A CHERISHED writer whose 50 books and countless published walks led thousands of hikers over mountains and through the countryside has died.

Tributes have been paid to Mary Welsh, who lived for 37 years in Broughton, after she died of a heart attack at the age of 88 on January 11.

Mrs Welsh was the wife of former Evening Mail editor, Tom Welsh, and moved from Islington in central London to the Lake District, developing her passion for writing about idyllic treks and beauty spots.

When Mr Welsh became editor in 1979, Mrs Welsh took up a teaching post at Whitehaven Grammar School, moving later to John Ruskin School in Coniston.

She wrote her first book in 1982 called A Country Journal – The diary of a Cumbrian Naturalist which charted her delight in the nature she saw as she explored the village of Broughton and wider Cumbria.

Starting with the publication of A Country Journal , and finishing with her last book Walking Fife, The Ochils, Tayside and Forth Valley in 2012, Mrs Welsh authored 38 books and 12 substantial booklets, with many going into third, fourth and some even fifth reprints, and selling more than 200,000 copies.


Mary Welsh. Her last walk to appear in print was in the December 2016 edition of Country Walking .

Writing about her mother, Cheryl Campbell said: "Mary was meticulous about checking and noting every stile and waymark, determined to ensure that her readers didn't get lost.

"Her joy was in sharing the sights and sounds of the countryside she discovered. She had extensive knowledge of flora and fauna, and a passion for ornithology, identifying and delighting in birdsongs wherever she went."

Some of Mrs Welsh's most notable books include Walks with Children in Swaledale and Wensleydale , which was the first in a series of substantial booklets published by Questa over the 15 years, Walks around Coniston and Hawkshead , and Tea Shop Walks in The Lake District .

After her husband's death in 2014, Mrs Welsh moved south in March 2016, to be closer to her four children in London.

She continued to walk after the move, delighting in the forests of Essex, the hills of the Chilterns and the hidden gems of London, and had already started preparing a portfolio of walks in the south.

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