Hi everyone,
I’ve been thinking about how landscapes can inspire poetry. I recently travelled to Edinburgh and climbed Arthur’s Seat, and wow—it completely blew me away! The mix of rugged hills and the city stretching out below was incredible, and it really got my creative gears turning. I even snapped a few photos I thought I’d share.
What about you? Have you ever been inspired by a specific place—a mountain, forest, or even a cityscape? I’d love to hear about the landscapes that have shaped your poetry or sparked your imagination.
Feel free to share your stories, poems, or even photos if you have them! Let’s talk about the places that make us want to grab a pen and write.
There are places of beauty but few compete with my homeland of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada. But don't take my word for it... Alexander Graham Bell (the guy with the phone) lived there for a while. He had this to say "I have seen the Canadian and American Rockies, the Andes, the Alps and the Highlands of Scotland, but for simple beauty, Cape Breton outrivals them all!"
Conde Nast Traveller Magazine ranked Cape Breton as the #1 island in North America, Travel + Leisure readers ranked it #1 island in Canada. These images were taken 20 years ago so the resolution might not be up-to-date.
Green spaces are really important for de-sressing. In Sydney Australia you can move between very built static landscapes and the edges of natural ecosystems. Natural ecosystems are a dynamic landscape,where the ground cover and smaller vegetation moves around,, the canopy trees anchor the system. Natural ecosystems feels different from built gardens that have beds and positioned plants.. However, a friend of mine spent 2 months last year walking 1000 kms in south east Western Australia where towns are 10 to 12 days apart. He had sent packages of food to various locations along the track but he still carried a 25kg pack and eventually lost muscle because you exert more effort than the food you can carry replaces.
Listening to this story made me very conscious that I enjoy the edges of natural ecosystems but I like to go back at night to a bed, in a statically built weather proof room..
While I could probably point to a couple of specific spots, a more general one that is a place but always different is on trains/transit (or even road trips, but you can’t really write/type and drive safely). Something about watching the world go by has always stirred my creativity tand contemplation.