Keep the sea to your left
This week's newsletter is introduced by Martyn Howe author of The Coast is our Compass: A pilgrimage along the world's longest coastal path and our guest at our next Walking Writers Salon on Tuesday 17 March.
Why do we walk? Why do we like to be beside the sea? And what happens when you infuse these questions into a journey around the coast of England – a pilgrimage in search of art, culture, community and glorious natural wealth along the world’s longest managed coastal path? Extending well beyond the confines of a walking memoir, Martyn Howe’s The Coast is our Compass addresses all this and more.
“Getting outdoors, hiking the littoral boundaries of a nation along the King Charles III England Coast Path, I encountered diverse landscapes and communities, and learnt much about England’s environment and the social challenges that will influence our future. Through writing The Coast is Our Compass I campaign for the environment and for the protection of the landscape.”
Martyn also discovers that long-distance backpacking – a simple life, liberated from consumerism by carrying just a few important possessions, and free from online addiction – gives him time to reflect and process many issues, often through the lens of public art or through observing the juxtaposition between industry and nature. He explores England’s relationship to its coastline and its importance to our identity: the sea-cliffs, estuaries, salt marshes and beaches hold uncountable memories and heritage that shape our inner world.
‘I only went out for a walk,’ John Muir wrote, ‘and finally concluded to stay out until sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in’.
Martyn has generously donated half a dozen copies of The Coast is our Compass: A pilgrimage along the world's longest coastal path as prizes in our Shorelines writing initiative - there's a copy available for each month through to August 2026 - submit a flash story or poem of under 250 words, to be in with a chance of winning a copy.
Free for supporting members, open to everyone
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2026-03-17 19:00 UTC
· Online
We welcome back Martyn Howe as a Walking Writers Salon guest to celebrate his new book The Coast is Our Compass. Why are we drawn to a place where the land meets th... Keep reading
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Submit your work and win
What have you been working on? Submit your work to the world’s largest archive of walking pieces. If your work is recent, it is automatically eligible for the Sound Walk September or Marŝarto Awards, meaning you stand to win cold, hard, cash in the process.
Latest podcast episodes
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Join us for a heartfelt journey through the power of music and storytelling in this inspiring encore episode of takin’ a walk with host Buzz Knight. Celebrating Wom... Start listening
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What does it take to rise from the vibrant streets of Buffalo, New York, to become a celebrated voice in the music industry? Join host Buzz Knight on this captivati... Start listening
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Upcoming events
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2026-03-17 19:00 UTC
· Online
We welcome back Martyn Howe as a Walking Writers Salon guest to celebrate his new book The Coast is Our Compass. Why are we drawn to a place where the land meets th... Keep reading
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2026-03-20 11:00 UTC
· Otford (OTF), Station Approach, Otford, Sevenoaks, UK
On Friday 20 March, we invite you to join us for a free sound walk walkshop starting at Otford railway station (TN14 5QY)at 11.00am, just metres from the UK's North... Keep reading
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2026-03-21 08:30 UTC
· Online
Lead by Dora Bampali and Fay Stevens, walking is approached as an everyday, transformative social act. Keep reading
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2026-03-21 04:30 UTC
· Online
Each main course session is complemented by Trail Sessions—open sessions for conversation and collaboration lasting approximately 75 minutes. Keep reading
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2026-03-23 14:30 UTC
· Garagem Avenida EAAD, Avenida Dom Afonso Henriques, Guimaraes, Portugal
Participants trace the letters of the word Peace (in their own language) onto a map of the city. These letters become walking routes. Keep reading
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2026-03-23 10:00 UTC
· Garagem Avenida EAAD, Avenida Dom Afonso Henriques, Guimaraes, Portugal
Footnotes to Freedom is a three-part workshop exploring how freedom is experienced and expressed in the city of Guimarães. Participants share and map places where t... Keep reading
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WALC
Walking Arts & Local Communities (WALC) is an artistic cooperation project, co-funded by the European Union, Creative Europe, starting in January 2024 for four years. With seven partners from five countries, WALC establishes an International Center for Artistic Research and Practice of Walking Arts, in Prespa, Greece, at the border with Albania and North Macedonia, backed up by an online counterpart in the format of a digital platform for walking arts.
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