Walking through the backlist
Let’s stroll through some past editions of The Writer's Walk
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.
Walking to think
Walking was a huge part of Charles Darwin’s life. So much, in fact, that he created his own ’thinking path’ where he would take daily walks.
In this walk I encourage you to create your own thinking path to escape to any time you need a spark of creativity.
Walking to unplug
In this edition I shared a little bit about how I learned to channel the positive effects of walking into creativity, together with some tips on taking a digital detox walk, and paired it with a reflective writing exercise.
Walking around a museum
Taking a walk doesn’t need to mean a long-distance hike outdoors. You can find plenty of inspiration in a museum or gallery. In this edition I explored the V&A’s walking trails and paired it with an ekphrastic writing prompt.
Walking around an airport
Discovering the library in Schiphol airport’s departure lounge inspired me to think about unusual places to walk and write. This edition explores how to walk around an airport, followed by a browse through the in-flight magazine for a bit of writing inspiration.
Walking to find treasure
In this edition I explored geocaching – a hide-and-seek treasure hunt where you use an app to follow GPS coordinates to find stashes of hidden objects. Many of the ‘hunts’ can be done as walking trails that introduce you to an area while you search for the treasures.
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
Keep your eyes peeled and your inbox ready for a future edition on walking in woodland