This was an eco-festival - with plenty of poetry - that put forward a positive view for the future of our world. Alnwick’s What a Wonderful World festival in Northumberland began on Thursday at Rothbury golf club with stirring words from Mike Pratt, pictured, who is CEO of Northumberland Wildlife Trust, but is also a lyrical poetry and prose writer about the environment.   

As rabbits gambolled on the scenic golf course in the twilight, Mike pointed to the marvellous views of the Simonside hills and the river Coquet from the clubhouse, and noted that the wildlife trust now has “a bit of this land”. And so it has – quite a large chunk in fact – that it is in the process of buying for many millions from a son of the Duke of Northumberland.

The trust plans to ‘rewild’ the landscape to some extent, while keeping local farmers onside, with one aim to switch from sheep to cattle grazing. Rewilding was also mentioned by the final, incomparable poet of the evening, Jane Burn, who during a performance that was softly spoken yet passionate and hypnotic, talked of wild fell ponies returning to Cumbria: “There is no tame.”

The evening was splendidly curated by the indefatigable Rothbury poetry and music night organiser Katie Scott. Other performers were folk musicians Janice Burns and Jon Doran, and Lindisfarne original member Rod Clements, who wrote Meet Me on the Corner, plus poets Ali Rowland, who has published a collection titled Rooted in collaboration with Northumberland artists and delivered  some thought-provoking poems about trees, and David Roe, who is both a chimney sweep and a spoken word artist who also teaches poetry and wellbeing.

Then it was on to the wildlife trust’s Hauxley nature reserve, one of a number reclaimed from former coal mines on the North Sea coast, for another festival event on Saturday morning.

Noel Hodgson has turned 80, but as a former PE teacher retains a vigour and bright-eyed enthusiasm which I could not hope to match. He told the audience that he had recently moved to “the city” – in fact, a village - after many years of living “in the sticks”.

He is a poet of Northumberland, and particularly the northernmost reaches of this beautiful, wild county, where he lives. He said at Hauxley: “You don’t need A-levels to go out there. You don’t need to be clever to watch a hawk hovering before it dives down.

He added: “Leave your computer behind you. I get solace and inspiration from [the countryside]. I prefer going alone, because then you can dither.” His latest collection, Stovies on Monday, is full of poems of exultation at what he has found, over many years.

It was rather magical that he was followed at Saturday’s reading by one of his former pupils, Catherine Ayres, herself a teacher who runs a poetry club at her school in Alnwick, and often brings some of her pupils along to contribute at readings.

After regaling us with tales of Noel Hodgson playing David Bowie during PE lessons, Catherine read from her recent pamphlet Janus, including poems about the ruined Dunstanburgh castle on Northumberland’s coast, and swimming with her sons in Coniston water.  

She then called four pupils up to read – Ethan, Cedric, Hollie, and Dorrit – shy, a little eye-rolling, but ultimately confident. They have reason to be proud of their work. Catherine mentioned that two of them ended up in the top 100 of the Foyle Young Poet Awards, contested by many thousands all over the world. The youngsters will soon be launching a pamphlet of their work at Alnwick’s Bailiffgate museum.

Also performing at this remarkable festival in the evening was Kate Fox, who has written a long poem, The Soil Speaks, and was also reading extracts from her collection On Sycamore Gap.

Other highlights included Earth Summit, a play with music presented by local primary and secondary school pupils; a talk on timber and a film about a 200-year-old oak tree; an appearance by Maddy Prior, lead singer of Steeleye Span; and Sing for the Planet, a workshop culminating in a performance with two local choirs.

This annual festival, based at Alnwick Playhouse but roving further afield, has been set up “to celebrate the beauty and wonder of our planet”. Its publicity flyer adds: “When floods, fires, droughts and hurricanes threaten the world, let’s stand together in hope.”   

As we all know, the changing natural climate is not the only thing that threatens us. But it’s not a bad idea to take a second look around you at the wonders of nature - and try to focus on the positive, if you can.  

 

TOP PHOTOGRAPH: WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD FESTIVAL