The festival opens at 6pm on Frieday 26 January with Cook Out, as Harrison Ward (aka Fell Foodie) shares stories from his first book of gourmet recipes that can be cooked on a single-ring camp stove while out in the wilds. There will be samples!
Also at 6pm at the Go Tweed Valley Visitor Centre on Peebles High Street, William Young delves into Ghosts of the Forest, a book about the lost land that gave birth to the many enigmatic legends associated with the Border region, exploring the ancient hillforts, sacred stones and holy wells where traces of this lost culture still linger.
Back at the Eastgate, at 8pm, adventure cyclist Kate Rawles talks about The Life Cycle, her account of a year-long journey on “Woody”, a self-built, bamboo-framed bike along the length of South America to explore the continent’s biodiversity. Told with trademark good humour, this is part cracking travel story and part call to arms.
On Saturday 27 January, the festival restarts at 11am with Peebles’ own writer/adventurer Kerri Andrews who has followed up her bestselling book Wanderers with Way Makers, the first anthology of the rich literary heritage created by generations of women walker-writers. Kerri appears in conversation with Anna Fleming, author of the celebrated climbing memoir, Time On Rock.
Later, at 1pm, Jenna Watt introduces Hindsight, the story of her experience of stalking a deer hind on a vast Highland estate – an exploration of wilderness and Highland identity.
The extraordinary story at 3pm is Stone Will Answer, the tale of how young stone mason Beatrice Searle crossed the North Sea and walked 500 miles through Southern Norway taking with her a 40-kilo stone from Orkney. Her unique adventure asks what lessons might be learned from stone, what we choose to carry with us, put down or pick up again.
The culmination of this year’s festival is a headline evening appearance by Andrew Cotter at 7.30pm. A world away from his busy life working as a sports broadcaster on events such as the Rugby Six Nations, Wimbledon and the Olympic Games, Andrew likes nothing better than relaxing with his dogs, Olive and Mabel – ideally up a mountain.
But these are no ordinary dogs: the pair became international stars in a series of hilarious video contests created during lockdown and which spawned two books about life with the endearing and eternally hungry pair. Andrew will chat about his adventures with Olive and Mabel and, of course, his side hustle as a broadcaster for some of the world’s most prestigious sporting events.
Tickets for each event are available now from the Eastgate Theatre box office. Telephone 01721 725777 or online www.eastgatearts.com
The 2024 Wild Writers Festival is supported by Go Tweed Valley and Durty Brewing.
