Historical Hillwalker PDF
The Band of Historical Hillwalkers were created by Billy Childish and myself in 2007. I'm releasing a 160 page PDF Ebook featuring the best of the documentary photos I took whilst on our walks. You'll find the download link at the bottom of this blog post.
The Hillwalkers formed out of a shared passion Billy and I had for history, creativity, and walking. He was especially inspired by George Mallory, and I by Wilfred Thesiger. We did a couple of short creative tours together with Julie Hamper - to Poland and Morocco - and then decided to open the group up to others.
Billy designed the Hillwalkers badge, and I applied for a grant to help with costs, such as paying us as walk leaders and creating an exhibition and a book that would feature all the art created by the group. A couple of months later we had the funds to begin what became a year long project.
We advertised monthly creative outings with a slow art, slow travel focus. Some events were centered around a historical figure, such as William Hogarth or Samuel Palmer, others were to view sunset, moon rise, or cherry blossoms, and others were to do things like make burgers from acorns, or view church lamps that’d been made in Damascus, or view historic buildings that were slated for demolition. And all of it was linked by the creative act.
It didn't matter what artform people worked in. Sketching, painting, poetry, photography, observation, it was all ok. It didn't have to be old style either; some people did digital photography. All we asked is that whatever members did, they did intentionally and thoughtfully, in a manner that helped them genuinely engage with their surroundings.
Billy and I planned the first few walks, then it became a group effort. We had some keen historians and naturalists among us - Jon Barker, Carol Donaldson, Maggie Drury, Mark Loos, Rachel Noxon, and Jim Hill among them - so they had a big input. In this way, we all learnt new things about the area we lived in.
We finished the project by making a book that featured highlights of the art that the group had created during the year of walking. The book was launched with a 3 part celebration. We curated an online exhibit featuring all the artwork, and an option to buy the book, and on the day of the launch we conducted a clean up of a local beauty spot near the Institute of Art and Design, and then hosted a public event/meal in an Indian vegetarian restaurant in Chatham.
In between making pinhole photographs whilst on the walks, I took lots of digital photos to document the outings. I thought it high time I formed them into some sort of viewing experience. Maybe they'll act as inspiration for a group you want to form yourself. There are some directions, too, in case you feel like following in our footsteps; Southern England is an endlessly fascinating and beautiful area. Happy Historical Hillwalking!
I'm offering the 160 page PDF Ebook for the price of a coffee. I'll leave it to you to decide what that is. Where I live it's sometimes around $5 but mostly around $3. Donate whatever you please.
Notes; I considered doing this as a standard Ebook, but they can't be as widely viewed as PDF's can. Also, whilst the page resizing that Ebook's offer can be helpful for written books, for photographic books I'm not sure it matters.
I would advise that you download the book to your PC or laptop, and then click the 'Page View' button, then 'Two Page', and then 'Show cover page seperately'. That way you'll get the feel of the book layout.
I hope you enjoy the book. If you do, please pass word of it around. Thanks.
