Robert Macfarlane, Stuart Maconie and the Provocation programme at Timber Festival

Gemma Gibb, Associate Editor

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Timber Festival

6-8 July 2018

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Timber festival is the place to head to this summer to meet and hear from inspirational minds in the fields of literature, science, philosophy and education who are currently contemplating what woodlands, trees and nature can mean to us today.

In Wilderness Tracks, BBC Radio 4’s Geoff Bird will be joined by best-selling author of The Lost Words Robert Macfarlane, multi-instrumentalist Erland Cooper and BBC Radio 6 Music and Radio 3 presenter Elizabeth Alker for lively conversation and eclectic musical choices as they reveal the six nature-related songs that have made it onto the wilderness soundtrack of their lives.

Those inspired by Macfarlane’s quest to collect and preserve natural words should not miss the chance to catch the premiere of the outdoor theatre adaptation of Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris’s bestselling book The Lost Words: Seek, Find, Speak at the festival too.

Broadcaster, writer and president of The Ramblers Stuart Maconie, meanwhile, will deliver Timber’s inaugural keynote session. Having walked the woods and byways of this country for decades, Stuart will muse on the changing nature of the landscape in a post-industrial Britain, the great pull of the natural world and how rambling ever became cool.

Robert Macfarlane
Robert Macfarlane

Hear from Chris Watson, the world renowned recorder of wildlife and natural phenomena. In an interview with Elizabeth Alker, he will be revealing how he brings the joys of the natural world to life in the TV, radio and film programmes we know and love.

BBC Presenter Lindsey Chapman (Springwatch Unsprung) will be chairing Happily Ever After. Together with panellists including authors Sara Maitland (Gossip From The Forest), poet Karen McCarthy Woolf (Seasonal Disturbances, An Aviary of Small Birds) and storyteller Ian Douglas, expect rich discussion about how forests have provided some of the most evocative backdrops in literature, art and film. From Gawain to Grimm, Shakespeare’s Arden to Boorman’s Deliverance and beyond.

Karen McCarthy Woolf will be performing brand new piece The Music of Trees, specially commissioned for the festival and Jonathan Drori will be reading from his first book, Around the World in 80 Trees, sharing fascinating stories of his encounters with majestic trees from all over the globe.

Lindsey Chapman
Lindsey Chapman

Twitchers can rejoice by putting the new Collins Bird Guide app to the test in a walk with eminent nature publisher Myles Archibald. Take part in a discussion on birdlife with a panel of ardent bird lovers including the RSPB’s Jaqueline Wier, poet Paul Farley, guitarist and BBC Radio 3 presenter Tom McKinney and birdwatcher and author Tim Dee.

There’s also the chance to take a walk in the forest with award-winning poet and BBC Radio 4 presenter Paul Farley as he explores how philosophers and thinkers revolutionised our relationship with woodlands and can help us to “live deliberately” today.

If this isn’t quite enough food for thought, there are daily sessions on environmental stories of the moment chaired by The Ecologist and My Green Pod, a discussion on From Field To Fork chaired by Pebble magazine, Living With Trees, curated by radical arts and environmental charity Common Ground and the role on money-making on sustaining Britain’s Woodlands with Making Local Woods Work. Not to mention the chance to have further discussions every evening in Charcoal Sessions with leading thinkers including Tony Greenham, Alun Watkins and Melissa Sterry.

Contemplate all you have discovered while relaxing in tents suspended between the trees, on a dawn run or in the eco spa. Phew.

Where to go near Robert Macfarlane, Stuart Maconie and the Provocation programme at Timber Festival

Hern Food
Leeds
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Hern

This produce-driven bistro in Chapel Allerton, Leeds, prides itself on cooking with the only finest ingredients and his headed up by Cordon Bleu-trained chef Rab Adams.

Indie Makers
Leeds
Shop
Indie Makers

Indie Makers, located in Leads’ corn exchange, trades in art and gifts from independent makers across the UK.

Plant Point
Leeds
Shop
Plant Point

Plant Point is designed to help you bring the jungle into your urban or suburban space. The home of beautiful plants in Leeds.

Leeds
Restaurant
Eat Your Greens

Eat Your Greens is a vibrant, organic restaurant bringing a hint of European flair to the city’s plant-based dining scene.

Sela opened in 2004 with an idea to provide quality imported beers from around the world, fun cocktails to compliment the beer selections and a stage for the region’s finest and most talented musicians to play on.Over ten years later, we’re still all about the beer, cocktails, live music and pizza!We carry over a selection of over thirty different beers spanning the globe from Pickering with The Great Yorkshire Brewery’s Yorkshire Blackout, to New York with a selection from Brooklyn Brewery, and Belgium with longtime Sela favourite, Vedett.Our cocktails change regularly too. Our best-sellers are joined by fun, new offerings and our pizza menu is regarded as one of the best the city of Leeds has to offer.As for the live music, Sela has had not only the great and the good from the region. Local funksters, The New Mastersounds are regular visitors and we stage the amazing Mojah Reggae Band for their weekly Wednesday residency.  Our other long running programming incl
Leeds
Restaurant
Sela Bar & Pizzeria

Sela Bar is a cosy Leeds basement spot with live music, great drinks, and a cool, laid-back, atmospheric vibe.

Leeds Beckett SU
Leeds
Restaurant
Leeds Beckett Student Union

Leeds Beckett Student Union hosts big-name artists and supports students through events, live music, and a vibrant campus venue.

Located on Cardigan Fields Leisure Park, Vue Leeds Kirkstall is a nine screen cinema with almost 2000 seats. There's ample parking and the cinema is surrounded by various restaurants and entertainment facilities, making for a great evening out!

Watch the latest film releases and enjoy the industry-leading Sony 4K Digital screens, boasting spectacular picture quality, along with enhanced audio quality courtesy of Dolby 'Profound Sound'. Stepped SuperVue seating means you will never miss a second of the action while VIP seating guarantees you an extra touch of luxury whenever you want to upgrade.

Three of the nine screens showcase the newest 3D releases while Vue Classical brings the latest stage sensations to the big screen, and parents can save as they go with Family Tickets and Kids AM screenings offering great value for money.
Leeds
Cinema
Vue Cinema – Leeds Kirkstall Road

Located on Cardigan Fields Leisure Park, Vue Leeds Kirkstall is a nine screen cinema with almost 2000 seats. There’s ample parking and the cinema is surrounded by various restaurants and

Restaurant 2
Leeds
Café or Coffee Shop
Empire Café

Empire Café is located in Leeds’ ‘home of day dining’- Fish street!

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Leeds
Restaurant
Phranakhon

Phranakhon Thai Tapas is a revolutionised Thai dining restaurant with a combination of European indulgence and authentic Thai tastes.

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Leeds
Restaurant
Wen’s

Wen’s is a family owned Chinese restaurant specialising in authentic, home cooked cuisine.

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