iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

It is World Postcard Day and amazingly a painted postcard I entered in a Winsor & Newton competition has been chosen for a postcard exhibition at London's Saatchi Gallery! The exhibition runs from October 1 to the 11th at the Saatchi Gallery, London, SW3 4RY. #WorldPostcardDay

Painted postcard of a duckling with a L plate round his neck standing nervously by the edge of a pond from which a sign saying 'Deep End' is showing.

1173

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Artist Percy Kelly died in 1993. I call him the 'patron saint' of painted letters as his handwritten letters were works of art in their own right. If you have 2 or 3 hundred quid to spare, some are coming up for auction in a couple of weeks... www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auctio...

Painted envelope by Percy Kelly with calligraphy and drawings of houses.

0227

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

"The loveliest spot that man hath ever found". Poor Nab Well. Wordsworth drank its waters every day and extolled its virtues in a poem but today it lies neglected and forgotten near his former home at Rydal Mount. I guess it will be gone in a few more years.

A lady kneels by the stones around Nab Well at Rydal Mount.

2181

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

The chess section of my library 😉

050

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

A charming packhorse bridge on the Postman's Path from Langwathby to Glassonby in Cumbria. Once walked by Laal Tommy Post. Now, judging by the state of the path, hardly ever walked by anyone 😥 (Laal - dialect for 'little').

2232

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Some good news for Scottish folk, particularly those in #Dumfries... I'll be talking about Scotland's postal paths at Thomas Tosh in Thornhill on Wednesday, September 2nd. And @scotways.com l will be getting much praise of course for their work in this regard... www.thomastosh.com/events/2026/...

0194

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Lesley and I had to walk out of The Odyssey after half an hour as it was just too loud. And we'd turned our hearing aids off! I thought it was just us getting old but I'm reassured by Google guessing the question before I had finished asking it... So it's not just us?

391

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Removing the trees around your training ground probably helped 😉

020

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

There are not many sunken lanes in Cumbria - they are more of a Dorset thing - but ancient Seacross Lonning at Wythop Mill is one of Cumbria's finest. In the current heatwave, the hazel tunnel offers a cool walk. (Lonning = dialect for lane).

4325

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Record of deaths in the village of Lamplugh, Cumbria between 1656 and 1663 shows: * 4 Frightened to death by fairies * 7 Bewitched * 1 led into pond by a Will-O'-The-Wisp * 2 Died of cold in the church You see, archives can be fun! share.google/CJLUig2CUimW...

37121

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

I was in Grasmere today when Will Smith from @samreadbookseller.bsky.social ran out and grabbed me kicking and screaming into his shop to sign some books. I signed about 50 and then he clarified he wanted me to sign MY book, The Postal Paths. There's also one rare unsigned book left in the shop 😁

Alan Cleaver in front of Grasmere's postbox

0233

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

It's a long-established principle that a UK footpath doesn't have to go anywhere. Most go from A to B, but they can also go from A to ...not A. Many, like this one, served an old quarry or mine. Gov inspectors have often declined requests to close a footpath simply because it doesn't go anywhere.

The dotted green line on this map shows a footpath ending nowhere in particular.

3160

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

The 'Spittie Whol' in a wall in Caldbeck, Cumbria - spit in it saying "Once in the hole I spit to guard me safe from fascinating charms", then don't look back to ensure good fortune. It's possibly an old plague stone now set in a drystone wall. Coins are also left in it by villagers.

0214

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Sadly, The Postal Paths didn't win The Lakeland Book Of The Year last night but it was an honour to be shortlisted. Sarah Hall with her book Helm was the worthy winner. So I shall be standing in the Clacton by-election and we'll let the people decide who should really have won!

2220

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

That's timely! I'm preparing my talk on handwritten letters for Tuesday (June 30) at Tullie House in Carlisle and Mozart's Letter Duet has just played on the radio! tullie.org.uk/events/cumbr...

1151

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

On the hottest June day on record in the UK, we all need a walk down Boggle Lonning in Cumbria

Boggle Lonning (also known as Seacross Lonning) near Embleton in Cumbria

0232

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Oh my God! Did someone put Trump in charge of water quality at Whitehaven?!

040

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

"That which takes longer to arrive stays longer in the heart" - The Healing Power of Korean Letter Writing by Juhee Mun

1142

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

"Never, never, dear Madam (N.B. this remark is addressed to ladies only: no man would ever do such a thing), put “Wednesday”, simply, as the date! That way madness lies.” - Lewis Carroll, Eight or Nine Wise Words about Letter-Writing (1890).

A handwritten letter- the address is fake

0132

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

(Nerd alert!): This is interesting - Royal Mail's special issue stamps (the ones with pretty pictures) featuring waterfalls have just been released and include 2nd Class stamps. Royal Mail stopped doing 2nd Class specials months ago, so I wonder why they have now reintroduced them?

4223

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

My thanks to @bookendscarlisle.bsky.social for giving me a 'job' today as a bookseller as part of #IndieBookshopWeek. And which book did I recommend to customers (apart from my own)? It could only be... @ronanhession.bsky.social

Alan Cleaver with a copy of Leonard and Hungry Paul

3263

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

I'm chuffed to say that my book, The Postal Paths, has been shortlisted for this year's Lakeland Book Of The Year award. The awards evening is July 7th - but I'm up against some tough and worthy opposition!

4413

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

"There is a charm in footing slow across a silent plain" - Keats

0181

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

Just visiting this lovely pub in Rugby, Warwickshire. Guess what it's called? Go on, take a wild guess 😁

Mural.of a squirrel on the side of a pub

4131

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

This delightful photo was taken in June 1970 by A.Michael Davies. He sent it me after reading my book, The Postal Paths, and reading about my walk along the 7-mile path on the Isle of Harris, Scotland. It's a rugged coastal path but postman Duncan MacInnes still wore with pride his uniform.

Postman on the Tarbert to Rhenigidale postal path.

0445

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

"To the dear memory of a little child" - the beautifully touching 1883 stained glass memorial by parents to the son they lost aged four months. Caldbeck church, Cumbria UK #StainedGlassSunday

1271

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

The UK has many footpaths that were once used as 'corpse roads' to take the dead to the mother church for burial. Dales Countryside Museum in North Yorkshire still has a funeral bier apparently used to carry the corpse on the Keld to Grinton corpse road...

1243

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

The golden age of mail delivery before we invented drones

A postman delivering mail to a woman at a cottage door

1272

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

On this day in 1840, the first letters with Penny Black stamps were posted. Today, the UK postal service is in a poor state, but let's keep posting letters - and making them special. #PennyBlackDay

1213

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

"Illustration is art with a job to do" - Sir Quentin Blake

0193

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

"Come, let us follow by the woodland way, Come, dearest, let us go a-violeting." You won't find violeting on Google, but it was a British custom a century ago of going for a walk to pick a few violets and display them in a small vase in your hallway.

1121

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

Do you keep a diary? Are you doing anything interesting on May 12th? Are you doing anything mundane? Then send your diary for that day to the UK Mass Observation Project.. share.google/neq7MlL7G40v...

11410

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

A printed envelope by 19thC artist Edward Burne-Jones. Note the clever use of an easel to display the stamp! #MailArt

26016

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

My thanks to @fellranger.bsky.social for introducing me to artist Ronin Tanner (1904-1988). This is Wren and Primroses used in the book, Wiltshire Village.

1161

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

My entry into the Winsor & Newton #mailart competition! See their website for details of how you can enter your picture postcard. www.winsornewton.com/pages/global...

Cartoon of a bright yellow duck with an L plate round his neck standing by a pond which has a sign 'Deep End' sticking out of it.

1150

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Watch out for a pack of free watercolor postcards in selected art shops. If you wish you can send one (post free) with a painting of your own to Winsor and Newton with the chance of winning a prize - and there are 15 more to send to friends and family.

0124

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

It's the first anniversary of the publication of my book, The Postal Paths (thankyou all!). It's also the 61st anniversary of the 8-mile Pennine Way, so here's a picture of the Keld to Tan Hill Inn postman's path on the Pennine Way being walked in the 1930s by Jack Rukin..

Postman Jack Rukin crossing stepping stones. Picture: Post Office magazine

2242

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

"A landscape is all about drawing." My good friend and Cumbrian artist Mark Richards @fellranger.bsky.social wowed the audience at Loweswater tonight with tales of his art and his friendship with Alfred Wainwright.

The Postman's Path at Ripon in Yorkshire

0162

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

The narrow and potentially treacherous postman's path at Glenridding in Cumbria. Postman George 'The Post' Teasdale actually managed to ride his GPO bike over this path in the 1950s/60s but I recommend walking it! sites.google.com/view/postal-...

Alan Cleaver on the postal path at Glenridding in Cumbria

2254

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

19th Century postwoman, Mary Walker, whose route was 9 miles, 6 days a week, through the Kentmere Valley, Cumbria UK. She also cared for her blind husband and their 13 children. Src: A Lakeland Valley Through Time (1995).

1297

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

If Trump hasn't blown up the world by April 21, there's a talk by Mark Richards (who illustrated The Postal Paths) in Loweswater, Cumbria UK. Details...

0122

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Cut this picture out and keep it in your pocket. The next time someone says, "We should look after our own first - charity begins at home," take the photo out and say, "I agree. And to remind me, I carry a picture of home with me at all times."

Hello World. Earth from Artemis 2. Credit: NASA/Reid Wiseman

2359

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

A government minister has just been on TV to say there's definitely no shortage of The Postal Paths by Alan Cleaver, and definitely no need to panic buy. (And if that doesn't see me on The Sunday Times Bestseller List, I don't know what will!).

Alan Cleaver with a copy of The Postal Paths

2221

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Pop into the The New Bookshop in Cockermouth, #Cumbria and you can buy a signed copy of the paperback of The Postal Paths - and flick through the pages of one of the notebooks I kept while researching the paths...

0162

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

I dreamt I met someone who was erecting Boo Plaques (rather than the usual commemorative Blue Plaques) honouring the town's ghosts. And - unlike most of my weird dreams - this morning, I am still thinking that might be a good idea? #ghosts

AI generated image of a white plaque on a wall with the wording The Ghost of Love Lane

1110

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

I'll show you mine if you show me yours - zibaldone (journal) that is 😉

0110

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

The Postman's Path on Eskdale, Cumbria. It was walked for many years by Ben Vicars who always wore clogs. He delivered post in the valley on bike before, leaving his bike against the drystone wall, and taking this path to the farms on Birker Fell. His bike was always there when he returned.

2346

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

"No mountain is too steep for two" - Ibsen

0111

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

A return trip today to the highest pub in England: The Tan Hill Inn, North Yorkshire. The pub is in the middle of nowhere, and the 1950s' postman Jack Rukin had a 5-mile walk from Keld to reach it.

4305