Music on the Welsh Coastal Path with Filkin’s Drift by Alexia Wdowski

Folk duo Filkin’s Drift arrived last Friday afternoon at the Bookshop by the Sea, blown in by the October wind, and laden with instruments and giant rucksacks.

Chris Roberts (left), Seth Bye (right) and their associate Freddie (middle) Photography - Alexia Wdowski

They had big smiles on their faces and you wouldn’t have guessed they had just hit the 400 mile marker on their epic journey walking the Welsh Coastal path with Chris Roberts carrying his guitar and Seth Bye, his fiddle. Originally from Cardiff and Gloucestershire they played many festivals and gigs together after meeting in Birmingham, but this time, in post-pandemic 2023, both wanted to try something different.

Seth said, ‘usually on tour all the beauty we see is traffic jams on the M5. We wanted to make a change to how we do things, one that is better for both our own wellbeing and the environment.’

Following in the footsteps of the Welsh Bardic tradition they decided to walk the entirety of the Welsh Coastal path, from Anglesey to Chepstow, sharing their music with the wild coastal communities they stopped at along the way.

They are staying in a selection of off-beat places including yurts and roundhouses as well as houses and flats and are grateful for the generosity of the people they have met. So far they have been gifted lifts, breakfasts and even rides on miniature railways!

The duo played around 19 gigs so far and have plans for 21 more saying it is the variety that makes it such a enriching experience. Their eccentric approach to touring has seen them play unusual venues from bookshops, museums and cafes, as well as more traditional live music venues like pubs and arts centres.

In the bookshop Filkin’s Drift played reimagined traditional and modern folk songs, in turns soft and tender, rousing and enlivening. They sang in English and Welsh and covered different music from ‘Beeswing’ by Richard Thompson to jigs and reels and Spanish love songs. In between songs they chatted about life on the trail and the meaning and history of the songs they play, mentioning the history of individual folk songs and how it wasn’t just goods that were traded between ports but culture and music too. They also encouraged burning questions from the local audience such as, ‘But how did you get across the closed Barmouth Bridge?’

Filkin’s Drift play in The Bookshop by the Sea, Aberystwyth. Photography - Alexia Wdowski

Playing in unusual venues prompted unusual discussions. Seth noticed a Laurie Lee book on the shelf and told a story of how he used to drink in a historic pub frequented by the famous author in the Gloucestershire Slad Valley called The WoolPack. He used to spend time in the circus and walk down to that pub after work.

Aberystwyth was the first proper town the duo had played in and as such it was a bit of an occasion. There was a BBC reporter who had joined them on the trail that day and a proud mum and girlfriend in attendance. The day’s 6 mile walk from Borth to Aber, was their shortest day of walking, leaving an unusually free afternoon to spend in the town.

This way of touring has given them open access to rural coastal communities who can be left out of more traditional touring routes. They have inspired a select following of local people in each area, each wanting to catch a gig before they pass on by.

For Aber’s turn they were dressed in walking gear, the logistics of gigging needing careful planning and consideration when carrying everything on your back. Their associate Freddie, walking alongside them, played a vital role, carrying 80 CD’s in his rucksack in order to set up a stalls at each gig. He has also documented the 870 mile journey on their website.

The atmosphere was magical, the music, sublime and the walking and playing, a vital continuation of a folk tradition that felt very apt in these times of climate crisis, slow travel, and post covid community connection. The music industry came under fire post-pandemic for it’s lack of sustainability, with criticisms focussed on the heavy waste and carbon emissions involved in touring. Filkin’s Drift may have found one answer, and as is often the case, it involved both looking to the past as well as being utterly contemporary in its use of technology and concern with wellbeing.

In the Welsh language, ‘Cerdd’ means music and ‘Cerdded’ means to walk. To Filkin’s Drift, this suggests an intrinsic connection between the acts of roaming and the act of creating music. Hopefully they will inspire other musicians to follow in their footsteps and break away from traditional touring to embrace the unknown serendipity of the trail, mixing musical exchanges with unexpected encounters, and the slow meditative contemplations of long distance walking.

Filkin’s Drift were supported in their journey by Help Musicians and Fusion Gig Bags, as well as many local people they have met along the trail. They are raising money for the charity Live Music Now and plan to release another album next year. You can follow the rest of their journey and donate here.

Chris Roberts (guitar) and Seth Bye (fiddle). Photography - Alexia Wdowski