Ted Hughes - Where it all Started

The Birthplace of Ted Hughes

Following in the footsteps of famous people is often questioned as a not so worth it journey. At least some people tell me. But I find walking the terrain of creative artists provides a real sense of place and purpose and helps to better understand the source of their passions. None truer than in the case of Ted.

Navigating the slim streets, never designed for a 4x4 and a white van man to pass sidely, and always on the look-out and pausing for reversing cars to squeeze into the tiniest of gaps in front of their houses, I wound my way down the sinewy lanes to Aspinall Street.

The blue plaque guided me like a lighthouse beacon to the door. Somehow not what I expected but somehow perfect. Larger than I thought, probably one of the biggest in the area. I imagine the sense of community in this neighbourhood in the past and felt sure it was still there now. It’s not just the immediate area but the surrounding nearby hills, ideal for hikes and camping trips with wildlife abundant, that gave influence to a writing desire that continued for a lifetime.

Yes, this is the house I have read so much about yet it’s so much more than that. This was your home, where your journey began.

End Terrace

So here it is, the start, the first cry with your first breath
Humble gritstone and tile on a quiet street not pretending to be anything else
Birthdays, Christmases, a pencil to mark your height against a wall
With the same pencil put the prose on blank sheet, it excites and ignites a passion life-long
End terrace, closeted streets,
Camping trips and nature sleeps seep into your poetry distilled from the moors and valleys of Calder
Its influence shone brightly throughout your writing career
But the spark started here
End terrace of gritstone and tile
The birds, the animals, the predators of the night
The rivers, the waters, the fluidity of the light
The thrill, the butterflies in the tummy at a new word learnt a new phrase coined
Perspectives mastered, language your attendant all perfectly aligned, satisfactorily adjoined
Charging out the front door into the morning light to play and school
An unimagined future that many will dissect follows
But this is the dawn, the genesis of it all.