Blowy Bamburgh Beach with David Almond

Ramblings

BBC

Science, Nature, Society & Culture, Places & Travel

4.6 • 732 Ratings

🗓️ 27 June 2024

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

David Almond marks 25 years of his extraordinary book, Skellig, with a walk from Seahouses to Bamburgh in Northumberland. As he tells Clare, it's a landscape that has long inspired his imagination and writing.

Skellig tells the tale of Michael, a young boy who befriends a magical creature - part owl, part angel – that needs Michael’s help to survive. The book has won multiple awards, been adapted for stage, film, radio and opera and translated into 40 languages.

As they walk, David tells Clare how his childhood in the north-east shaped both his character and writing, and discusses why walking is a necessary pleasure. The stretch of coastline they’re exploring is rich with historical, religious and cultural significance and the entire region has provided inspiration for David’s writing over the years.

They met at Seahouses Harbour and walked through sun, rain and wind to the most dominant man-made feature in the area - Bamburgh Castle.

Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, I'm Greg Jenner. I'm the host of Your Dead to Me, where the best names in comedy and history
0:05.5	join me to learn about and laugh at the past. You are a traitor. And in the new series, we'll meet
0:11.2	Aristotle. I think he might have been a time traveller. Someone who's like almost a glitch.
0:15.3	We'll dive into the causes of the British Civil Wars in the 1600s. In England at this period,
0:19.8	there's people can't get on the housing ladder.
0:21.5	This sounds familiar.
0:23.2	And we'll discover the arts and crafts movement.
0:25.3	I love the clothes. I love the vibe.
0:27.1	Yes, we're a comedy show that takes history seriously and then laughs at it.
0:30.5	You're dead to me. Listen first on BBC Sounds.
0:34.3	BBC Sounds. Music, radio, podcasts.
0:37.6	The sun is bright, but it's a chilly day in sea houses. BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.
0:42.4	The sun is bright, but it's a chilly day in sea houses in Northumberland.
0:47.4	The wind blowing in our faces, the gulls sweeping and circling overhead,
0:50.3	and the North Sea waves crashing into the coastline.
0:55.4	This is one of my favourite places in the world and whenever anyone says where should we walk,
1:01.7	I say come to Northumberland, walk the north-east coastal path, walks St Cuthbert's Way, walks St. Oswald's way which starts on Holy Island, comes down the coast and then heads inland. But we often explore
1:07.5	the theme on ramblings of how landscape influences literature, and I'm intrigued by it, so who better to walk with, and an author who very much comes from this place.
1:18.6	David Armand is alongside me, and many, many, many millions of children will have known his work Skellig, which was a huge hit and has recently been republished
1:31.0	hasn't it David with new illustrations yeah it's 25 years old now so for the special 25th anniversary
1:37.5	edition we had wonderful artwork done by tom de freston the first time it had been illustrated
1:42.4	it has been illustrated in other countries but
	...

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