I am a mountain lover and quiet explorer, hailing from Derbyshire, via Norway, Egypt and London. The landscapes, the people and the reindeer brought me to the Scottish Highlands, and to Aviemore, which has become my home.
Wandering and wondering about placenames in the hills led me to begin learning Scottish Gaelic. That in turn opened up a whole world of stories and songs linked to places and communities, some of which I share during the walks. I particularly like the Gaelic working songs - òrain obrach - and informal singsongs down the pub...
For most of my life I've worked with communities to uncover or draw out hidden stories or narratives, for social change. I have worked to address systemic social inequalities in the UK, in health and education, and also organised and run cultural expeditions for young people to the Middle East and South Asia for peer-to-peer learning beyond stereotypes.
The walks continue this ethos, exploring hidden gems and untold stories which are part of the fabric of places, but often hidden, forgotten or silenced. The root of what I do is to place stories back where they belong in the landscape to very literally re-story the land and skyscape. The range of walks and their content changes over the seasons and years, as my interests evolve.
A taster of the rich stories of this area can be read in the blog. Some other recent examples of my work can be seen here, and you can see more about my storytelling on the Scottish Storytelling Forum website here.
- Sarah Hobbs
Wandering and wondering about placenames in the hills led me to begin learning Scottish Gaelic. That in turn opened up a whole world of stories and songs linked to places and communities, some of which I share during the walks. I particularly like the Gaelic working songs - òrain obrach - and informal singsongs down the pub...
For most of my life I've worked with communities to uncover or draw out hidden stories or narratives, for social change. I have worked to address systemic social inequalities in the UK, in health and education, and also organised and run cultural expeditions for young people to the Middle East and South Asia for peer-to-peer learning beyond stereotypes.
The walks continue this ethos, exploring hidden gems and untold stories which are part of the fabric of places, but often hidden, forgotten or silenced. The root of what I do is to place stories back where they belong in the landscape to very literally re-story the land and skyscape. The range of walks and their content changes over the seasons and years, as my interests evolve.
A taster of the rich stories of this area can be read in the blog. Some other recent examples of my work can be seen here, and you can see more about my storytelling on the Scottish Storytelling Forum website here.
- Sarah Hobbs
Relevant to the walks, I have:
Outdoor Emergency First Aid qualification
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Gaelic for work purposes Level 3 (SQA course)
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Public Liability Insurance
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I am also working towards my Hill & Moorland Leader qualification, a nationally accredited scheme administered and awarded by Mountain Training.