To celebrate the publication of Walking Home: Travels with a Troubadour on the Pennine Way, Faber and Faber invites you to join one of the nations most beloved poets and authors, Simon Armitage CBE, for a very special day walking a section of the Pennine Way.
The Walk: Thwaite to Hawes (circa. 10 miles inc. a climb over Great Shunner Fell. Free coach travel from Richmond to Thwaite / Hawes to Richmond provided.)
The Date: Saturday, 21st July 2012
Departure Point: Nun’s Close car park, Richmond, 9am
Return point: Hawes (exact location to be confirmed), 5.30 pm
After party: For those with the energy and the inclination, Simon will be discussing his book, Walking Home, at the Georgian Theatre Royal, Richmond at 7.30pm. Free entrance for anyone who has participated in the day’s walk and drinks and nibbles provided on arrival at the theatre.
This will be a popular event, reservation is essential. For more information or to reserve a space please contact Hannah Marshall on 020 7927 3887 or hannahm@faber.co.uk
In the summer of 2010, Simon Armitage set out to tackle the Pennine Way. Attempting the infamous 256-mile route from north to south, instead of the normal south to north, Simon walked from Kirk Yeltholm, on the Scottish side of the border, towards the Yorkshire village where he was born. Travelling as a ‘modern troubadour’ without a penny in his pocket, he paid his way with his poetry, stopping to give readings in village halls, churches, pubs and living rooms and passing around his ‘hat’ (walking sock) at the end of each performance.
Walking Home describes this extraordinary, yet ordinary, journey. It’s a story about Britain’s remote and overlooked interior – the wildness of its landscape and the generosity of its communities. It’s about facing emotional and physical challenges, and sometimes overcoming them. It’s nature writing, but with people at its heart. Contemplative, moving and droll, it is a unique narrative from one of our most beloved writers.
Simon Armitage was born in West Yorkshire and is Professor of Poetry at the University of Sheffield. A recipient of numerous prizes and awards, he has published ten collections of poetry. A broadcaster and presenter, he also writes extensively for television and radio, is the author of two novels and the best-selling memoir All Points North. In 2010 he received the CBE for services to poetry.