Linking the Stanza Stones in one continuous journey

Over the last few weeks I’ve been filling in the pieces of an outdoor jigsaw puzzle. Namely, visiting all of the so-called “Stanza Stones”, six poems by Poet Laureate Simon Armitage carved into rock on the South Pennine Moors. The stones are located between Marsden (where Simon grew up) and Ilkley (Ilkley Literature Festival originally sponsored the project). Each poem is based on water in its various physical states – Snow, Rain, Mist, Dew, Puddle and Beck – and there’s plenty of all up here at this time of year. The rocks themselves are variously quarry walls, existing crags and boulders, as well as stones transported to site. Some are very prominent, others more difficult to locate. It’s been like a mini-treasure hunt tracking them all down, but eventually I found all six:

There’s much to take in here – the poems themselves, their placing, the use of materials, the style of carving, how they all relate to the landscape/local area etc – all of which are potentially quite thought-provoking. However I will focus now on one specific aspect, namely the various ways in which you could link all six in one continuous journey.

As the crow flies (according to freemaptools.com) it’s 23 miles from Marsden to Ilkley, both of which are served by train stations, so immediately the idea of a route between them via the Stanza Stones seems possible. In fact, there are already three published routes that do just that:

Firstly, there is the original “official” route published by Ilkley Literature Festival, 47 miles in total (so obviously it must wind about a bit). It follows the Pennine Way to Hebden Bridge, then cuts north east to Bingley before a circuitous route around Rombald’s Moor to Ilkley.

An alternative Stanza Stones Walk has also been published by Mick Melvin, building on the literary theme by visiting Mytholmroyd and Haworth as well, homes of Ted Hughes and the Brontes respectively. This route adds a few miles to the original so it’s nearer 50 miles in total.

Lastly, there is now a Stanza Stones 50 mile Ultra, first organised by CraggRunner in 2023 and set for its third running on Saturday 7 June 2025. This route combines elements of the previous two with 5 checkpoints. With a 9am start you have 24 hours to complete the 50 miles with 6800ft of ascent. Entry is available here for £58-£70, minimum age 20 years.

Of course you don’t have to follow published routes, and it would be fun to come up with individual variations. If the straight-line distance beginning to end is 23 miles there must be scope to shave a bit off 47-50 miles! I quite like devising running routes with a loose “theme” of sorts, so if I come up with a good alternative of my own I will share it here.

As an added bonus, between the Puddle and Beck Stones on Ilkley Moor you pass the Stanza Stones Poetry Seat at Gill Head, colloquially known as Poetry Corner. Here you can contribute poems of your own by posting them in the postbox-like “Poetry Box”, and with a crank of the handle reaveal others previously-contributed. You get a nice mix of stuff in here, mostly funny or a bit rude, it’s all good fun. Here’s a couple I’ve liked previously:

More information about the Stanza Stones project, including the poems themselves, can be found here. My favourite is “Rain”, quite possibly because it was hoofing it down when I visited, freshwater tears indeed…

Be glad of these freshwater tears,
Each pearled droplet some salty old sea-bullet
Air-lifted out of the waves, then laundered and sieved, recast as a soft bead and returned.
And no matter how much it strafes or sheets, it is no mean feat to catch one raindrop clean in the mouth,
To take one drop on the tongue, tasting cloud pollen, grain of the heavens, raw sky.
Let it teem, up here where the front of the mind distils the brunt of the world.