Four poets have been getting in training for a trek next month, when they will walk from Marsden to Ilkley along the route of the six Stanza Stones, carved into stone, and written by Simon Armitage.

The 47-mile trek over more than three days is being undertaken by Michael Stewart, Julia Deakin, William Thirsk-Gaskill and Gaia Holmes, who will be encouraging emerging writers to join them for as much of the walk they wish. During this time, the four poets will give the writers constructive feedback on their work, if solicited. The walk will be launched in Marsden on Thursday 17 October, go via Hebden Bridge and Bingley, and finish in Ilkley on Sunday 20 October. Along the way they plan to link up with a number of local writing groups, including Calderdale Young Writers, Leeds Young Authors, Tadeeb International New Writers, The Writing Squad, and Ilkley Literature Festival Young Writers, plus other community groups. 

Gaia Holmes said training had been going well in sometimes tough weather conditions: “On Sunday we walked from Bingley to Ilkley and got caught in the middle of the moors in rain and severe wind. We arrived in Ilkley damp, steaming and exuding Eau De Hiker, a pungent blend of wet dog, kagool and digestive biscuit.”

The four poets will be carrying a walking sock donated by Simon Armitage to collect money for the Reader Organisation, which encourages shared reading with vulnerable and excluded people, including prisoners, children in care or excluded from school, and people suffering dementia and severe depression, as well as people entering retirement and those at risk of isolation. More details

Background: Poets offer 'walkshops' along Stanza stones trail