Stanza Stones Walk

N Yorkshire, W Yorkshire

A fifty mile upland walk, devised by Mick Melvin, from Marsden to Ilkley visiting the six Stanza Stones carved with poems written by Simon Armitage. Motivated by literature, it visits the places that inspired some of the area's finest writers in Haworth and Mytholmroyd.

The walk is described in three sections: Marsden to Mytholmroyd 18 miles; Mytholmroyd to Haworth 10.8miles; Haworth to Ilkley 20 miles. The Stanza Stone sites are at locations near the Pennine watershed and symbolise: Snow: Pule Hill Quarry; Rain: Cow's Mouth Quarry; Mist: Nab Hill, Oxenhope; Dew: Rivock Edge, Silsden; Puddle: Ilkley Moor; Beck: Backstone Beck, Ilkley.

The Stanza Stones project, which started at Ilkley Festival in August 2010, is focused on poems specially written by Simon stirred by his response to the Pennine Watershed and the relationship between the landscape and language of Yorkshire. The stones will form a permanent moorland trail across the watershed from Ilkley to Marsden, the home town of the poet.

The Stanza Stones Walk route is mostly different from the Stanza Stones Trail, enabling some circular options. The Walk has been in existence since 2011 when the last stone was completed. The Walk avoids as much as possible well walked footpaths and the better known routes such as the Pennine Way and the Millennium Way, but this has not always been possible. Mick Melvin met Simon Armitage and Tom Lonsdale and they have both agreed they have no objection to the walk or the web site.

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Details:

Path Type:	Other Paths
Attributes:	Challenging
Start:	SE047115 - Marsden, W Yorkshire
Finish:	SE117476 - Ilkley, W Yorkshire
Open Date:	2015
Web Sites:	Mike Melvin - Stanza Stones Walk

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Publications, Badges and Certificates:

External PDF

Stanza Stones Walk: a fifty mile upland walk  (Mick Melvin  - 2012 )

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