Two days in which I made some serious progress on defining part of the route, although it didn’t always feel that way. Especially the case today when I made no progress on the ground, despite walking for a total of six hours. When I set out I spent some time calculating how long it might […]

In 2009 I recorded a lot of sound art. As the year progressed I grew increasingly interested in field recordings and the physicality of sound  – particularly the body and the voice. Alongside the self-released CDr’s I put together I recorded a set of sound pieces for Tom Jenks’ zimZalla press (1). This set of […]

For no particular reason I’ve settled on the last Saturday of May – the 30th – to attempt my walk. That gives me 17 weeks to train and make all my preparations. I also had my most detailed look at the map today. I discovered two things immediately: I’m already familiar with at least the […]

I’ve decided that this diary, and the rest of my currently quite vague preparation process, run the risk of turning into prevarication. Therefore I’m going to set myself a date for the walk, set up a blog, and sort out a sponsorship page once I’ve decided which charity will benefit. This I hope will encourage […]

I managed to not make a start on checking out the route at the weekend. That said, on Saturday morning I spent around 15 minutes outside [barefoot]. It was very painful.

For a couple of summers in my early twenties if I wasn’t conversing with myself while walking – or indeed entering an ego-less meditation-like state, enjoying the landscape, or making ephemeral art – I would read poetry. That usually meant Shelley – whose poetry I’ve increasingly come to regard as improvisational and performative. At least […]

A couple of weeks ago now I decided on a project that dates back at least a year. The intention is to walk around the M60, Manchester’s orbital motorway. There are a lot of steps that led here, but one main cause. Before I get into that though I should note one important thing: I intend […]