Richard Durrant is famed for touring the country with nothing but the guitar on his back and his beloved bicycle. He’s returning to his hometown with shows promoting his new album, Stringhenge, and Jamie Walker caught up with him to find out more.

Tell us about Stringhenge, what is the concept of the album?

Stringhenge is a double album that begins with a collection of solos played on six and four string guitars and ukulele. By the end of side four those guitars are joined by chamber organ, shruti boxes, voices, fiddle, accordion, bass, cello and a team of morris dancers.

Obviously the title is based on the historic landmark of Stonehenge. What made that location a place you wanted to cite on this record?

My concert guitar is crafted from a 5,000-year-old English oak tree and is decorated with references to British neolithic stone carvings. It is one of the most beautiful and precious guitars in existence. The instrument came into my life around the time of the referendum result and its presence in my life offered some comfort and a new perspective.

Unlike the monument, we know where this album came from. How much fun was it to write and record?

Making an album should never be underestimated. Stringhenge took many, many months to complete and nearly drove me insane. But the album was also something I had been waiting to create for many years, so there was huge satisfaction in being able to finally press the “Go!” button.

So, let’s move on to your tour. Three weeks and a 1,000 mile round bike journey is a lot of work as well as playing. Did you never think taking a tour bus might be easier?

My cycling concert tour is a pilgrimage and there is nothing remotely flippant about it. In an average year of touring I can travel around 37,000 miles which is a hefty carbon footprint, so my Stringhenge tour was a way to pay back some of this. But it is also my attempt to find a way of reconnecting with a country that I no longer understand.

You have built up a reputation as the cycling performer. Do you feel it’s almost expected of your at this point?

I think the only thing that is expected of me is to write music and play the guitar. The cycling aspect of my artistic life is merely a nod to keeping things at grass roots level.

You are playing some extremely picturesque venues on this tour. How enjoyable is that for you?

Cycling through our beautiful landscape is wonderful. Our country is full of goodness and our ability to see, experience and understand this must not be hijacked by politics.

Given the album’s name did you not think a show at Stonehenge itself might be fun?

Sadly it’s very difficult to perform at the actual henge of Stonehenge. I have, instead, cycled my guitar to meet the standing stones at Stenness on Orkney. The stones are the same age as the oak tree that became part of the guitar and, as I placed the wood against the stones, the wind blew through the strings and produced an eery noise that drifted out towards the sea.

You’re ending the tour with a Shoreham homecoming. How much do you enjoy being able to finish all that work in your hometown in front of your home crowd?

Coming home to play music and see my friends and family means more than I can express. Having said that I will never lose the acute sense of completeness that being alone, pedalling through the landscape can bring.