Celebrating Our Senses - Walk 3 - Listen

For our third walk we revisted 

the Kelmarsh Tunnel on 

the Brampton Valley Way

where we were once again joined

 by the wonderful storyteller Allan Davies 

who told tales at various points in the walk. 

Our Mindfulness meditation - Listen - was lead by Carolyn Bantin in the picnic area in the car park before the walk commenced to center our thoughts sharpen our ears and regulate our breathing.

In the clearing of ash trees and picnic tables Allan told us the story of a bucket with a hole and Carole Miles showed the group how to make a wind chime with spoons. 

All the wind chimes were hung together 

and sang out whilst we had our lunch.

Then those who dared walked into the dark of 

the tunnel towards the air vent. 

Standing in a pool of light and 

droplets of water Allan told 

a wintery tale with an 

excellent ending.

We walked in twos and threes, back along the Brampton Valley Way listening to the birds, watching a rainbow and noticing the glorious colours of autumn.

You can see the complete photo set here

Walk distance 3.5 miles.

Part of a series of Mindfulness and Wellbeing "Celebrating Our Senses" walks made possible with a Grant awarded from Margaret Giffen Community Fund and Northamptonshire Community Foundation and with support from NStep.

Puddle Jumping Panel Begins

Ros and Carole have begun work on Puddle Jumping a panel inspired by a trip made to Brampton Halt by children at Priory Lower School during the Tracing Our Tracks project in 2012. You can read about the children's visit and their time with Carole and Word In Edgeways storyteller Allan Davies here.

Even though the visit took place in the month of July there had been heavy rain the day before which resulted in plenty of very large, rather muddy puddles which just had to be explored! Carole was inspired by the children's delight at wading or jumping through puddles, in many cases, for the first time, hence the title of this panel! 

Shednology stalwart, Lucy had a burning question ...

"If I get the tiling finished today can we grout it tomorrow?!"

Carole had hoped to involve the children at the school in the making of this panel but unfortunately there was a mix-up and on the day she went to start work the children were away at their Sports day and there wasn't another date available before the end of term. However we are sure they will feel proud to know that a day they shared with the Back To Books team has become part of this project too! It's early days for the Puddle Jumping panel but we will keep you posted on it's progress, we're liking the look of it so far though!

Kelmarsh Tales of Terror

It may have taken a while but finally 

we were able to take our seats 

in amongst the trees with that master of tales

Allan Davies

Occasionally leaves twirled down from branches

landing on the picnic table and forest floor whilst Allan drew us into his world of stories both ancient and strange.

After an alfresco lunch we walked back from the New Covert, and steeling our nerves we ventured into the open side of Kelmarsh Tunnel 

with only the light of glow sticks and the 

eerily beautiful flute playing of our Pied Piper to guide us. 

You can see / hear part of the story here, even in the dark, damp tunnel, we were captivated and on the way back out, buoyed up by the experience we tested out or skills as ghosts and ghouls, making as much noise as we could!

We noticed that the trees and bushes were heavy with berries, more red than green, a sign of the winter to come.

This was our final event on the Brampton Valley Way as part of our On the Right Track project. It's been a walk through the seasons that has brought pleasure and new experiences for all who took part. 

Back to Books would like to thank Awards For All, Canada Council For the Arts, the Northampton and Lamport Railway, Northamptonshire County Council, Word in Edgeways, Kathy Page, Ros Stoddart, Carole Miles, Andrew Rushton and all our walkers, cyclers, readers, makers and writers for making this such a special project.

We are, however, not quite ready to leave the Valley Way behind us, we have a new project planned and funding secured from Northamptonshire Community Foundation and Midlands Co-operative Society Making a Difference Fund, for the creation of a series of mosaic Way Markers to be sited along the route! 

July Brampton Up-cycle and Story Telling

When you see a sign that says Beware it's handy to have a Storyteller in your party.

 Luckily Carole and the children from Year 2 Priory Lower School

had Allan Davies from A Word in Edgeways in their carriage at the Northampton & Lamport Railway

He brought us tall tales and magical music.

We up-cycled empty cardboard snack boxes

creating colourful collages with tissue paper

cutout paper shapes

and glue

Having made boxes fit for treasure

we set about creating

fabric rosettes

to carry back to school.

The children said "This is the best day ever!" 

We all remembered the joy of a tale well told and a world where a cardboard box could provide scope for the imagination. The carriage may have been stationary but our minds were full of the sights, sounds, smells and textures of an old railway line which once carried people and goods through an even older landscape.

Scoping the Route & Meeting the Tellers of Tall Tales

To get On the Right Track off to a flying start Carole Miles and Andrew Rushton cycled from Brampton Halt to Market Harborough and back along the Brampton Valley Way in order to scope out the route and plan future events. 

Healthy lunch (just ignore the pork pies!)

The bench which gave us the idea to include Storytellers in this project.

dedicated to Amit Bhattacharya Story Teller and Healer

Frisky Huskies - you never know who you might meet along the Valley way!

Not far now

A lovely park in Market Harborough ended the first part of the cycle, after a quick stop Carole & Andrew headed back the way they came, the total route is about 28 miles.

Carole met Word in Edgeways Storytellers Philippa Tipper and Allan Davies at Brampton Halt where they met Graham Peacock,

explored the station, Signal Box and walked to the end of the first section of the Brampton Valley Way.

So here's to the start of a project full of walking, talking, cycling, healthy eating, tall tales, great books and a spot of upcycling!