Writer and poet Danny Rowland paid a visit to Ross-on-Wye last Wednesday and gifted the town a memento of his stay.
Those passing the Market House will have noticed a spread of colourful chalked poetry across the high street pavement.
Danny Rowland, also known as the Pavement Poet, has been walking the country from town-to-town. He had recently travelled to Ross from Hereford, before then making the journey on foot along the Wye to Monmouth via Symonds Yat.
He said that it was a much-needed walk after spending far too much time in Hereford and that the Wye Valley has provided him with the most inspiration over the last ten years.
The full poem was on full display for all to see in the town centre until the evening shower washed it away. The rainbow-coloured paragraphs were punctuated by a number of punchy sentiments, one of which reads: “Trust in yourself, the rest of them are idiots”.
Danny told the Gazette: “The Wye Valley, specifically the area between Ross and Llandogo, is mentioned more times in my book than any other place I’ve been through.”
He added: “Simply put, it inspired many years ago as it does to this day. It’s mainly the river. A lot of my poetry is observations of a life spent in nature. I travel all year and live outside, so get most of my inspiration from that.”
His first book “The Pavement Poet: Chalk Fired”, launched April 23. The book contains the “poetry, happenstances, and tales of travel which threw the initial spark on the Pavement Poet”. In full colour, the book includes the photography from the last nine years’ wanderings. It’s available via his website The Pavement Poet: Chalk Fired is available through this website.
Danny said: “I am on a one-man mission to cover the pavements of the world with my chalky rhymes. So far, thanks to the help of poetry lovers all around The UK and continental Europe, I have been able to take my rainbow-coloured poetry to what is an ever-growing number of towns and cities.”
To keep up with the wanderings and musings of Danny Rowland, The Pavement Poet, his Facebook page can be found facebook.com/thepavementpoet