Acclaimed author Raynor Winn embarks on a new adventure – on tour along the South West Coast Path with the Gigspanner Big Band…
Raynor Winn with the Gigspanner Big Band, fronted by Peter Knight (third from left), formerly of Steeleye Span.
Never mind Glastonbury – as far as walkers are concerned, the music event of the summer is likely to be something very different.
Raynor Winn, author of the acclaimed book The Salt Path, is teaming up with an equally acclaimed folk band for a tour of venues along the route of the South West Coast Path.
Titled Saltlines, the live shows blend beautiful songs culled from the history and traditions of the South West Coast Path, performed by a folk-rock supergroup called the Gigspanner Big Band, with new spoken-word sections written and delivered by Raynor.
The idea came from Deborah Knight, manager of Gigspanner and the wife of its frontman, former Steeleye Span lynchpin Peter Knight. A fan of The Salt Path, she was walking a stretch of the SWCP when she had the idea of combining Gigspanner’s delight in telling stories from the landscape with Raynor’s deep passion for the Coast Path and its history.
Raynor Winn.
For Raynor, a self-professed ‘folk fan from way back’, it’s a dream come true. And it’s the perfect lead-up to the launch of her latest book, Landlines, which is due out in September. It’s the story of a 900-mile journey taken by herself and her husband Moth last year, when they travelled (mostly on foot) from Cape Wrath down to their home in Cornwall. Along the way Raynor considers how the footpaths of Britain connect us all, to each other and to our history.
The July tour of Saltlines will be followed by an album and a UK-wide tour in the autumn.
You can find our full interview with Raynor – including the full stories behind Saltlines and Landlines – in the August issue of Country Walking, on sale July 21st.
For now, here are the July dates:
July 8: Taunton, The Brewhouse Theatre
July 9: Ilfracombe, The Landmark Theatre
July 10: Port Isaac, St Endellion Church
July 12: Falmouth, Princess Pavilion
July 13: Lyme Regis, The Marine Theatre
July 14: Exmouth, The Pavilions
July 16: Porthcurno, The Minack Theatre (Subject to weather)
July 17: Poole, The Lighthouse Theatre
Find more about the tour including sound and video clips, plus updates on the album and UK autumn tour, at www.gigspanner.com/saltlines
They’ll also appear at the FolkEast festival in Suffolk on August 20th, and at the Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury on August 28th.
Finally, you can hear the story of Saltlines on Matthew Bannister’s excellent walking-and-music podcast Folk on Foot.
