Andy Howey and I had a brief but really enjoyable couple of days in Yorkshire and the Derbyshire Peak district recently, which in addition to a walk around a 12 mile stretch of the Edale skyline, also incorporated an evening in a small theatre in the town of Otley, a little North of Leeds to see the last ever performance of a two man show of song and spoken word entitled “These hills are ours” . Written and performed by Daniel Bye and Boff Whalley, it’s subject matter is essentially the story of the mass trespasses of the 1930s and 40s and the origins of the “right to roam” campaign, which initially saw large gatherings of mainly working class people from the industrial towns of Lancashire and Yorkshire attempting to hike across land owned by wealthy land owners, who were very committed to keeping the land off limits to the common man. After initial violent resistance, the land owners gave way to the inevitable and opened up large areas and many miles of footpaths, which have become the many tens of thousands of miles of public footpaths, bridle paths and rights of way, that we all somewhat take for granted nowadays.
Both of the writers/performers are committed long term, long distance fell runners and intertwine the story of the mass trespass with their own experiences, including a tough ultra distance run undertaken by Daniel, with Boff supporting him. A feature of all of their performances is that the morning after each show, they lead a group run of any game members of the audience from the venue out to the nearest countryside and hills and back. Timings didn’t allow us to take part in their run, as we had the prior appointment with the hills above Edale which were of course, the location of the first mass trespass on Kinder Scout.
Boff Whalley also holds the distinction of having been the lead guitarist of the anarcho punk band Chumbawumba, and has written a couple of books: Run Wild – which I haven’t yet read, and “Faster ! Louder ! (how a punk rocker from Yorkshire became British champion fell runner) – which I have. It tells the unusual story of Gary Devine – a friend and clubmate of Boff Whalley – who in the 1980s and 90s managed to combine a chaotic alternative punk lifestyle while working his way to becoming a champion in arguably one of the toughest of sports.
As a walker and lover of the countryside I’d say check out “These hills are ours” , but as a runner I very much recommend you read “Faster ! Louder !”, as it’s the story of two seemingly incompatible lifestyles, that somehow was made to work. Fascinating stuff. And by the way, we also managed to cram in a show at Hebden Bridge trades club by a folk singer/songwriter called Rory Mcleod whose show is a bit eccentric and spontaneous, but entertaining just the same. Hebden Bridge is a lively little town on a Saturday night if you’re ever that way!!!
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