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Tintagel Castle, Cornwall: Lord Tennnyson & The Arthurian legend
What is it? History and legend are inseparable at Tintagel Castle. From about the 5th to the 7th century AD, it was an important stronghold and a residence of rulers of Cornwall. It was probably memories of this seat of Cornish kings that inspired the 12th-century writer Geoffrey of Monmouth to name it in his […]
St Pancras Gardens, London: Thomas Hardy
‘The Levelled Churchyard’ “O passenger, pray list and catch Our sighs and piteous groans, Half stifled in this jumbled patch Of wrenched memorial stones! “We late-lamented, resting here, Are mixed to human jam, And each to each exclaims in fear, ‘I know not which I am!’ ‘The Levelled Churchyard’ (1880), an early poem by Thomas […]
Aberfeldy, Scotland : Robert Burns
‘Come let us spend the lightsome days In the birks of Aberfeldy’ Terrain: Steep climbs, guide rails in places Starting point: Birks Car Park in Aberfeldy, PH15 2DX Distance: 2.9 km (1.8 miles) Walking time: 59 mins OS Map: Explorer OL379. The map can be found online at: https://osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/route/10378803/Aberfeldy Facilities: Toilets at the start, facilities […]
Adlestrop, Gloucestershire: Edward Thomas
‘No one left and no one came’ What is it? The tiny, quaint village of Adlestrop, set in the Cotswolds, is the scene of the ‘unwonted’ stop that inspired Edward Thomas’s (1878-1917) much-loved poem of the same name, capturing an uneventful ‘moment in time’ and making it memorable forever. Sadly the old station no longer […]
Dover Beach, Kent: Matthew Arnold
‘You hear the grating roar Of pebbles which the waves draw back and fling At their return, up the high strand’ What is it? Dover Beach is not necessarily where you’d choose to take the family for a day out. The harbour area itself is rather overwhelmed by the cross-channel ferry business. And, horror of […]
Inspiring Places: Malvern Hills, Worcestershire
‘There is no more English spot in all England, and few more beautiful’. Bernard Levin ‘If ever after I’m dead you hear someone whistling this tune on the Malvern Hills, don’t be alarmed, it’s only me.’ Edward Elgar ‘A unique crow’s nest of ancient rock.’ Geoffrey Grigson The main inspiration for this walk…Piers Plowman (1370s) […]
Laugharne: Dylan Thomas
‘The funny thing is I find myself going back again and again’ KEY DATA Terrain: easy Starting point: Laugharne Castle car park, SA33 4SF Distance: 6.1 km (3.8 miles) Walking time: 1 hr 48 mins OS Map: 177. The map can be viewed online at https://osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/route/10038750/Laugharne-Dylan-Thomas Facilities: shops, pub, toilets DYLAN THOMAS (1914-1953) We tend to […]
Kilburn, London: Zadie Smith
‘Where else could a writer hope to meet the whole world within a one-mile radius?’ KEY DATA Terrain: Pavements, hills Starting point: Queen’s Park, NW6. The nearest tube is Queen’s Park Distance: 8.5 km (5.5 miles) Walking time: 2 hrs 30 mins OS Map: can be found online at https://osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/route/9936654/Kilburn-London-Zadie-Smith Facilities: Pubs, cafés ZADIE SMITH (1975- […]
Heptonstall, West Yorkshire: Ted Hughes
‘A naturally evolved local organism, like a giant protozoa’ ‘These early years anchored both of us up there for life’ The inspiration for this walk…Ted Hughes’ poetry Ted Hughes’ poetry was brought vividly to life for me by my first English Literature teacher, Philip Balkwill, when I was twelve . He was one of those […]
Marsden, West Yorkshire: Simon Armitage
‘My bedroom window in that house still operates as a lens and framing device’ ‘A border area where habitation meets the uninhabitable’ The book that inspired this walk – The Marsden Poems (2020) I read a review of this collection of poems in the Sunday Times just as I was starting to compile the list […]
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