Thanks to the Causley Trust for inviting me to Cyprus Well, Charles Causley’s former house in Launceston, east Cornwall. I spent two weeks at Cyprus Well in January 2025. I read a lot, and I wrote tons. I always enjoy residencies, and I try to make the most of the time by getting a routine going early on.

At Cyprus Well, I got up early – far earlier than usual – I love a good dawn chorus, and this got me to writing as soon as I’ve made a cup of tea. I thought I’d write a lot at Charles’s desk in his living room/study but I mainly wrote in bed with tea, watching the light change on the willow bank. I’d also write after breakfast by the window in the main bedroom with a large pot of decaf coffee looking out to that bank where snowdrops and primroses were beginning to show, along with the willow budding. I wrote here every morning until I needed to eat, then I’d potter around town for veg and bread, make a soup, then I’d edit the poems I’d brought with me that needed plenty of work.

By about 4, I was ready for a walk. I’d wrap up warm, watching out for ice on the steep Ridgeway Hill. I’d walk down past the farm with rhea, goats, sheep and horses, turn right along a mostly very quiet lane and walk to the border with Devon. This was always a good walk – long enough to shake off the writing, long enough to look out for the animals and the shapes of all the different oaks along the lane, long enough to (sometimes) come back with an idea for how to edit something afresh. And I usually managed to time it so it wasn’t too dark on my walk back up to the house. 

I haven’t yet looked at what I wrote during the residency, but I reckon I wrote about 15 new poems in those two weeks, I certainly filled up the best part of a new notebook, and edited a lot of others. I also discovered some new to me poets in Charles’s library.

I found out that a friend, another poet, had gone missing and subsequently died while I was away. This certainly coloured my writing. I wrote a lot about him. I can’t quite face looking at these drafts yet – I will in time.

There’s a strong sense of Charles Causley in the house. I had a really vivid dream – at least I think it was a dream – of Charles sitting chatting poetry with me one night. It was incredibly vivid. The house is certainly spirited. Some people will pick up on this, maybe others won’t.

I’ve no idea if the poems I wrote during the residency will be any good but in many ways this doesn’t really matter to me – the important thing for me in a residency is to just go deep, as deep as I can. And to remember to walk each day to sort of shake that intensity a little.

I gave a reading to a lovely group of people who are volunteers or friends of the Charles Causley Trust just before I left.

I’ve also come away with a new sense of direction for what I hope will be my new collection. And I’ve kept up with my routine developed at Cyprus Well – and that means keeping several days a week when I don’t look at emails or social media – so I can keep that level of concentration and going deep.

I’m looking forward to returning to Launceston for the poetry festival at the end of May and I’d like to thank everyone who helped to make my stay at Cyprus Well a good one.