Seven days in the fells, simply, walking. No roof but the sky, air always fresh, bodies engaged, minds on the simple task of putting one foot in front of the other and the gentle but necessary concentration that comes with that – walking on uneven paths with a heavy load requires a focused mind. When… Read More
Seven Trees Seven Days, embracing the Summer Solstice More than eighty miles walking The Lake District’s highest fells Camping under the sky’s short nights That’s it. We’re committed. Our bags are packed and our route is planned. Tomorrow we begin to walk from the Little Asby Hawthorn, the easternmost of the seven trees, and steadily tread… Read More
The weather was in our favour. We set off in a light drizzle, which you might think is a bad thing, but it felt very welcome after the searing heat of the last two weeks. Clouds were teasing the tops of the fells all around us, concealing, revealing, and adding a drama to a landscape coming… Read More
A poem for the Under Helm Sycamore, written June 2016. Read More
Ah, so it’s not just about a single tree! A child’s comment to us today – ‘I thought it would be just about a tree, but it was much funner,’ kind of sums up, in a nine-year-old way, what has been going on over the last few weeks on our days with schools. We’ve… Read More
Following the installation of a yellow line connecting the Wasdale Oak to the shores of Wastwater, we’ve had a strong reaction – both positive and negative. One of the important roles of art is to provoke debate and discussion, so this isn’t unexpected, but our intention was never to cause an upset. We thought it… Read More
The installation of the yellow line in Wasdale, running from the Wasdale Oak all the way into Wastwater (a steep slope of almost 120 metres) has been a long time in the planning:previous blog here. Now it’s happening. We have gathered all the materials and a willing group of volunteers, and chosen a day when rain… Read More
The Little Asby Hawthorn spends most of its time undisturbed by humans, a solitary figure beneath a wide open sky. Today it had some visitors … Read More
despite the wind, despite the challenges … a poem on the thriving of this isolated hawthorn. Read More
Walking to the Little Asby Hawthorn from Great Asby Village last Friday … Read More
THE LONG VIEW