Quick on the draw ⦠Paul Smith sketching on the Black Path, Redcar, Teesside. Photograph: Francis Annett
Quick on the draw ⦠Paul Smith sketching on the Black Path, Redcar, Teesside. Photograph: Francis Annett
Maxïmo Parkâs lead singer, a local, walks the trail from Middlesbrough to Redcar, through a landscape that influenced Blade Runner and Brave New World
PaulSmith
Fri 26 Feb 2021 01.30 EST
Last modified on Fri 26 Feb 2021 05.03 EST
On a slow June Sunday back in 2019, I walked the historic Black Path route, from Middlesbrough to Redcar, through the heart of industrial Teesside. I was part of a âsketch-crawlâ organised by Black Path Press, a community book publishing project in the South Bank district of Middlesbrough. Artist Philip Boville had been invited along to offer insights into industrial locations along the way. The walk was coordinated with River Tees Rediscovered and Groundwork, whose expert guidance opened up a part of my local area I might never have discovered. I packed a rucksack with sketchbook, pens, pencils and a picnic, and made my way to South Bank station, a half-hour walk from the start of the path, behind the Navigation Inn in Middlesbrough.