Join me on a bike ride without leaving the hall. I will lead you around places in Eskdale in the North York Moors associated with early 19th century Yorkshire bard, stonemason and Methodist preacher, John Castillo. We will spot buildings he worked on (hallmarked by carved stone faces), his house and the chapel he built in Lealholm (pictured), a giant boulder on which his name is mysteriously etched, and a curiously hidden stone roadsign.

I start by talking a little about four other similar local bards that I’ve found evidence of on my travels on bike and foot. Depending on availability, an actor colleague will recite verse in character and costume.