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Acclaimed nature writer to visit Grove Bookshop

Wednesday, 3 June 2026 07:51

Wyl Menmuir

Nature lovers of Ilkley will find much to enjoy at the Grove Bookshop’s event with author, Wyl Menmuir later this month.

Wyl will be at the bookshop from 7pm on Friday, 19 June, to discuss his new book, The Spirit of Stone, which features our very own Ilkley Moor.

The Spirit of Stone is the third book in Menmuir’s acclaimed trilogy, which includes The Draw of the Sea and The Heart of the Woods. The book celebrates the human stories behind stones and our landscapes. It also features a chapter on Ilkley Moor and its rock carvings, including the series of Simon Armitage poems carved into The Stanza Stones, ancient rock markings, and the history of quarrying in the area.

Across Britain and Ireland – from Mull to the Isles of Scilly – rock is everywhere beneath our feet, shaping not only our landscapes but also our imaginations and the ways we live together. Moving across these lands, Wyl Menmuir’s essays combine travelogue, social history and memoir, bringing together interviews, folklore and personal encounters with the landscapes themselves.

Bookshop manager Mike Sansbury said:

"We’re really looking forward to hearing more about Ilkley’s spectacular natural landscape from someone who is so knowledgeable and passionate about our relationship with the environment."

Originally from Stockport, Wyl Menmuir now lives on the rugged north coast of Cornwall, where he is senior lecturer in creative writing at Falmouth University. He recently won the Blue Metropolis Planet Literature Prize, awarded for a body of work that demonstrates the beauty and fragility of the living world and promotes greater ecological awareness.

Tickets are £7 (or £22 including a book), and are available via Eventbrite or through the shop website: www.grovebookshop.com.

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