The Dew Stone, part of the Stanza Stones trail, in Yorkshire

© Rebecca Cole/Alam

Poetry in Yorkshire. Happy Yorkshire Day!

First held in 1975 as part of a protest against local government reorganisation, these days Yorkshire Day is more about celebrating the historic English county and enjoying some iconic Yorkshire food – Wensleydale cheese, pikelets and of course, Yorkshire pudding – as well as other activities and traditional customs. These include reading a "Declaration of Integrity", which restates Yorkshire's historic boundaries.Today we are picturing the Dew Stone, part of Yorkshire's 47-mile Stanza Stones poetry trail, which was completed in 2012. Simon Armitage's poems, inspired by the water which shaped the valleys and industries of the South Pennines, are carved onto six stones in secluded locations between Marsden and Ilkley. The other five stones are the Snow Stone, Beck Stone, Puddle Stone, Mist Stone and Rain Stone. And for those who are really committed, there is a seventh stone, hidden in an undisclosed location. It could be that the stone poetry, now part of the landscape, is still being enjoyed by passing ramblers hundreds of years from now, or it could gradually disappear over time, washed away by the elements.