Walking through the backlist

Let’s stroll through some past editions of The Writer's Walk

Apr 24, 2025

A black and white photo from the 1930s of two women standing in a street. One has a small bookshelf strapped to her back and the other is holding a booking and reading it. There’s a caption beneath the image that reads: Critics are always remarking that we in this country lag far behind those of European countries when it comes to borrowing books from libraries. Well, this enterprising girl at Ramsgate solves the problem by taking her books in a rack tied to her back round the streets and from door to door and people can borrow them for a week at the price of twopence. — The Walking Library (via Smithsonian Magazine)

Hello walkers and writers 👋🏻

I don’t know about you, but I find the extended break over Easter really disrupts my routine. Working for myself means that bank holidays don’t have the same meaning as they did when I was employed (they’re basically a day off without pay). So I tend not to think of them until they’re right on top of me and I realise my calendar is unusually quiet because everyone else is out of the office.

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve put that extra time in my diary to good use with some spontaneous walks:

I hunted down the giant Easter eggs that popped up around London.
I took advantage of an unexpectedly sunny day to revisit an old favourite – the Flamborough Head coastline in East Yorkshire.
I went for a walk in Millington Wood1 where I had a chance encounter with an East Riding Council Countryside Officer who told me about Tophill Low Nature Reserve, which turned out to be a hidden gem with an abundance of birdsong.

And a quieter working day meant I was able to join Mental Health Mates Beverley for a group walk along Beverley Beck. That led to another chance encounter – with Richard Stead of BBC Radio Humberside who was there to interview walk leader, Clare Greaves, and other walkers from the community. Richard and I chatted about walking and he shared our interview on his show. If you fancy hearing about The Writer’s Walk and how I started it, it’s available on BBC Sounds until 23 May. I’m on at about 16 minutes into the show.

Anyway, all of this spontaneity and chance encountering means I don’t have the next ‘regular’ edition of The Writer’s Walk ready for you, so I’ve strolled through the archive and picked out some of the most popular past editions.

I hope you find something here to inspire your walks and writing. Stay tuned for our next edition where I’ll be sharing a new interview.

Happy walking and writing until next time.

Sarah

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