I don’t own many books (any more). I am a good recycler, born of moving countries and leaving lives behind. Recently, I have been drawn back to one of the few books I brought with me to Canada – A Walk Across England by the “landscape” artist, Richard Long.

I went down to the sea to start

A walk across England as art.

Along lanes past flowers

In sunshine and showers

Carrying a stone each day close to my heart.

– Richard Long, Bristol 1995

Visiting his exhibition in the distant past was a pivotal moment in my life. His walks through landscapes, both impacting and observing them, slowed my own observance of the world around me. It showed the power of pacing.

It proved to me why I preferred cycling to driving in distinct environments; and why I prefer walking to cycling still, slowing me down and revealing the hidden in the surroundings.

My best ideas come to me walking, triggered by the things that go on ‘round (t)here. Long’s work is that walk, and it is so resonant to me that its power is palpable.

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