Lining up footsteps and words in creative ways is the subject of yet another of the highly popular and successful series of Quirky Workshops at Greystoke Cycle Café near Penrith this coming Autumn . ‘Writing can help us notice more, open the senses, free up imagination and learn more about the environment,’ says workshop leader and Scottish writer Linda Cracknell. ‘And walking is in the toolbox of most writers for rhythm and kick-starting ideas.’

Linda Cracknell is a winner of the Macallen /Scotland on Sunday short story competition and she is a fiction and drama writer who writes for BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio 4. In addition she has a Creative Scotland Award, her own selection of short stories is published and her work features in many magazines.. Her own footsteps and words over recent years have taken her along a Drove Road between Skye and Perthshire, on medieval paths in south-eastern Spain and up an Alpine peak she climbed in her father’s footsteps. ‘But a short ramble taken with the senses open and an awareness of our own, changing ‘landscape of the mind’ can be just as creative as a long or dramatic walk’, she said. See walkingandwriting.blogspot.com/ Linda’s full CV can seen at lccv.blogspot.com/

This Quirky Workshop is for walkers and writers of all ages and abilities and will be based at Greystoke Cycle Café , just 4 miles west of Penrith in the Northern Lakes. It will include an easy local walk and workshop activities designed to inspire creative thought and writing. It will allow you to explore how writing can enhance your experience of walking – leading you to notice more, open the senses, and learn more about the environment. Locally, on the Greystoke Castle Estate which the Café Tea Garden overlooks, are some beautiful walks along limestone pavement with stunning views to the Northern Lakes. Many writers relish the movement and meditation of walking as part of their creative process to hatch ideas, solve problems, establish rhythms. Participants will spend time both outside and inside – walking, writing and talking through ideas in a relaxed environment. No prior experience as a walker or writer is necessary! Booking recommended.

Linda Crcknell is visiting Greystoke Cycle Café on Sunday 13th September 10.30 am-4. 30pm. Please see www.greystokecyclecafe.co.uk for full details of this and many other Quirky Workshop Days or call 017684 83984 .