'I did pilgrimage with a guitar on my back'
Gareth Davies-JonesA singer-songwriter who walked an ancient pilgrimage route more than 140 miles (225km) long with a guitar on his back has written an album celebrating the region.
Gareth Davies-Jones, who lives in Newcastle, walked for two weeks in June from Holy Island in Northumberland to Durham Cathedral.
He told BBC Radio Newcastle that he wrote music along the way, did concerts wherever he went and wanted to translate the "landscape and its story" into music.
"There's a lot to love about our region," he said.
The singer's journey consisted of two ancient pilgrimage trails across north-east England: St Oswald's Way and the Way of the Light.
He said he had lived in the region for most of his adult life but that walking through it on the pilgrimage had been the best way to "get to know it".
'Very cathartic'
Davies-Jones said he spoke to several local people along his journey including one National Trust ranger.
"When you go on a journey like this and you share the story of your journey it's almost inevitable that the people you talk to start to share some of theirs," he said.
Davies-Jones said the ranger shared that her mother had recently recovered from an illness. "It was a very cathartic experience," he said.
"We were able to mutually share that sense of how journeying can set you apart from everyday life."
He said one of his favourite experiences on the trip was walking the beaches from Holy Island to the mainland.
Davies-Jones said he had not been prepared for how "profound" the experience would be.
"I literally had it to myself," he said. "All I could hear was the seal song."
The singer is releasing a new album based on the walk, called A Troubadour Journey: Lindisfarne to Durham, next week and plans to tour it in some of the places which inspired the songs.