Passengers are invited to join in a live poetry experience on a train running to Morecambe.
outside it is beautiful is a newly funded digital audio stories project exploring nature and local history along The Bentham Line, one of Britain’s earliest railway lines running between Leeds and Morecambe.
People are invited to join the team on September 25 on the 10.18am train from Leeds to Morecambe for a live poetry workshop that will contribute to the release of a printed book, art installations and a podcast inspired by the landscapes and communities the train travels through.
The podcast, featuring music by musician duo GILANK and narrated poetry created on the train workshop, will be released in collaboration with Settle Stories’ Listening Galley and on the project and partner’s websites.
The workshop will begin in Leeds and end in Morecambe at approximately 12.20pm.
En route passengers can explore the nature and heritage of locations along the Bentham train line, which runs through locations including Keighley, Skipton and Long Preston.
The poetry created on the train journey will also contribute to a book designed by London and Morecambe-based designer and editor Nick Awde, whilst local artist Alastair Nicholson will design artist panels at participating stations along the Bentham Line, featuring provocations and lines of work created in the workshops.
The poroject is curated by verity healey, international journalist, filmmaker and photographer; Sarah Hehir, poet and writer for BBC Radio 4’s The Archers; Northern writers Becky Cherriman and Erin Craine; and Ben Pearson, community producer.
The team will develop the project in 2027 with a series of extended workshops with nine community groups.
It will include a celebration day, a series of artistic creations up and down the line, and the launch of an audio stories app.
The September 2026 project is funded by the Department for Transport and Community Rail Network, Northern Community Fund, with in-kind funding from Northern Rail, the Forest of Bowland National Landscape, Wild Ingleborough and The Leeds Morecambe Community Rail Partnership.
"outside it is beautiful is a celebration of what we can see out of the train window, but often know nothing about," said verity.
"It’s easy to get on a train and forget to look out and enjoy the incredible natural landscapes we are travelling through. And often we have no way of knowing more about the people living along the route, or the nature and wildlife around it. outside it is beautiful aims to promote a greater understanding of places, nature and people.
"I really think that the live poetry workshop, which will later be turned into a podcast, will encourage people to engage with what’s out of the window on the Bentham Line and be inspired enough by it to write about it. There’s so much history, so much wildlife and related issues to learn about and celebrate, and so many communities to know.”
Gerald Townson, chairman of the Leeds-Morecambe Community Rail Partnership, said: “outside it is beautiful will provide a great opportunity to meet groups and individuals within our line’s communities and go on to tell their stories and those of their diverse communities to the passengers as they travel our route.”
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