Ten Words For A Northern Landscape: Episode 1: Trapped

A new podcast about an ancient dale from journalist and broadcaster Caroline Beck.

Somewhere high up in the North Pennines, between everywhere and nowhere at all, is Weardale, a remote northern dale. It’s a place of old lead mines, deep worked out limestone quarries, and hill farming; the home of day-dreamers, explorers, incomers, artists, philosophers, sky-watchers, story tellers and travellers.

Over a series of ten exclusive interviews with writers and poets Caroline goes in search of what it means to live in England’s last wilderness.

In the first episode, Caroline goes on a journey underground and looks at how the North Pennines’ mines and quarries have proven a rich creative inspiration to writers.

In the former mine at Killhope, she speaks to performers and audience members of Trapped, a physical theatre and film work performed by Experiential. The piece is inspired by the collapse of the San Jose Mine, Chile in 2010, when the world watched as 33 miners were trapped underground for 69 terrifying days.

With poet Sean O’Brien, Caroline also considers WH Auden, a poet known for his urban and urbane writing, but whose obsession with the North Pennines bordered on religious, and inspired many of his greatest poems.

Narrated and recorded by Caroline Beck
Produced by Jay Sykes

Ten Words for a Northern Landscape is commissioned Northern Heartlands and produced as part of Durham Book Festival, a Durham County Council event. The recording was made possible by funding and support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council England. Look out for Ten Words for a Northern Landscape on the New Writing North podcast and Durham Book Festival website.

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