What do you associate your favourite places with? Friends, family, happy memories? Or perhaps it’s just a feeling, physical and unexplained, which draws you back. Today, we’re in Hebden Bridge in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, and we’re heading off for a walk with my good friend, the novelist Rozie Kelly, and her little dog, Otto. We’re heading up into the woods, green and steaming from the morning’s rain, to talk about those important places — and the people that make them so.
For those new here: I’m Kathryn. I’m a nature writer, editor and essayist. In my new collection, Seaglass, I found myself returning to certain places, over and again, noticing the recurring patterns that made up the map of my life so far. Since then, I’ve become fascinated by the landscapes loved by other people - and the stories they tell.
In this series I’ve been invited out and about, by fellow writers and creatives, venturing into the spaces that mean the most to them. To explore, to chat… and to take you right along with me.
You can listen to this new episode right here, or search ‘This Place Podcast’ in your usual audio app — including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Rozie Kelly is a prose writer who, after reading English Literature and Creative Writing, moved to lovely Hebden Bridge, where she works for the Arvon Foundation hosting creative writing courses. She was shortlisted for the PFD Queer Fiction Prize in 2023, and in 2024 she won the NorthBound Book Award for Kingfisher — her debut novel, which comes out in April this year.
Often, when we meet, Rozie and I tramp off on a walk somewhere with Otto gleefully in tow, and this time was no exception. The weather — much warmer than the frosty scenes of the Calderdale these past few weeks — was mild; the air damp and leaves dripping. The excursion was a little different, however, because I had my field recorder: so that I could take you with us.
I loved making this episode — a love-letter to this steep-sided town, scored with the trickling sounds of water and laughter — and hope you enjoy listening to it, too.
With love,
Kathryn x
This podcast was produced with the support of Arts Council England. With music by Rob T and Danny Booth. Support, from readers like you, helps me to keep making and sharing it.
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