MUSICIANS and poets visited Hadrian’s Wall for inspiration in advance of a Great Exhibition of the North performance being staged at The Sage Gateshead.

Backbone of Our Land will be an evening of music and spoken word exploring what it means to be Northern.

In recent weeks, people connected to the North had been asked to contribute their thoughts and ideas to the project, sharing why they lived in the North and why they often choose to stay.

Poets Degna Stone, Kim Moore and Andrew McMillan and musicians Peter Brewis, Bella Hardy, Sarah Hayes and Dan Rogers are producing the show.

They visited Walltown Crag near Greenhead, where they were met by Northumberland National Park head ranger Paget Lazarri and engagement officer at The Sill, Mandy Roberts, who gave them a guided tour of the area near the Pennine Way.

Degna said: “The visit and tour were such a treat. From driving past the famous Sycamore Gap on the way to Hadrian’s Wall, to standing in the peatlands where the weight of silence was punctuated by the sounds of skylarks and meadow pipits. It’s an incredible landscape.

“Mandy and Paget’s knowledge of the history of the national park was astounding and little gems from the conversations we had with them have already found their way into the final piece.”

The performance will take place at The Sage Gateshead on Saturday at the end of the Folk on The Tyne Festival – a day celebrating folk music in the north.