoors/landscapes play a role in your own work?
My work is completely connected to the landscape and the outdoors. It was during my challenge of hiking the Wainwrights that gave me the idea for creating my Contour Coasters. I spent so long looking at maps that I wondered if I could recreate them on my laser cutter as a way to remember the fells. I do think there is something satisfying in the way maps are drawn, but I imagine the majority of my customers aren’t buying them because they love the particular curve of a contour. The memories and stories that these maps are linked to is what makes them special for a customer. I’m lucky enough to hear countless stories of families that grew up hiking the hills, weddings that will be held there, a favourite lake of a late loved one. Hearing these stories gives more meaning to my work and is actually what I love most about it; I’ll even admit to having a bit of a cry when someone talks of hiking with their dad.