A PROFESSIONAL storyteller who has travelled far and wide is now on a roll in his own back yard – thanks to a free e-bike initiative.

Abergavenny’s Daniel Morden has taken advantage of the Monmouthshire Council and Sustrans Cymru’s E-Move to get out and about and tell his traditional folk tales in an eco-friendly way.

Described as "one of the UK's finest storytellers" on BBC Radio 3, Daniel says the bike lets him travel more sustainably and actively while exploring the wilder parts of Wales that inspire him.

“I saw a poster on the window of the bike shop in Abergavenny, so I phoned immediately,” he said.

“I’ve loved using the e-bike because the Black Mountains are very close, but they get very remote quickly.

"It can be hard to find somewhere to park and there's no bus service, so the bike has enabled me to pedal up into those mountains and see places I've always wanted to see, but have found inaccessible."

Daniel has travelled the world from Hawaii to Haiti collecting and sharing his stories, and has appeared at the National Theatre, Hay Festival where he was awarded the festival medal in 2017, The National Storytelling Festival of America, WOMAD, theatres, arts centres, festivals and thousands of schools.

Often performing with fiddle player Oliver Wilson-Dickson, who he met in a Gilwern folk club, he has also appeared many times at Abergavenny's own Borough Theatre.

His stories have reached far and wide, through stage and radio – made all the more possible during the pandemic as people turned to the internet for entertainment.

He said: “I’d do stories over video call and all you could see was people sitting alone, in the darkness of their homes.

“It was great bringing that comfort to people – bringing people back to when they were young and building that connection.”

But more recently he has been able to cycle to a regular residency some six miles away and to share traditional stories with children visiting the Welsh countryside.

“Suddenly, I was seeing streams and houses as I travelled, I was seeing the landscape in a new way," he says.

"I surprised myself on my first trip to the Black Mountains, by burning all the way through the battery!

“I then had to cycle back without a battery from Llanthony, which was a challenge because the frame of the bike, it was quite heavy...

"But I recently had a show at the Bear in Crickhowell, and cycled there and back, which was good," he says.

“And I’ve also cycled to the railway station and then taken a train to Cwmbran or Newport or Cardiff.”

Looking down the road ahead, he'd like to keep cycling to tell his tales, saying: “The big question is whether I can find a way to actually own an e-bike...

"I'd be thinking about cycling to the railway station, taking a train... and trying to make those journeys without using the car.”

To borrow an e-bike, contact Rodri Guimerà Zarranz at [email protected].

Daniel is at danielmorden.org and www.facebook.com/DanielMordenStoryteller/