"Look at it this way"

  I've been interested in the practice of Mudlarking for some time, down on the Thames foreshore.  Tom Chivers, author of 'London Clay' was a speaker at the conference and read from his book and talked about his PhD that he is completing at Queen Mary University of London. There was plenty of interest here on these new geographies. He described a space which changes as the tide ebbs and flows, which is both private and public, safe and unsafe... he read from his book and current writing linked with his academic research into the practice, including the historical development of the practice. This is a landscape which is temporary and contested, and one which many visitors to London will never experience. If you attended the event you can see a recording of the session. You can also download a copy of Tom's slides. I own a copy of the Field guide to Larking which was written by Lara Maiklem. The session ended with Tom blowing a hawker's whistle that he had unearthed,...

Just over a year ago, I was part of a team which met in person or virtually to begin the process of creating the Slow Ways network , initiated by Dan Raven Ellison . As we approached lockdown, the idea of walking for exercise and exploring our local areas became increasingly attractive. I worked on creating some walks in familiar locations: close to home, along the Norfolk coast and in and around Ely where I work. Slow Ways is an initiative to create a national network of walking routes connecting all of Great Britain’s towns and cities as well as thousands of villages. The beta website is now live. Take a look. Using existing paths, ways, trails and roads, people can use Slow Ways routes to walk or wheel between neighbouring settlements, and combine them to create longer distance trips. It’s designed to make it easier for people to imagine, plan and go on walking journeys. There are currently over 7,000 Slow Ways stretching for over 100,000km. This network of routes was created by 700...