Josh Bilton: Cairns, a self guided walking tour

A self guided walking tour of sites of Portland stone in Hackney by Josh Bilton and Holly Corfield Carr

Download Josh Bilton's sound cairns via Soundcloud

Download a map and Holly Corfield Carr's cairn poems

You are invited to follow a walking route that begins at SPACE and ends at St John-at-Hackney Church. Your route will be marked by six cairns, which are human-made piles of stones, by way of physical sites, poems and sounds that mark a point in the urban landscape. Each cairn is numbered on the map on the back and corresponds to one of the six ‘cairn poems’ written by Holly Corfield Carr, alongside four ‘sound cairns’ created by Josh Bilton (cairns 3 - 6). The first cairn, marked by a mound of Portland stone, is to be found at SPACE. Take a piece with you and carry it while you walk. When you reach the end of the route leave your stone on the pile under the bell tower at St John-at-Hackney Church, which marks the last cairn.

Each cairn is numbered and marked on the map at the back.
Visit the link at the bottom of this page to download the ‘sound cairns’. Next to the cairn poems you will find photographs of the sites en route. These will help you confirm that you have reached the intended location for reading and listening to the corresponding cairns.

If you cannot download the ‘sound cairns’ please ask at reception to borrow an mp3 player. You will need to leave your ID as a deposit.