Simon Armitage

In mid-July poet Simon Armitage- who is a fixture on the GCSE English curriculum stopped overnight and gave a reading of some of his work to an audience that included Centre Staff, school students who were staying at the Centre and members of the public.

In February 2010 Armitage was considering walking the Pennine Way with no money to see if it would be possible to survive by singing for his supper like a troubadour from the past. Malham Tarn’s Head of Centre, Adrian Pickles, heard about the plan and contacted Armitage. Along the length of the Pennine way there were other offers for the wandering poet. So one sunny afternoon in July Adrian Pickles and Maggie met Simon Armitage on the Pennine Way and accompanied him down to Malham via the Field Centre.

After returning to the Centre the poet met some of his readers, signed books and read from a range of his work to the select audience including GCSE Geographers from Sheringham School. The following morning he headed south to his next stop having made notes about the Centre, his hosts and his audience, whom may feature in a book he is planning to write about his Pennine Way experience.

Adrian Pickles commented “this was a fantastic opportunity for the Centre to engage with one of the most respected living poets of our time. Simon Armitage has already referred to Malham Tarn in his earlier work and now it may well feature in the future.  We were able to involve members of the local community, visiting students and our own staff in a process that was connecting someone to the landscape. This is a special example of bringing Environmental Understanding to All through, very, first hand experience.