'40 Minute Diameter Leeds' - Terminalia Festival 2024

 As part of 4WCoP 2022 (Fourth World Congress of Psychogeography), Mathilda Guerin created a project entitled 'Walking Webs', inviting people to participate by creating a walking web of their own city and I created my own walking web in Leeds, my home town in the UK. 

My walking web was created, according to the supplied instructions, by walking from a selected starting point, North, South East and West. Along each of these axes, we were asked to walk for 10 minutes and 20 minutes respectively and to take a photograph at each of these points. It was then possible to connect up all four of the 10 minute points and also the 20 points.

My walking web, and the photos taken after walking for 10 minutes and 20 minutes can be seen here:

Walking Web showing the Starting Point, 10 Minute and 20 Minute Points

Walking Web showing the photographs taken at all the points

I try to participate in the annual Terminalia Festival each year and so for the 2024 edition I chose part of the walking web I had created previously as this conveniently marks out an area of the city with a perimeter roughly 20 minutes from the centre

On Thursday 23 February 2024 I started walking from the northern point, at the north side of the Sheepscar Junction, walking clockwise.

40 Minute Diameter Leeds Walking Route

North to East Section

Sheepscar Street North - Barrack Road - Roundhay Road - Bayswater Road - Gledhow Road - St. James's Hospital - Alma Street - Beckett Street - Stoney Rock Lane - Torre Road - Rigton Drive - Haslewood Drive - York Road

Barrack Road, site of the old Chapeltown Barracks, constructed in 1820, largely demolished in 1988

David Beevers Day Unit, St. James's Hospital. I previously worked in the David Beevers Operating Theatres between 1978-1980

The Fountain Head pub, formerly The Florence Nightingale, opposite St. James's hospital on Beckett Street. I visited this pub many times when I finished my shift working in the hospital, 1978-1980. The Florence Nightingale eventually closed after a large gas explosion

The former Regent Picture House on Torre Road opened in 1916, designed by Frank Mitchell (Leeds Architect). The final film shown was The Bounty Hunters, starring Yul Brynner before it closed in 1971

East to South Section

York Road - Pontefract Lane - Oxley Street - Clark Lane - Temple View - Easy Road - Cross Green Lane -  South Accommodation Road - Grape Street - Jack Lane - Parkfield Street - M621

York Road, on screen

The former Princess Cinema on Pontefract Lane opened in 1923, designed by J.P. Crawford (Leeds Architect). The final feature film shown was Roustabout starring Elvis Presley before it closed in 1965

A rainbow above Echo Central following a shower

Crossing the River Aire, South Accommodation Road

Ambassador House, former home of the Environmental Health Services

Former headquarters of the Hunslet Engine Company, 1864-1995, in Jack Lane, closed in 1995 with the last order being a batch of narrow gauge diesel locomotives for the tunnelling on the Jubilee Line Extension of the London Underground

South to East Section

M621 - Jack Lane - New Princess Street - Holbeck Moor Road - Domestic Street - Spence Lane - A58 - Old Roundhouse

Holbeck Moor, a fork in the path...Leeds United fans would take the path to the left, which leads to Elland Road, I took the path to the right toward Domestic Street

'We're gonna stay with you forever' by Burley Bansky. MOT. This area has many other examples of his work

Footpath under construction alongside the Armley Gyratory road junction. at the present time it resembles an outdoor installation of site specific art pieces and is probably more visual interesting than the final state will be

East to North Section

Old Roundhouse - Wellington Road - Marlborough Street - Burley Street - Park Lane - Hannover Square - Kendal Lane - Victoria Street - Clarendon Road - University Road - Cavendish Road - Woodhouse Lane - Blenheim Walk - Blackman Lane - Leicester Place - Carlton Hill - Oatland Lane - Oatland Road - Meanwood Road - Barrack Street - Sheepscar Junction

Hanover Square is a Georgian public square consisting of at least six buildings that are Grade II listed

Part of the churchyard wall, All Souls Church in the Blenheims area of Leeds. It is as though the earth breathed and revealed humankind's inflexibility

A fallen tree in Blenheim Park...the latest, unplanned addition to the children's playground facilities

'No holiday', Cathedral Quarter, Norwich, UK - 9th December 2021

 After a ridiculously long time I finally managed to set aside enough time to edit the recorded footage taken of the 'No holiday' performance enacted in the Cathedral Quarter of Norwich, UK on 9th December 2021.

The ambulatory performance began on Quayside, along the River Wensum, turning into Wensum Street and then right down Elm Hill. After crossing Princes Street, the walk continued on Redwell Street and turned left down Queen Street, eventually emerging on Tombland.         

On the other side of Tombland, the walk continued down to the entrance to the grounds of Norwich Cathedral, along the main facade and then left down The Close. The Close eventually merged into Ferry Lane which led to Pull's Ferry, once again on the River Wensum. It was here that the performance ended. 

What was not recorded was the aggressive approach of a swan that was seen in the closing seconds of the recorded version of the walk. This was unexpected and surprising given that the swan did not seem to be defending cygnets or a mate. 

We found Norwich a lovely city despite the poor weather on the day of the performance. One particularly pleasant memory was the lady singing arias from various operas in the doorway of Jarrolds Department Store on Gaol Hill, opposite Norwich outdoor Market.

For the recorded version of this walk, a selection of the most visually interesting sections were chosen to be included and also as a means to keep the duration of the recording from becoming too long.

The walking map showing the route taken

River Wensum, close to the start of the walk

Walking across the facade of Norwich Cathedral

Pull's Ferry, and the home territory of the grumpy swan

The final recorded version hosted on YouTube

If the video recording embedded above does not play, please view it via the YouTube Channel here.

'20 Minute Diameter Leeds' - Terminalia Festival 2023

 As part of 4WCoP 2022 (Fourth World Congress of Psychogeography), Mathilda Guerin created a project entitled 'Walking Webs', inviting people to participate by creating a walking web of their own city and I created my own walking web in Leeds, my home town in the UK. 

My walking web was created, according to the supplied instructions, by walking from a selected starting point, North, South East and West. Along each of these axes, we were asked to walk for 10 minutes and 20 minutes respectively and to take a photograph at each of these points. It was then possible to connect up all four of the 10 minute points and also the 20 points.

My walking web, and the photos taken after walking for 10 minutes and 20 minutes can be seen here:

Walking Web showing the Starting Point, 10 Minute and 20 Minute Points

Walking Web showing the photographs taken at all the points

I try to participate in the annual Terminalia Festival each year and so for the 2023 edition I chose part of the walking web I had created previously as this conveniently marks out an area of the city with a perimeter roughly 10 minutes from the centre.

On Thursday 23 February 2023 I started walking from the northern point, close to the College of Building on North Street, walking clockwise. 

North to East Section

North Street - Byron Street - Regent Street - Hope Road - Mabgate - St. Mary's Street - Rider Street - Burmantofts Street - Marsh Lane

Millwright Street, just off Hope Road

Sheepscar Beck (or Mabgate Beck), before it becomes Lady Beck

Grade II listed Hope Foundry (1831-1850), a former brass and iron foundry

St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Grade II listed

Pedestrian Crossing to Quarry House, Department of Health

East to South Section

Marsh Lane - Crown Point Bridge - Crown Point Road - Great Wilson Street 

Car park entrance / exit on Marsh Lane, not far from the old railway station

Penny Pocket Park, previously St. Peter's Graveyard

River Aire, looking West from Crown Point Bridge

South to East Section

Great Wilson Street - Water Lane - Wharf Approach - Leeds Liverpool Canal Towpath - Whitehall Waterfront - Whitehall Road - Northern Street

'Hello Friends' by Bryan and Laura Davies, 2007. 

Inspired by Brancusi's Endless Column, 1937 and installed inside Bridgewater Place

Glimpse of the beautiful grade II listed 'Verona' Tower (based on the Lamberti Tower in Verona), originally built as dust extractors for the nearby steel pin factory, the first of the three Italianate towers to be built on the site that is rapidly becoming the new 'Tower Works' residential development

Another view of River Aire, this time looking South West from the new bridge linking Pocket Park to the Whitehall Riverside Terraces

East to North Section

Wellington Street - Britannia Street - York Place - King Street - East Parade - Victoria Square - Calverley Street - Great George Street - Cookridge Street - Merrion Way - Lovell Park Road - Grafton Street - North Street

Inexplicably ignored and unattributed artwork by Joseph Beuys, outside Leeds Art Gallery & Henry Moore Centre, part of his 7,000 Oaks work.

Leeds Owls on parade along the Calverley Street facade of Leeds Central Library

Colourful objects sit playfully in Lovell Park, previously a cattle market (c.1860)

This one-day Festival of Psychogeography has been held every year on the 23rd of February since 2011 and brings together individuals and groups who mark the Festival of Terminus, the Roman god of boundaries and landmarks.

Previous walks for Terminalia:

The Old Town to the Quay - 2022

Saigon Canal Walk - 2020

Saigon Citadel Walk - 2019

The Walkbook

 Thursday 19th May 2022 marked the launch of The Walkbook - a book of 'recipes for walking and wellbeing'. The book of recipes was launched on the second day of the #WalkCreate Gathering - a '2-day event in London and online on the 18th and 19th May 2022, which shared and celebrated the use of creative walking to enhance wellbeing'.

30 artists from across the UK were commissioned to create and contribute 'recipes' that addressed one or more of the following research challenges:

Walks for inclement weather / walks when there's nowhere to walk / Walks when you are bored of walking / walks when you are bored of walking the same route / walks when you are shielding / walks when you cannot walk very far / walks when you are anxious / walks when you don't have much time / walks when you can't be bothered / walks for inspiration / walks as an act of self-care / walks for a social bubble / walks for the physically distanced but socially connected / walks to make others smile / walks for the isolated / walks for the lonely / walks for busy people / walks for escape / walks for winter / walks in the rain / walks when it is dark / walks for indoors / walks with children, babies and/or teenagers / walks to work something out / walks in a place you feel uncomfortable or out of place / walks of welcome / walks for all the senses / walks to read your environment / walks to know your environment / walks to combat fear / walks to build your confidence / walks to manage pain / walks to expose obstacles / walks to bridge communities / walks to acknowledge slower pace / walks to start a revolution...

The organisers also stated "we recognise that 'walking' refers to a diverse range of approaches and needs. While not all recipes may be suitable for everyone, our aim is that the majority will be".

The front cover of the The Walkbook

A pdf of The Walkbook can be downloaded here.

The official Glasgow University reference

The #WalkCreate Gathering

Nina and I worked on a recipe for the book and we identified our chosen challenge as relating to 'walks to know your environment'. Our aim was to create a series of questions posed to the reader/walker that could hopefully stimulate a better awareness and understanding of the environment. It was therefore necessary to create a recipe that did not specify a particular type of environment too clearly, aiming for an adaptable text that could be adapted to a variety of locations, places and spaces.

Besides the textual triggers, or provocations, we also devoted time to the visual layout of the recipe. We felt that the visual nature of the recipe and how the text is received by the reader is crucial to the creation of the relevant approach to the walk. We imagined each walk beginning at an entrance or gateway and later ending at roughly the same place. This meant the layout of the questions would be arranged in a circular pattern to suggest the cyclical quality of the walk. 

Each block of text was placed within a hexagon. This decision was deliberate and referenced classic board layouts used in games of strategy. These were all physically linked to emphasise how each question/experience blended into the next. Graphic arrows were placed in order to emphasise the link between one hexagon and the next. The order of the hexagons was arranged clockwise from the bottom of the page, to mirror the layout on many classic board games. 

The arrows were also created in green, in contrast to the blocks of text, to add a sense of depth to the composition and to focus attention onto the text. Small, colourful icons were also placed at intervals around the page to add a ludic sense of fun that we hoped the reader/walker would experience.

Below is the final artwork as submitted to the editors:

'A Walk to Know Your Environment' - Final Artwork

After waiting eagerly for the launch of the The Walkbook, we were so happy to receive the launched publication as an online pdf. At first we didn't recognise our contribution until we matched up the published text to the one we had created. 

Unfortunately, all of the visual elements we had considered, developed, modified and incorporated had disappeared and overall, the recipe now seemed quite sparse and minimal. 

The references to board games and the integrated game mechanisms that we hoped to suggest, had all disappeared. This was initially very disappointing but on reflection we are incredibly pleased to be included in the The Walkbook and we would love to hear from anyone who has tried out our recipe. 

Please let us know how it went and how the experience modified how you might now approach, experience and 'know' the environment in a new way.

Below is the artwork as published in The Walkbook:

Final recipe as published in The Walkbook

'No holiday', Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi, Vietnam

This recorded version of the performance 'No holiday' was conducted around Hoan Kiem Lake (Sword Lake) in Hanoi, Vietnam on 7th April, 2021.

Although overcast, it was a lovely warm day for a walk around the small lake in Vietnam's capital.

I walked anti-clockwise around the lake, beginning at the southern end close to Trang Thi and continued strolling slowly along until I had almost completed one full circuit of the lake.  

The film concludes as I continue on my way along Lai Thai To. 

A video of the performance is embedded below or, alternatively, you can view it on my Youtube channel.

'British Summer Time: Season 6'

On Thursday 17th March Nina and I participated remotely in season 6 of British Summer Time walks organised by Dr. Blake Morris.

Season 6 of British Summer Time - Sunrise Walks will be experienced between 12th and 27th March, 2022. The season 6 project page can be found here.

The last time we had participated in this particular series of walks was in 2019, Season 1 of British Summer Time, on Wednesday 6th November and the write-up for that event can be found here.

The listed time for dawn in Bridlington, East Yorkshire, UK was 06:10am and the three photos below were taken at the appointed times of 05:55am (15 minutes before sunrise), 06:10am (Sunrise) and 06:25am (15 minutes after sunrise).

As can be seen in the photos below, the sun wasn't visible until around 10-15 minutes after the official sunrise time due to a bank of low cloud over the North Sea. The morning was quite cool but as soon as the sun appeared it quickly made a difference to the temperature. We saw at least three rabbits out on the clifftops who, like us, appeared to be enjoying the morning sun.

The Old Town to the Quay - Terminalia Festival 2022

Thankfully, this year's Terminalia Festival fell on a day that was blessed with bright sunshine, though the wind was still cool and sharp.

Previous walks on Terminalia have been: In 2019 a Saigon Citadel Walk and in 2020, a Saigon Canal Walk.

This one-day Festival of Psychogeography has been held every year on the 23rd of February since 2011 and brings together individuals and groups who mark the Festival of Terminus, the Roman god of boundaries and landmarks.

Nina and I were in Bridlington, East Yorkshire, UK to celebrate Terminalia by walking from the The Old Town to the Quay, via the Priory Church and we started at the top of Market Place at 11:00am promptly.

Originally the Old Town and the Quay were two separate locations, with the Old Town (Burlington) being the main area with the Quay forming the local port. More recently the two have merged to become the modern town of Bridlington.

A view through Westgate Park to The Avenue

Intriguingly named road

The official start of the walk

A view looking down Market Place in the Old Town, 

Burlington as it used to be known

Pillory (replica), first placed placed here in 1636

Stocks (replica), originals also c.1636

Unintentional Christo-influenced installation

Southern Hemisphere, bathed in sunlight

Beautifully proportioned shop-fronts

(Virtual) Shop-keeper waiting for customers

Unintentional Morandi-influenced shop window-display

Bust of John Sawdon, Lord Mayor of Bridlington 1905-08

Disused drinking fountain

Bayle Gate, original gateway to the Priory.

The Church Green, Priory Church beyond

Remains of the old fencing around the Church Green

Christmas decorations, surviving into February

St. John's Burlington, Grade II listed Methodist Church

Surviving Cast-Iron Canopy on Quay Road

The arrival / departure of the train on the single line 

temporarily separates the Quay from the Old Town

Bridlington Centotaph

Repaired shrapnel damage from the Second World War

Even in February it is easy to find a bucket and spade for the beach

Plenty of multi-coloured sugar available

Modest monument to T. E. Lawrence,

unfortunately the gnomon is now missing

The Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club HQ appears ready to set sail

A view of the harbour with 'The Anchorman', 2015 

keeping watch (Sculpture by Ronald Falck)

This year's walk for Terminalia 2022 has been very enjoyable and we were very lucky with the weather. Who knows where next year's walk will be? We look forward to it.