Talking Walking

14/07/2021

Storyteller Hugh Lupton talking walking

https://www.talkingwalking.net/hugh-lupton-talking-walking/

An interview with Hugh Lupton, a storyteller, living in East Anglia, who has been walking the lanes and ways of Norfolk learning stories through walking, and sharing them across the globe.

30/04/2021

In 2010 Jonathon Stalls walked from Delaware to California, crossing the United States on foot in 242 days. Quite an endeavour but it pales besides what he has achieved in the last ten years. He is the founder and creator of Walk2Connect walking beside thousands of people. It began in his home state of Colorado, and has expanded to several states, and even to the UK....

https://www.talkingwalking.net/jonathon-stalls-talking-walking/

In 2010 Jonathon Stalls walked from Delaware to California, crossing the United States on foot in 242 days. Quite an endeavour but it pales besides what he has achieved in the last ten years. He is…

17/01/2020

Thinking deeply and walking slowly - https://mailchi.mp/73141c2fcdf3/thinking-deeply-and-walking-slowly listen in to outdoorsman Mark Reid and join us for Winter Slow

10/01/2019

A midweek amble to reveal hidden history or a plunge into a dystopian future? - January excursions from the Museum of Walking and if you can't join us on either adventure, then sit back and listen to our latest episode of Talking Walking. https://mailchi.mp/2c273b6106e7/a-midweek-amble-to-reveal-hidden-history-or-a-plunge-into-a-dystopian-future

23/12/2018

"Walking makes you care about a place more; you have more attachment to it. If more people were walking then there would be more engagement, and more care for our cities." So says fellow podcaster Rick Pearson as he accompanies me to London's highest peak https://www.talkingwalking.net/rick-pearson-talking-walking/

An enthusiast for discovering London and it's outskirts on foot, Rick provides us all with an entertaining and though provoking podcast of each of the borough summits to which he has invited someone to conquer with him. Unsure as to why he saved the highest for me, but I did have some affinity with the area as I had worked in publishing in nearby Sevenoaks. We clambered even higher than Westerham Heights, but we were in Kent or Surrey then, so descended to Bromley and London's highest peak.

This is the last in the challenge I set myself back in September, and tells you that I haven't yet published 100 interviews - in fact I am about 8 short of the target. I have them 'in the can' but haven't found the time to get them published. So the sense of achievement of reaching the end of the challenge to listen to each podcast and facebook & tweet about it, wasn't as euphoric as I had hoped as those last 8 have eluded me.

Often uncelebrated and rarely visited, the summits of each of the London boroughs can be somewhat of a let down, by the time you reach them. However, in the company of Rick Pearson, even the climb…

22/12/2018

Walking with poles in suburban south London makes me feel a tad self-conscious but what is clear is that it makes you exert more effort and gets you walking faster. Sonya Brennan shares her personal story as to how she began Nordic walking and why she devotes 30+ hours a week to getting others to try it https://www.talkingwalking.net/sonya-brennan-talking-walking/

Andrew Stuck is intrigued by Nordic Walking, not least as it is rapidly growing in popularity. Some of the questions that come to mind include: what attracts people to go for a walk using poles, wh…

21/12/2018

Accommodation, adjustment or compensation are all words that can be used as we struggle with growing older and becoming less able. ARTIFACTS have made the transition the core catalyst of their performance work out and about on foot. https://www.talkingwalking.net/artifacts-talking-walking/

Coming to terms with how disability can mark you out as different and how ageing can make you feel that everyone else sees you as 'old' or decrepid' - something that comes on earlier for women than men. It's the limitations of loss of stamina, strength, peripheral vision, confidence in balance, and whether you accept aids, such as a cane, as an aid or as a stigma, may determine how you live later life to the full.

20/12/2018

"A lunchtime walk out of the office, with the muffled sounds of the city providing a calming element, is good for the brain and for the body." So says, Tom Hall, managing director of Lonely Planet Guides https://www.talkingwalking.net/tom-hall-talking-walking/

He isa real enthusiast for getting out an about in foot - he calls it snatching learning in short bursts - and the neighbourhood surrounding LP's London offices is as rich in lived history as well as in 'monumental destinations'. You probably wouldn't expect anything less from a seasoned travel writer, but Tom enthusiasm is infectious - just listen, and tell me that he doesn't get you out next time you are in the office or studio.

It is hard to find anyone more enthusiastic in revealing the hidden histories of London while walking around its backstreets than Tom Hall. Once you learn he is Editorial Director, and as he says, …

19/12/2018

"Seeking out delightful places in which to walk and emphasising the delight in walking are ways of winning political hearts and minds...Teaching seniors (as they vote) and teenagers to become pedestrian advocates." Advice form Wendy Landman of https://www.talkingwalking.net/wendy-landman-talking-walking/

is now seen as beneficial to the health of Americans, so more effort can be expended on making improvements in the built environment and incorporating the needs of pedestrians (and cyclists) in new road developments, rather than in awareness-raising. This is a shift in WalkBoston's advocacy strategy. Improvements for pedestrians are affordable, the simplest being repainting crosswalks, or changing timings on traffic signals.

Well worth listening to Wendy as she explains how valuable grass root engagement through public health agendas concurrent with state level advocacy s proven to be successful in and wider , and could be applies elsewhere.

Andrew Stuck was attending the Made of Walking gathering of artists at La Romieu in remote south west France, when Andrew was surprised to meet American walking activist Wendy Landman, an executive…

18/12/2018

"Weary at the end of a period of long walking, try chanting and you will find that tiredness ebbs away." So recommends Richard Smith, who seeks out 'thin places' to walk fast, chant and think more clearly. https://www.talkingwalking.net/richard-smith-talking-walking/

Richard is no slouch, he walks at a terrific speed, and apparently goes even faster when using alpine poles, and he is a busy man too. Cancer specialist and surgeon gynaecologist, he's open to complementary therapy, hypnotherapy and walking as restorative exercise. He writes books too and we talk about his personal journey and how walking can unlock the conscious.

A must listen for anyone who wants to delve deeper into why walking is so beneficial to us.

Although quite a few inches shorter than Andrew Stuck, Richard Smith was one of the few people Andrew has interviewed who has walked faster than he does. Andrew had to stop a couple of times while…

17/12/2018

"It always surprises me how great a need there is for people to walk out and connect with nature - it helps them to expand perceptions of themselves, as well as of the natural environment fo which they are part." in residence Bibi Calderaro https://www.talkingwalking.net/bibi-calderaro-talking-walking/

Undertakig sensory walks of up to 4 hours in duration, Bibi Calderaro leads participants through an embodied sensory walk, in woodland, meadow and where water flows. Her desire would be to offer participants an even more immersive experience, attuned to in which people would walk during the day and into twilight and then stay over in the natural environment.

On a Skype call, Andrew Stuck talks to Bibi Calderaro, an Argentinian artist and forest therapist, living in Brooklyn, USA, who has recently devised a number of sensory walks on behalf of the US Na…

16/12/2018

"We know longer follow maps, they now follow us." wise comment on technology and finding your way from Grace Adam who created whimsical signs for finger posts in Queen's Wood https://www.talkingwalking.net/grace-adam-talking-walking/

"When Winter comes, Spring is never far behind." or "After dinner sit awhile, after supper, walk a mile" are two quotes, the first from Shelley, that greet you as you seek your way through the woods. Self-funded but with permission form Haringey Borough Council, Grace Adam designed temporary signs to fit the existing Victorian finger posts - she didn't need to remove any existing signs as each post comes with 7 slots, far more than needed for directional signs.

A protector of public space, Grace argues that we should fight to save our woods and green spaces from the encroaching developers, and we wholeheartedly support her 'light touch' way finding that gives a pause for thought to those who walk their dogs or commute to Highgate tube, through these charming woods.

On an icy December day, walking with a friend in Queen’s Wood in north London, Andrew Stuck came across an intriguing set of pedestrian signs on which were written lines of poetry, lyrics, and inst…

15/12/2018

"Try to make a difference to someone's life by going on a walk with them." from geek Nick Hallisey of https://www.talkingwalking.net/nick-hallissey-talking-walking/

What's the best job you have ever had? Nick is certain he has fond his dream job and he has been at for 10 years - researching, commissioning and writing content for magazine. We shared something more than just walking in common, but it was clear who was the 'professional' when it came to preparation for a walk beside the River Cam. Nick never wears cotton (merino wool being his choice for underpants!) - always a polyester t-shirt as a base layer. Stout walking boots too - unlike me in my open toed Tevas. He has a head torch too and a compass, althugh even I can cope as I know we only need to keep the Cam on our right and we'll get to Cambridge from Grantchester.

His enthusiasm is infectious and as he says "you can't really find a more lovely free happy activity' to go on - let alone be paid to undertake.

A warm mid-summer’s day stroll through the Grantchester Meadows beside the river Cam should have been the idyllic setting for an interview by Andrew Stuck of Nick Hallissey, Deputy Editor of Countr…

14/12/2018

"Walking opens space for dialogues, for more reflective conversation. It shifts the power balance in the typical research interview." Maggie O'Neill has been walking borders chosen by asylum seekers, migrants, s*x workers and the homeless https://www.talkingwalking.net/maggie-oneill-talking-walking/

A walk not only reflects the everyday lives of the asylum seekers she has walked with, but also helps them to establish their citizenship. An intimacy is shared while walking, allowing each other to share intimacies and personal histories.

Maggie O’Neill is a leading academic researcher in criminology and sociology. Walking is a key element of her ethnographic research into the lives of asylum seekers, the homeless, refugees and s*x…

13/12/2018

"Walk in the rain, walk with an umbrella, walks much as you can, walking is not just for fine days and it has so many benefits." So says Terence Bendixson, now President of Living Streets, and life-long campaigner for better urban environments for those on foot.https://www.talkingwalking.net/terence-bendixson-talking-walking/

It all starts when we are children. As parents we can walk with our children to school, teaching them how to be observant, and acclimatising them to walking independently. We lear that to make the walking environment better we need to badger our local councillors to make things better.

Remarkably most cars are used less than 5% of the time. They take up space and cause blockages for those on foot. Terence is a strong advocate that traffic management needs to offer fewer opportunities to car owners. If you own a car and it is parked outside your home or office, it is too tempting to clambering into your own personal private cabin, surround yourself with your things, listen to your choice of music, and drive as it is so convenient. We need to sort out our cities so that there is far more attractive opportunities for people to undertake their daily errands on foot.

Terence Bendixson, journalist and author, is probably the longest serving campaigner for pedestrians throughout the world, and is now the President of Living Streets in the UK, the charity formerl…

12/12/2018

"Over long walks as in pilgrimages, temporary communities form; duration appears to allow intimacy to occur quite quickly, and stories are shared." Julie Poitras Santos recreates long group walks using labyrinths https://www.talkingwalking.net/julie-poitras-santos-talking-walking/

Site is also very important, for it provides material meaning, a stronger connection with the locale. Julie lays out a labyrinth, created from local material, and invites people to walk through the labyrinth as a group, not individually. You follow one spiralling path into the centre and then out from it. You become aware of others treading that path, not just in the same direction, but soon as if on a path in the opposite direction. One's desire is for the journey to continue.

Before entering the labyrinth, Julie invites you to think about a time when you were lost, either physically, spiritually or metaphorically, and then to walk through the labyrinth, remembering how you found yourself. After everyone has walked the labyrinth, she then asks you to share your story of how you found yourself.

It is a lovely experience and as she says one quickly shares intimacies about your own life, your fears and how you overcome them. Therapy, clearer thinking or is it just contemporary, live social art?

Chatting to Julie Poitras Santos, you can’t help but be enthused by her sheer exuberance about her work in bringing people together to walk and tell each other stories. A lecturer at an art school …

11/12/2018

Poet, philosopher and walking artist, Geert Vermiere describes walking 'as active passiveness nothing happens-ness'. He is also an advocate of 'togethering' bringing people from 'all walks' to share and collaborate https://www.talkingwalking.net/geert-vermeire-talking-walking/

Whether it is nomadic discourse or walking in silence, Geert is an enthusiast for letting people explore walking in their own way. Producer of the 'No Tours' open source geo-located publishing app, he somewhat baffled technologists by asking for an app that helps people to get lost.

Geert finds remote places that are linked to pilgrimage, to which he invites people to practice 'togetherness' calling these happenings 'Made of Walking'. This interview was recorded towards the close of one such, at La Romieu in September 2017, and with the help of an attentive audience, we find our way into Geert's creative consciousness. We hope you will enjoy it too.

        As the five day 2017 Made of Walking event in La Romieu, south west France drew to a close, Andrew Stuck had an opportunity to talk to Geert Vermeire, it’s organiser and…

10/12/2018

Write a 'walking piece' where you let the participant choose where they walk, however, ensure they all end up at the same point? Challenging proposition but not one that Duncan Speakman would have any trouble composing https://www.talkingwalking.net/duncan-speakman-talking-walking/

Duncan admits he isn't always comfortable about relinquishing control, so he finds ways through the musical core for which participants may be unaware, yet choose to change their pace or direction. Duncan loves to use the existing technologies that we carry around, to enhance our own interpretations of what's local rather than communicating with others more remotely. You may be invited to walk in a pair, building trust with your partner, coaxing each other to undertake actions that you may not have considered on your own.

So multi-layered are the routes that Duncan creates and follows in the making of his works, it is surprising how simple and profound they seem to participants. Here's a master story maker and musical composer making great work that you can only enjoy by stepping out on foot.

09/12/2018

"For too long seated and surrounded by artists listening to sound art compositions, it was time to reach beyond that audience, get people up, walking listening through a bodily experience." so says Bruce Mowson on Adventures in Sightlessness https://www.talkingwalking.net/bruce-mowson-talking-walking/

Bruce seeks out spaces with different acoustic ecologies and invites people to feel, touch and listen their way through such spaces. He is as much interested in people's reaction to his invitations he is in their bodily actions as they undertake such a task. For him, he has found the familiar challenging - his mental map of his home town of Coburg, Melbourne is inadequate when his sense of sight is withdrawn.

Years of repetitive takes in the recording studio and in making sound sculpture and sound art compositions, Bruce now feels liberated as he creates walking experiences that rely on listening.

Andrew Stuck, producer of Talking Walking, may have been podcasting for ten years, but he always has a little bit of trepidation when he is about to interview an artist who works in sound. Out and…

08/12/2018

"'Pedestrian' is a description of prose, which latterly was applied to those who walk. 'Common Nightwalker' was an un-gendered term from the applied to anyone breaking a curfew - a power stilll technically current until the " These and more gems form Matthew Beaumont https://www.talkingwalking.net/matthew-beaumont-talking-walking/

We learn how homelessness is unchanged for over a thousand years of urban history, and how Will Self's answers to the gendered city is to apply a curfew only to men, so that women can safely enjoy the streets of our towns and cities without fear of attack or abuse.

Matthew Beaumont has written a page turner of social and literary history, covering the period from the Common Nightwalker statute of 1285 right up to his 19th Century hero, Charles Dickens. Dickens is probably the best known walker - compulsive, neurotic, speedy and yet a genius at noticing and recording his observations.

Can't wait for the second volume that will bring us up to today....

It is a busy summer lunchtime in Bloomsbury, and we are within a ‘stone’s throw‘ of where Charles Dickens once lived. Andrew Stuck, producer of Talking Walking, is in the company of Matthew Beaumo…

07/12/2018

is a nebulous concept to grasp as most of us as individuals feel we have little agency in making it better. 8 Breaths is an engaging way to raise awareness and give people tools for action. Listen to artists Kat & Mariana who produced it https://www.talkingwalking.net/8-breaths-talking-walking/

Mariana was brought up in smog-filled Mexico City and had a childhood limited by continuous days of grey skies and air pollution warnings. It may not yet be as bad as that in UK cities, but Oxford where 8 Breaths was first performed and London have dreadful air.

Simply by turning off car engines when stationary would help - as a pedestrian you become rapidly aware of just how many drivers are oblivious and sit in their vehicles with the engine running. Diesels are particularly unpleasant.

8 Breaths Oxford is produced by Katherine McGavin and Mariana Galan Tanes Air quality is an issue which is grabbing media interest both here in London and elsewhere. It is a nebulous, hard to gras…

06/12/2018

As an environmentalist, our's is not to impose a narrative but to let the sounds an scents around us prompt our imaginations. Sharon Thompson is a vocalist and musical theatre professional devising listening walks through rain forest https://www.talkingwalking.net/sharon-thompson-talking-walking/

Sharon is also a key contributor to theatre company 'one step at a time like this' that makes productions in the city. The shows have to be elastic enough to accommodate what might be encountered so the skill is in how to play with serendipity, without losing the attention of the audience.

You could call her environmental work of listening and singing in the rain forest as 'soft campaigning', but it has proved effective in helping to protect natural places from development including golf courses and leisure complexes.

Well worth a listen....

Australian Sharon Thompson trained as a classical singer and contemporary vocalist, worked in a variety of musical contexts, in addition to performing and devising, she coaches solo artists for TV …

05/12/2018

"The city is an amazing set and provides and amazing cast, we realised that nothing could stop us creating work, not even a lack of funding." So says Julian Rickert of 'One step at a time like this' https://www.talkingwalking.net/julian-rickert-talking-walking/

Julian makes 'site-responsive' theatre work for an audience of one at a time - often here is no characters, no narrative - it is all left up to those taking part to use their imagination and in part to serendipity, chance encounters en route.

He has found that the more you choreograph and prescribe a route, the greater the freedom the audience believes they have. I can't wait to try out one of his productions. Some are audio based. others use a technique in which you follow a character through the city, in what they call 'follow film', and yet in other works, there is neither audio or video, but just happenstance.

Julian is a key collaborator in an unusual theatre company called 'one step at a time like this' - should you ever be anywhere they are producing work, fight to get a ticket.

04/12/2018

"Biggest risk for those with mobility, voluntary or involuntary movement issues is if you fall and break your leg, what likelihood is there of recovery?" Lise Pape, product inventor of Walk with Path is a battling to reduce falls https://www.talkingwalking.net/lise-pape-talking-walking/

'Freezing' is common for Parkinson sufferers - suddenly your feet will not move forward - you lose your balance, stumble, or fall - anchored to the ground. However, it is proven that you can break this pattern by creating a visual object as a 'potential trip hazard' for the person to step over. So 'Walk with Path' creates that visual cue, but generating a laser beam in front of each step, ingeniously generated by the pressure of the foot on the ground. Listen to this interview and hear Lise giving a far better explanation than I can in writing this post.

She is also on the path to helping those with diabetes or other sensory neuropathy, as they have a tendency to lose nerve sensation in the soles of their feet. She has invented an shoe in-sole that fires off vibrations that mimic the lost nerves.

So there is a lot more to consider when you next take a step.....

Imagine inventing and developing a product that will improve the lives of thousands of people. That would be an exciting and satisfying prospect. Imagine you develop two at the same time….. …

03/12/2018

"if you haven't experienced car-free spaces you don't think you want them, so creating such opportunities even on a temporary basis is really valuable." so says Kristie Daniel from Healthbridge talking about https://www.talkingwalking.net/kristie-daniel-talking-walking/

Katmandu has discovered that since the devastation earthquake, residents want more car-free spaces and streets - as vehicles tend to shake already unstable houses - there is also a desire to celebrate life in the streets.

Kristie is the co-ordinator of a huge "Liveable Cities" project galvanising advocates on the ground, in local NGOs to continue to lobby for better parks, greens spaces and places for pedestrians to walk and play safely. She makes what is obviously a very demanding task seem incredibly simple....have a listen

02/12/2018

Tim Ingram-Smith has walked some 300+ miles on a spiral route through London, on the second Sunday of every month and is still at it. He is walked through many pedestrian-deserted areas - find out more or join him: https://www.talkingwalking.net/tim-ingram-smith-talking-walking/

What is clear is that there is a scarcity of land in London and Tim has become convinced that what the expanding city needs is to open up new natural land and not just looking to build on it. He is very aware of the need for 'breathing space' for London's residents.

It all started back at Kings Cross in 2015, and his route has spiralled to include Thames crossings, of which there are so many open to pedestrians as you go east. The final destination could be Gravesend where there is a ferry, but then again, you can almost hear the shrug of his shoulders, 'why should he stop there and instead just keep on going?' He thought in the final stages he might be walking alone, but he has picked up a band of loyal followers who join him for his Sunday strolls, so next Sunday you could join him too - just get Upper Warlingham station (train from Victoria, Whyteleafe station is close by too) to at 1pm (on Sunday 9 December).

Andrew Stuck first met Tim Ingram-Smith back in 2015 when he came on a walkshop to reveal the lost neighbourhood of London’s Kings Cross, on which Andrew had collaborated with fellow Talking Walkin…

01/12/2018

Martin Foessleitner is a way finding specialist he tells us that information design is about "how quickly we can get familiar with unknown things, routes or places" https://www.talkingwalking.net/martin-foessleitner-talking-walking/ He is from Vienna so there's a lot in this interview about drinking coffee!

His recommendation to everyone is to observe all your habitual journeys, whether to work, shops, to visit friends etc. and to walk them, for you will be amazed how quickly you get to them, then try out local places as you pass them. We all need to spend more time outdoors, discovering our local areas, bumping into people, making acquaintances, that way we become less unfamiliar and fewer people are strangers. Places become safer.

Martin makes a convincing case for how important clear and concise way finding information for people walking in the streets, whether they are locals, day visitors, or tourists. He describes the 8-minute neighbourhood and how important it is to have accurate information for the first step - for going in the wrong direction is most frustrating for those on foot.

Comparisons are made of way finding with making the best espresso - strong, short, simple and very sweet - you wouldn't expect anything less in

30/11/2018

"It is a great opportunity to be in the company of people who share your interests and enthusiasms." so says Ben Waddington, director of 's Still Walking Festival https://www.talkingwalking.net/ben-waddington-talking-walking/

Working through an apprenticeship as a walk leader and tour guide, Ben Waddington, realised that he couldn't become the 'know all' of Birmingham, so instead invited others to who might shares enthusiasm for getting 'under the skin' of his home city, and thus began the Still Walking Festival

Now in its 7th or 8th reincarnation, Ben is relishing being the festival director, supporting others who have a particular knowledge of the city that they want to share, be it defunct cinemas, lichen or the life of a city industrialist. Ben is welcomes any theme, so should you have something to share about Birmingham, but haven't dared to put yourself up in front of a small group, then why not listen to this interview and drop Ben a line.

29/11/2018

Long before the came to Derry St Muriel Spark used this route as her shortcut to get home. Trace more of 2DEC

It is 100 years since the birth of Dame Muriel Spark, acclaimed Scottish author, poet, literary critic and biographer – knighted for her contribution to British literature. The adaption for t…

29/11/2018

Almost every city has a 'notorious neighbourhood', but do the people living there feel that it deserves such a cliche'd description? Diana Wesser works with Antje Rademacker to dispel these cliches https://www.talkingwalking.net/diana-wesser-talking-walking/

Inviting residents to show them the places where they live and exchanging cakes for stories, is a novel way of engaging with locals and psycho-geographically mapping cities.

Building trust, to such extent that residents open their doors to strangers and share stories and cakes, passing the baton of a self-guided wander through their local neighbourhood, debunking the myths and associated cliches.