Gower Walking Festival 2025
by Jim the Swim, Bard of the Bay
strangers walked and became friends
paths unknown became known
known paths became better known
you know how it is
you sign up to the first step
to the rhythm of the ups and downs
and it is fortuitous
for you and me
the leader in front is a font of knowledge
the backmarker a font of explanations
of reiteration
and the air it is
and the scenery it is
and we are it
isn’t it
names on the map
become miles in the muscles
legs revitalised by the going
there and back again
now there you are
look where we are
what a view
He is the Bard of the Bay, and now he can add the title of Gower Walking Festival official poet to his CV. Jim Young, known as Jim the Swim, is a familiar figure in his beloved Rotherslade Bay, enjoying a daily dip in the sea there, whatever the weather, as well as being a prolific poet.
In this Take 5 Q&A, he tells us more:
What is your typical day, taking in your love of the outdoors and the written word?
My day begins with a perusal of the newspapers followed by a jaunt through my preferred social media platform BlueSky. I converse with many poets and photographers on there, which stimulates me to write poems in reply. After coffee I set off for my 30-minute walk to Rotherslade for my daily sea swim. We own a beach hut at Rotherslade and that is where I swim all the year around. I write small haiku poems on pebbles there and leave them on the promenade seats for visitors to take and treasure. The last one went to Beijing and others to Berlin, Kenya and USA. In the evenings I settle down to write poems to whatever pops up into my mind. Last year I started writing poems to accompany walking with the Gower Walking Festival and that was a rich seam to mine, and the poems were well liked by the walkers.
What do you get out of your daily routine, which can often be described as bracing?
Since I retired 17 years ago I find my daily routine gives stimulation to my day. I have run a daily photoblog for the past 20 years https://jimyoung14.blogspot.com/ a poetry blog for the past 10 years and a haiku (short form poems) blog:
http://baitthelines.blogspot.com
The physical side of me daily walking (average 7K) every day, combined with a daily sea swim, is both invigorating and relaxing, which seems almost to be a paradoxical effect.
How does Swansea Bay inspire your writing?
I grew up in the industrial lower Swansea valley and my nostalgia for those childhood adventures started me writing poetry. Kilvey Hill was also my stamping ground and the views over Swansea bay has anchored the ‘ugly lovely town of Swansea’ (to quote Dylan Thomas) as the location of my poetry ~ both in time and space.
How did you enjoy the experience of reading some of your poems on one of the coastal walks in last year’s Gower Walking Festival?
I really enjoyed reading my poems on the walks because it stimulated me to place each poem in a particular location and caused me to pause and absorb what each location meant to me. The walkers seemed to enjoy my poems which was rewarding. I hope my feelings for each location enriched their appreciation of the wonderful views and locations.
What was your reaction to becoming the Festival’s official poet?
When the Gower Walking Festival asked me to become their official Poet in Residence I felt as if the prodigal son had returned home. Although the residence has proved to be a mansion with many secret rooms.