Walking the Patchwork Cheviots
This is a list of some of the places I recall walking, each
has some significance to my drawing . As memories reappear I will
add them, it’s more or less in chronological order:
A Sunday’s winter walk to Pool Hall pool, Lower Penn
with mum and dad, to improve the appetite before lunch.
Walking cows home with a friend, down the tow path and
across the bridge of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal.
Trespassing in the canal side dark and scary woods,
running over deep green mossy roots and past the spooky red sand stone caves,
gun shot in the distance.
Straining to see the swirling vortex at the edge of the
canal, next to the railway.
Sneaking out (age 12) to meet a friend for exciting walks in the dark, around
our council estate at 1.am.
Nurturing a young hare, mum rescued when
out walking after seeing its mother being killed. 1965
Wolverhampton to Stafford, a 20 mile charity walk for
the blind. 1967
Walking and hitch hiking from Wolverhampton to the Rolling Stones concert in Hyde Park. Also to Saundersfoot but the driver chased us with his willy out and the two young boys in the next lift crashed the car in a ditch. We rang my brother to come and take us home. 1969
Around a bit and then to the top of the Wrekin in
Shropshire and getting lost on the wrong side. 1970
To the top of Snowdonia via the hardest Watkin Path. 1972
Down How Stean Gorge in the Yorkshire Dales and walking into a Blake’s 7 film location, standing watching Vila having his trouser crotch restitched.
Devon, Lynton and Lynmouth to where the Watersmeet. 1982
Walking down from the top of Snowdon with the children and a pushchair. 1983
Rambles around the local area, exploring our new environment. 1984 onwards
‘Two and a half miles to Port Quin’ following
the sign that pointed along the North Cornish coastal path from Port Isaac and
bribing the children with an ice cream when we get there. After a very, very
long and exhausting walk, there was nowhere open in Port Quin, so we returned via the ‘two
and a half mile path’ which this time was correctly pointing across the fields. The
information leaflet states:
‘It looks no more than a couple of miles on the
map, but by the time you've meandered up every hillside, rounded each headland
and negotiated half-dozen steep coombes, you'll have walked the best part of
four’. Next day we walked to Port Gaverne
bay and ate hot grilled mackerel cooked on the beach.
Found Mag’s Well on a local walk, a place where pilgrims cured the ‘itch’. 1990
Across Whistling sands on the Llyn peninsula and noticing how walking on the fine grained sands in thick tread soles created a whistle. To the end of Pen y Cil point to see the view. Climbing to the top of Yr Eifl, Trefor, past the picturesque rusty old tractor and on to the iron age hill fort. 1992
Searching for cups and rings on Northumberland moors. Craster to Dunstaborough castle every evening and back, it became a thing. 1993
Hadrians wall – saving a very large sheep that was struggling on its back. I expected it to get up as I got closer but it didn’t, so I turned and shouted back how can I help it, they just gestured, so I grabbed the horns and twisted and off it ran. 1993
The foot of a mountain begins directly outside our holiday backdoor. Sheep trot along the loch edge trailing seaweed, we named the muckiest ‘Wot-a-mess’ in Glenelg. Sheep on the top of the cliff and skulls rot below. Millions of midges in Arnisdale. 1993
Past the Stiperstones - walking and drawing.
Up Llangollen hill in the snow to Castell Dinas Bran.
Around Men An Tol on the moor and roaming about St Ives. 1995
Dome tent flattened with every gust in the violent thunder storm at Silverdale. Meandered through Jack Scouts walk.
Sitting drinking tea in a tiny
café on Morecambe estuary. Watching sea gulls flying
backwards in the strong wind, so strong it caused a vacuum in the café and everyone’s
ears popped painfully when anyone entered.
The best view anywhere is from Worms Head, Rhossili, Pembrokeshire. 7.8.2004 Here even the sheep have a favourite spot to sit in the evening and enjoy it. The beach walk just to the next point is deceptively long. 6.8.2004
In Snowdonia 11.8 2004 and again 4.8.2005
Isle of Purbeck Sculpture trail. 11/12.9.05
Walking from Zennor I gave an exhausted homing pigeon a puddle, on the coastal path to St Ives. 14.6.2007
Down the lane into Keld village for the nearest campsite toilet. Walking to Muker along Corpse Way in Swaledale. 8.8.2007
Seahouses to Bamburgh, walking along white sands, drawing from the dunes.
To the end of Holy Island, across the dunes to the cliff edge with Northumberland’s white sand below, sleeping on flowers and herbs, insects humming on cliff top, looking out over the North Sea. Sitting in silence in the monk’s garden watching the monastery appear and disappear in the mist. 11.8.2007
Over the Cheviots, purple patchwork fields, got lost.12.8.2007
From Worth Maltravers along Priest Way towards St Aldhelms Chapel and back. Silver and deep indigo sea dramatically drops beyond the bright green grass. Drawing sea stars at Winspit, Swanage -11/12.6.2008
Swanage nature reserve and the Jurassic coast
From Wasdale camp up Moses Trod to Scarfell Pike, almost to the top. 13.8.2008
Wet, wet, wet along Moss Dale valley. The
rain described a perfect geography book diagram as the mist rose from one side
of the valley, drifted across and poured down the side we were on. A jumper
hung on the tent opposite, its arms getting longer and longer throughout the
day. 10.8 08
Found a very relevant old Ladybird book on plastics. 30.5.2009
Stuck on a ridge in Snowdonia two ravens overhead warn us off.
Camping next to a herb garden. Up Cader Idris aided by a passing American dad and his motivating GI chant, very steep decent down uneven steps, down and down, on an on, painful knees. 13.08.2009
Down and up the Birks of Aberfeldy in Scotland 9.5.2009 On to Skye and camp amongst daisies at Glen Brittle10.5 2009. Walk round the coast, plastic crates and fish boxes litter the remote spots. Watch a black backed seagull doing something very odd. Got lost wearing my pjs the middle of the night on the way back from the loo, alone amongst the rabbits, stars and darkness.
Collecting plastics, a twenty minute walk on Marloes beach, returning to a favourite spot, camping in West Hook farm.16.8.2009
Happening upon the South Wales Male Choir in St Davids Cathedral singing Hallelujah Chorus, just sat in silent awe.15.8.2009
A return to memories of 1969 in Bosherton, Pembrokeshire. 18.8.2009
Isle of white, in search of 1969 festival site, keep out signs, high fences and barbed wire. 2009
Walking around the Vale of the White Horse, surprised how the lines flow over the hilly landscape, it cannot be seen as a whole at once. April 2010
Hand written ‘Beach closed’ sign seen on tv, surprised how simply and immediately it exposes a strong message. 24.5.2010
Celebrating an 80th and 90th birthday on Long Mynd, Shropshire with a family walk. 2010
From The Ugly House to Bettws-y- Coed, lunch at the café with the orang-utan paintings, picked up a stone worn smooth equally on both sides, from the point where the two rivers meet.
Camping at Tryfyn and walking in Snowdonia, drinking champagne at a lake half way down Snowdon for a birthday celebration. August 2010
Drawing pathways, walking through Devils Kitchen Snowdonia. Jets scream past, close by, almost at eye level. 13.8.2010
Friday, straight up steep and long track to Ffynnon Llugwy reservoir, a hawk and three ravens search the ridge. Found small lamb skeleton in the shale slip.
Steeply down the path through Druids Grove 2013
Across the stepping stones in the Mole and on to see where a large tree has become wedged across the middle of the weir in the flood. April 2013
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