The River Darent at Eynsford, Kent. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
The Nest Collective, which stages folk music events in green spaces, is running six nature walks along chalk streams in southern England in June. Each walk is led by the collective’s founder, Sam Lee, who is a Mercury prize-nominated folk singer, and an “eco pioneer” special guest. For example, the walk along the Rivers Cray, Darent and Thames is with biologist Dr Amy-Jane Beer. The other locations are along the Chess, Stour, Colne, Kennet, Mimram and Beane; all start and end at a railway station a short distance from London. The three- to five-mile meanders include several stops for songs and talks. The collective is also taking walkers and singers on a turtle dove pilgrimage in Sussex (10-13 June) and a salmon pilgrimage in the Cairngorms (17-20 June).
Yet, it was a record of a journey, with endless possibilities of discovery within an ephemeral line. Pinning this photo to the wall, I began to plan a journey of my own that would trail a path through Britainâs landscapes. Many long-distance routes traverse the land, running from coast to coast and ending at the sea. Digging an old map of Britain out of the attic, I drew a different line, one without a destination, linking different footpaths until they formed a loop of almost 5,000 miles around the edges of the island.
Six weeks later I rounded a corner and collapsed on to a muddy verge. It was a frosty October afternoon: day one. Months lay ahead of me.