The Walker​

Paul Baines is a willow sculpture artist who regularly shows his work in the Made in the Marches Gallery.  His pieces range from tiny creatures like dragonflies and moths, through to rabbits and pheasants and up to full sized human sculptures.
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At the beginning of this year, Paul embarked on an ambitious project to cut a giant figure into the bracken on Bradnor Hill.  This walking figure can be seen from miles around.

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This is Paul's story:

​For many years I’ve wanted to cut a giant figure into the bracken on Bradnor Hill, to see if it would stand out like the chalk figures on the Southern Downs.

​I chose a walker to link the spring and autumn Walking Festivals and the Marches Makers Arts Festival in Kington.
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Early Days - marking out - March 2020
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The First Cut - March 2020


​Having got permission from the National Trust I marked out the figure in February 2020.  In early March with the help of the community payback team and volunteers from the two festivals we made the first cut.
Paul Eggington was recording the process and making it into a short film to be shown in October at the Walkers are Welcome get together in Kington.  When Covid-19 put us into lock down in late March both the festivals and the filming had to be put on hold.

​I had to compromise on where the Walker was put on Bradnor Hill as my original choice turned out to be an adder breeding ground.  Due to the change of site and the pandemic, things haven’t worked out quite as I planned, but it has been a good learning process artistically ad technically.
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The Lone Cutter! Paul with the strimmer during the summer
I have maintained the Walker throughout the summer and hopefully both the film and the festivals will take place in 2021.

Paul  Baines
August 2020
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A distant view of THE WALKER - September 2020
The willow walkers now have a new home in the grounds of Hergest Croft Gardens
January 2021 - The Walker is beautifully outlined in the snow!
Another interesting project has begun on the Black Mountains in Wales - bracken is being cleared to plant 140,000 trees and to publicise this venture, a giant message has been cut into the bracken and can be seen for miles around - the story was reported on the BBC News website on 23 September 2020.