Poetic inspiration while walking the moors to Ilkley

Perambulation and poetry somehow make sense together – and the two have often collided with impressive results.

A group of walking poets struck out on a lengthy Pennine stroll yesterday and are encouraging other writers to join them. Led by university lecturer and author of King Crow, Michael Stewart, the group is completed by multi-award winning poet Julia Deakin, acclaimed poet Gaia Holmes and rising star William Thirsk-Gaskill.

Starting out in Marsden in the Colne Valley yesterday, they are making overnight stops in Hebden Bridge, Bingley and will finish on the closing night of the Ilkley Literature Festival on Sunday.

Stewart says: “There is a long tradition of the relationship between writing and walking. It’s something to do with writing and walking existing at the same pace. When you walk, you daydream and writing is sometimes described as daydreaming with a pen in your hand.”

Stewart was inspired to orgaise the 47-mile walk by the unveiling last year of the Ilkley Literature Festival’s Stanza Stones “exhibition” which featured rocks on the Yorkshire Moors bearing poems by Simon Armitage.

“Seeing the work in the landscape was inspiring,” he says. “It felt like a good opportunity to build on 
that and to undertake a walking tour across the landscape.”

Recruiting writers that were up to the near 50-mile hike and who also, importantly, were able to perform their work live, he assembled the team.

The writers, funded by the Ilkley Literature Festival, Huddersfield University and the Arts Council, will perform an hour of their own poetry at each stopping point. They are also inviting people to join them on the walk, writers and aspiring writers.

“We’ll have their work in waterproof sheets and will actually workshop it as we are walking,” says Stewart.

“There is a long tradition of writers finding poems on their walks – Wordsworth, of course, and more recently Simon Armitage. There will be something quite special about walking with a group of published poets and workshopping other people’s work while we walk.”

Established writers’ groups have been invited to the en route “walkshops”, but the events will be completely open, so that anybody can bring their work. At the evening performances, after the four Stanza Stones poets have had their slots, there will be open mic slots available for people to try out the work they have been creating on a live audience.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun. There’s one man who is in his 70s and he is going to be joining us for the whole thing – and camping out along the way. We’ll be joined by (writer and playwright) Boff Whalley and hopefully other writers as well,” says Stewart.

There are meeting points early in the morning, mid afternoon and then at the evening stop offs where people are invited to join the group.

“Stephen King walks seven miles a day, Fay Weldon does three miles a day – there is definitely something about the connection between walking and writing,” says Stewart.

“Maybe people will find inspiration from joining us.”

For details of the route and stop-off events, log on to www.ilkleyliteraturefestival.org.uk