Walking & Wayfinding in the Westfjords

04/07/2024

X
Some fabulous news, , our editor, who did a wonderful job polishing all our Wayfinding texts, has recently launched his very own Kickstarter!

Theo’s a poet-musician and over the past couple of years has written and produced his debut album, The Lore of Falling Bodies. I’ve had the pleasure of listening to the whole album and really loved it. It has a lot of moving parts, multi-layered, multi-instrumental and is woven with Theo’s poetics and resonant voice.

Like Wayfinding, it’s a song of the land, though this one’s set on the south coast of the British Isles. You can listen to a full track from the album here.  

Please back him, and share through your networks. 
Link is available through our bio.

Thank you! 

20/05/2024

Deb Todd Wheeler joined me in Iceland a few years ago for one of walking artist residencies. She blew the group open with her wildness!

And I met Adam Skerrett at Martin Shaw's Westcountry School of Story & Myth—his poetry and approach to walking old myth-lines in the UK landscape struck a chord.

Both are presenting as part of the next World Trails Network 'Artists Talking Walking Seminar Series', Fri 24th, 4PM GMT.

Deb will talk about a grief ritual that ended with production of a gorgeous audio book & community project.

Adam will present his Mythwalker work, also becoming a book sharing his findings in search of the UK's old myths and songs.

It's open to all, so if you fancy hearing about some beautiful walking artwork, join! Access zoom link here: https://worldtrailsnetwork.org/walking-artists/

Ali Pretty
Deb Todd Wheeler
Adam Skerrett

23/02/2024

Today's Artists Talking Walking Seminar: Calcutta Photo Tours by Manjit Singh - all welcome! Link to join below. UK 4pm.

https://worldtrailsnetwork.org/walking-artists/?fbclid=IwAR3OFzQKLTRy3ebQmY-dJtwPazB9NopOnhA2UIG4zVqpE6ug48i9QKak-MU

World Trails Network

16/01/2024

Forthcoming....Friday 19th, UK 4pm - the next in our popular series of talks exploring the role walking artists play in shaping, investigating and celebrating trail culture. World Trails Network Kinetika Ali Pretty

Free to join, link here: https://worldtrailsnetwork.org/walking-artists/?fbclid=IwAR3OFzQKLTRy3ebQmY-dJtwPazB9NopOnhA2UIG4zVqpE6ug48i9QKak-MU

15/12/2023

Jay Simpson and I will be giving a lil talk later today - as part of the World Trails Network 'Artists Talking Walking Seminar Series'. UK 4pm - come join! Here's the link: https://worldtrailsnetwork.org/walking-artists/?fbclid=IwAR3OFzQKLTRy3ebQmY-dJtwPazB9NopOnhA2UIG4zVqpE6ug48i9QKak-MU

17/11/2023

It feels like a lie to say we 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-published these books because we didn’t do it alone... It came from years of walking with groups in the mountains and getting to know other trail projects around the world. It was a whole international team supported by family, friends, and hundreds of backers who pre-ordered books. Is 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲-𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 a thing? Can we make more art like this?
I’m thinking of the community around these books because we could use some help in the form of product reviews. If you can write a short review letting others know your thoughts, please do via 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠.𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞/𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰. As someone who always checks for reviews before buying online, I know these will be important for helping potential readers get to know the guidebook collection. In exchange, I’m happy to offer reviewers a discount code if they want to make gift purchases or help share these books with a friend.
Thank you ✌🏻
- juniper

17/11/2023

24/10/2023

x
Bang the drum, some joyful news...! ‘Wayfinding in the Westfjords’ has won the 2023 Guidebook Award at

The festival runs October 28th-Nov 5th, and Jay plans to be there - to receive our award, also hear if we've won the Grand Prize, which all category winners are entered into.

It's lovely to be reviewed & recognised this way, to know we met our goal to tell the story of the region's ecology, wild places and people. Our books were borne out of direct enjoyment and playing within the Westfjords. Then, they grew with the aid of our collaborators, funders, and numerous contributing photographers and artists. TO ALL of you who had a hand in creating this project with us, a huge thank you!

To the mountains and the ecologies they dream, may you travel slowly.

x

19/10/2023

Together with Ali Pretty, Sheena Patel and The World Trails Network, I've helped set up a series of online conversations themed around 'Walking Artists'. Between now and next July, we've got a hot programme of 10 talks from some wonderful projects and people, and culminating in the World Trails Conference in Canada.

The first one is this Friday, GMT 4pm, open to all. If you're interested to find out more, follow the link: https://worldtrailsnetwork.org/walking-artists/?fbclid=IwAR3OFzQKLTRy3ebQmY-dJtwPazB9NopOnhA2UIG4zVqpE6ug48i9QKak-MU

If you're interested in how walking, art and creativity combine, come join the fun. And for any interested in presenting, DM and we'll add you to the waitlist for future presentations.

💥🤍💫

05/10/2023

x
Very excited to share that Walking & Wayfinding in the Westfjords of Iceland is a finalist for the 2023 Best Guidebook category at the . We’re so thankful to be listed for the prize—the final announcement of the category winner will be made November 2, 2023.

I’m feeling grateful to our families, partners, friends, collaborators, and backers who made this book project possible, and to everyone that has purchased a copy to support sharing a vision for ways of being in nature and experiencing the special magic of the Westfjords.

We’re in such good company… “215 book submissions from authors in eight countries was narrowed down to a longlist of 33 finalists.” You can see the list of category finalist and more info on the festival via the link in bio.

Want to get a copy? We still have a limited amount of copies available, shipping from the USA and Iceland, for sale on our site.
x

14/09/2023

x
Finding myself amidst the blue hour, I circle back, gawp at peaks backlit by a diminishing sun, and wonder if I'll ever find love. Find it, lose it, repeat; I like mimicking a mountain's fall towards the sea. Then pick up the pieces to assemble the perfect patchwork: you in the sky riding rainbows seawards, a skip in your dreams.

05/06/2023

x
This now taken two years agoooo...as we prepared for our Kickstarter campaign at Hrafnseyri. Seems young in the memory; I'm still on the beach listening to Carnage by Nick Cave, watching whales and prodding the skeletons of beheaded steinbitur fish.

Where do you feel called back to?

25/05/2023

x
Illustration by the incomparable !
x
And a spring blessing on the way....

'Migrating, nesting birds provide a colourful backdrop: snipe tails reverberate whirring overhead to then become lodged deep in our sleep; the terns' aggressive defence of nest and chick is part comical, part terrifying; redshanks chip sharply—their low glide and guide away tantalising the predator within; while eiders coo darkly among the weeds, lulling crustaceans into a final relaxation.

And pink footed geese march their goslings across the pebbled shoreline at the slightest sign of trouble—an awkward stumbling towards safety. Spring has arrived and with it a burst of life drapes the mountainside!'

18/02/2023

Walk with us 2023

To celebrate the publication of our four-part guide, and to deepen into a loving exploration of the Westfjords’ rough edges, we invite you to walk and wild camp with us in 2023.

The invitation is to co-create a roving, carnival-esque trail experience—a kind of walking arts residency; you bring your dreaming and creativity, we provide a loose container, some direction and a space to play on the edge of the Arctic.

Formality hasn’t really been our thing and we intend to keep it that way. We are offering this walk on a donation-basis—you donate what you feel is right before or after you’ve walked with us. This hopefully makes it accessible for all and facilitates a co-creative atmosphere. Further details on costs below.

At this point, we’re scoping interest for this to happen. For more information, please follow the link and fill in the form to register your interest: https://www.henryjf.xyz/opportunities-1

24/01/2023

Books are magic ~ and I were finally able to gift our books to each other. We exchanged them after sea dipping and while mezcal sipping. is an incredible nest 🪺 of field notes and photos and love shared between people across our globe. As a bonus I added an extra copy of book Like A River, another beautiful book/portal that opens into the Amazon. Having the books out on the beach for sharing we found friendships hiding in plain sight 💙☁️🥶 join the love by participating in call to dip at 2pm on Sunday wherever you are 🦭

23/12/2022

x
Light cracking the glass I'm contained within. Try to breathe and rest, breathe and rest; resurrection's just around the corner....

12/11/2022

x
We share a provocation in 'Chapter 2: Stone' of our Wayfinding book...little did I know I'd be taking my own medicine a few months after we published it ..

The excerpt reads:

'With intentionality, cairns carry our more personal processes, too. As we walk together through these pages, ponder the provocation: what cairns are you building in your life? What are the component parts, the solid, reliable rocks, and which are the shaky elements undermining the whole? Can you shore them up, or is it time to tear down the whole stack and start again?'
x
I tore down the stack I built while writing our books on the east coast a couple of years ago. Life's been raw recently, a complete stripping back with large questions finding their way into view.

I had to dig hard to get all of the pieces out of the shingle as the sea had buried a good foot or two of it; revealing the foundation felt satisfying, a blank canvas of sorts, a hole to grieve in.

The sea washes everything away, all water ends in the ocean eventually.

###

28/09/2022

x
Hangin' with the boss, in full conference attire. Jay and I both here sharing our Wayfinding work at the World Trails Network meet up on Skiathos in Greece. If you love journeying in remote places, get involved via
x

25/08/2022

x
Autumnal lines

08/08/2022

x
I first fell for the north berry picking in Sweden. I found some beer toting Germans to share a rustic hut with, bought a berry rake then plundered trays and trays worth of berries from private hillsides (it's allowed) to then sell to a local distributor/purchaser.
x
This time of year, ask but one question, how best to burst your skin blue?
x


📸

31/07/2022

x
Eigi skal víkja - do not give way/we stayed the course!
x
Sitting pretty (or not so) atop a boulder in Valþjófsdalur, while walking a route included in our Notes on Walking book and map.
x
Very happily reflecting on shifting almost all the books we sent to the fjords. If you're still hoping for one, I've a few left in Isafjörður in both English and Icelandic.
x
📷
x

14/07/2022

x
The bottle's half full, hey?!
Little local printing at Fánasmiðjan, Isafjörður readying to give our books a little send off into the world.
x

💫

27/06/2022

Packing materials impromptu photo shoot for the Westfjords Trails Map and it’s companion Notes on Walking in the Westfjords. Years of research, careful consideration, design revisions, and intimacy with the landscapes of the Westfjords to bring this to life. Aerial map base layer provided by the incredible Loftmyndir ehf.

24/06/2022

US books are being shipped out bit by bit!! Last call address changes! Email [email protected] to make any changes asap 📬

16/06/2022

USA Book Update: still awaiting clearance from customs. Everything is ready to go once they arrive, but there is no news as to when the books will be freed from the border crossing.

04/06/2022

Happy from the Westfjords of Iceland. We celebrate trails in part for their way to connect us to landscapes and all the moving bodies (human and non-human) that created and continue bringing life to trails.

This photo was taken near the Keflavik nussled into the Westfjords, between Látrabjarg and Rauðasandur. Route 3 in Notes on Walking, which we still have copies available at wayfinding.guide/shop

25/05/2022

We're delighted to tell you about the new Walking & Wayfinding in the Westfjords guidebooks that that just came out. It's a set of guides, compendium and a weatherproof trail map, all beautifully written and designed. Essential for Westfjords lovers and all those who seek adventure and a deeper sense of place.

19/04/2022

Behold! Over the last few weeks, the Walking & Wayfinding in the Westfjords books have been sewn, glued, and bound with their beautiful covers, and our maps have been printed and folded by specialty folding machines. Now that we've provided our final approvals, it is time to freight!

For those wondering when these will be coming in the mail, get the full scoop —https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/806401069/walking-and-wayfinding-in-the-westfjords-of-iceland/posts/3484177

10/02/2022

x
PRINTING!
Join us for an Instagram live today, Friday 11th, 3pm GMT, to hear how we're getting on and for a peak behind the scenes.
x