I’ve been invited by Slow Ways to be a story contributor for 2023. Slow Ways is an initiative to create a national network of walking routes connecting all of Great Britain’s towns and cities as well as thousands of villages. They aims to inspire and support more people to walk more often, further and for more purposes
Over one year, I’ll be creating 4 quarterly stories of walking journeys, which tap into personal reflective narratives, local voices and a space to be experimental. I’ll be focusing my journeys on home ground, wandering the East Norfolk/Suffolk coast and surrounding areas
Winter/January 2023: Stitches in the water
“Turning off from the Corton Road, the sea was visible again, a faintly distinguishable line between sky and sea shrouded in fog. The walk into Lowestoft on the concrete sea defences felt so different to the Gorleston stretch. At the early stage of the journey, the coastal edge was crumbly and elemental, the soundscape was gurgling water and birds wrapped around me. This concrete embankment around the Lowestoft coast is protecting homes, businesses and industry, and on the day I was walking, the palette of grey on grey made me aware of my feet starting to rub. “
Spring/May 2023: Hiking alone to one of Britain’s least-used stations
“Brushing my sides, thick grass and frothy blossoms of cow parsley are tufted with wildflowers and fennel, rising up to abundant hawthorn and cumulus. It’s bursting with life in this flat nothingness landscape. I felt grateful for the peace and warmth. The path threads through the curvy line of Breydon Water and I followed it, blending from the Aclgre one to the Weavers Way, named after the locality’s Medieval textile heritage.”
