Spring Forwards

Whilst scoping our second Kettering Light Walk and looking for a place to plant some living willow  we came across The Green Patch Community Allotments run by Groundwork a wonderful growing resource in the heart of the community. We approached Lucy Darby, who said they had received a commemorative bench, and that a willow half bower would work perfectly with the bench adding some gentle shade. We had planned to plant the willows as the culmination of our next walk, but the walk had to be postponed and we had already collected the willow. To grow willow from unrooted cuttings or whips, the willow should be cut and planted after leaf fall and before leaf bud - usually during December, January and February. We decided it was best to go ahead with the planting.

Nigel helped us dig a channel for the whips

We began by setting in the uprights, pushing the longest sturdiest whips about 6 inches into the ground vertically to make the main structure. It took quite a lot of effort as the ground was still compacted and quite dry due to the lack of rain we have had in February.

Tying in the front of the arch. 

Once the diagonal whips were in position we began to weave them into shape. The interwoven diagonals are for strength to create an open lattice interlinked  feature, the tension of the willow should generally hold the structure together.

We then replaced the clumps of soil and turf, then tried out the Bower for size!

Winter Aconites seen on our walk

Getting ready for some more Guerilla Gardening

We were so glad to have been out in the fresh air planting that when we were next together in our studios we began preparing a new batch of seed bombs to take on our Finedon Light Walk. The clay had gone hard and was about to be thrown away when Carole salvaged the bags and reconstituted them in a bucket of water. It was still quite tough to excavate from the bucket but we had more than enough for our purposes! 

Clay and wild flower seeds

shaped with cookie cutters.

Carole has been popping back to The Green Patch 

at regular intervals to check on our willow's progress.

Nigel has been keeping The Bower well watered,

paving slabs have been placed under the bench and 

there is a mulch of bark chips around the whips.

 Vertical whips sprouting fresh growth  from the top

Diagonally planted whips sprouting along the 

full length giving a denser growth to the structure

We ordered our willow from here 

Willows Nursery Walgrave 

Northampton  NN6  9QA 

Walking by Water

We started our first walk of the year, and the first in a set of eight new walks for our project Light Walks for Dark Days.

We set out in Kettering on a crisp, frosty day.  The bright sunlight seemed to heighten the colours in the bare trees, vibrant red and green twigs in a sapphire blue sky.

Frost edged leaves and blades of grass like tiny diamonds.

It was hard to imagine that the patch of rough grass near the bridge had once been the site of a Mill and that the field we were walking across had once been a dumping ground for waste materials from the local Boot and Shoe factories. This green space is a well used, well loved space, children play here and throughout the day there are many meetings of groups of regular dog walkers of all ages. To the left hand side of the field there are old apple and plum trees which still produce fruit to this day.

We headed across the common towards the water's edge, and stopped on the footbridge for a while. Carole caught sight of a large trout darting in amongst the water plants and told the group that this was a popular spot for young anglers and exuberant dogs who love to career down the banks after sticks or squeaky toys!

Looking over the bridge, fast running shallow water and luminous green flowing weeds.  We started thinking about the speed of the water, where it goes.  "How are rivers made?" somebody asked.  We talked about the power of water to carve its way through earth and rock, rivulets joining with other rivulets to create torrential rivers, all down to gravity and the search for the lowest point.

Walking on down the path along the water's edge, a horse plodded across its frozen field to greet us.

A field stretching up the hill beside us, its dead stalks contouring the slopes in rhythmic lines. During the planning walk in December Carole and Jo found clusters of fungi nestled in between the ground level branches of an inviting tree.

On the day of our walk Carolyn found the same tree equally inviting and couldn't resist clambering where the fungi had clustered just a month before. This is the wonderful thing about walking, the route may stay constant but time and seasons bring a host of tiny changes which create subtle alterations.

We found a single boot, sturdy, quite new, mysteriously abandoned at the side of the path and we all wondered why it was that there were often single boots / shoes / trainers left to fend for themselves.

John was reminded of the song Jake the Peg, and created a new leg for the boot, 

 

which then temporarily became a walking stick

Willow trees growing wild by the water, loving the moisture! Their yellow whips of new growth got us thinking about weaving willows and how nature always regrows after death.

A line of frost clung to the water's edge.

Pete recognised the pip pips of Great Tits and we spotted a pair of them flitting repeatedly from one tree to another.   Jo mentioned she had spotted coots nesting on the river on a previous visit.  And so, attuned to watching for further wildlife, we continued on, ears pricked and eyes searching for any movement.

Further down, we spotted a great grey heron on the other side of the water, standing still as a statue.  It reminded John of other great birds and when he saw an Albatross at a nearby reserve.

Further down, the water's rush slowed until perfectly still, creating perfect mirror images.

As we picnicked, a cheeky red robin hopped up really close to us, checking out any crumbs on offer.  Quick, mad rush to get out the camera in time to snap him - but no!  

Each time the camera was lined up and ready to click, he would flit away again!  Teasing us, he reappeared several times, just flying off again as we were about the capture him ... until ... finally!  Jo got this -

and Carole got this - we were quite sure he was starting to pose for us!

 After lunch Jo showed everyone how to make paper boats

we had wondered about using seed paper but thought it wouldn't be very watertight

we chose a simple orange paper which would break apart in due course.

The paper folding was great fun, luckily the sun was just warm enough to keep our fingers supple and it wasn't long until we had created a whole flotilla.

We left our secluded picnic spot and walked further along the path, heading towards Warkton, as Carole knew where there was an ideal spot to launch the boats from.  She assured us that it was just a short stretch away, with a shingly outcrop and quite fast flowing water. The first attempts caught a reverse current and came back to us, so we made sure the boats were thrown out to the furthest bank where the current carried them swiftly forwards. The boats were a Light Thoughts intervention, carrying our hopes and wishes with them.

The return walk covered a variety of paces, some were watching the time, having meetings to get to by 3pm, others were still caught up in the spirit of exploration, finding new things to see on the way back, but we finally got back to our starting point, rosy cheeked and with fairly muddy feet. It was a very good way to start the week.

A rich day of colours, sounds, birds and water, many memories stored away of a good day.

Moving Through

Here is the link to our short film made during our second Ticket Exchange which took place  on 15th September 2011 whilst travelling between the Derbyshire stations of Shirebrook, Langwith Whaley-Thorns, Creswell and Whitwell with a brief stop at Mansfield Woodhouse. Postcard answers from both Ticket Exchanges can be found by clicking the Mailbox page above.

Light Walks for Dark Days

Winter is drawing closer and the clocks have been changed...

So we are thrilled to announce that we have been offered funding by the National Lottery through the Big Lottery Fund to continue our walking projects through the winter and beyond!

Our new project is called Light Walks for Dark Days, and we hope will help lift the spirits of all who take part!

Watch this blog for details as we unravel our plans.

Rushden and the Great Bubble Olympics!

We were thrilled to meet up once again with our group who have been undertaking the Wellbeing Walks with us.  But instead of meeting at Corby train station as usual, this time we met in Rushden, Northamptonshire.  The group's organiser Carolyn had put together this walk, so it was a surprise to us this time and we were intrigued to know where she might lead us.

Following the old rail track, we turned into a long, wide road, the rail line to our left.

Suddenly, and as a total surprise, our leader turned left and took us up a steep track into beautiful woodlands.

When we came out of the trees, we came to a clearing, the remnants of something in concrete and what seemed like an industrial stonehenge of slabs.

Further along, we came to a large area overgrown with grasses and strewn with bushes, a wonderful place for picking berries of all sorts!

Our walkers were fascinated by the idea of free natural food and how many types of berries that could be identified.  One of our walkers said to Jo, "well, there are things to learn everyday.  Why sit at home feeling miserable when there's all this to come and find out about?"  We couldn't agree more!

Not only were there elderberries and apples, but blackberries, damsons and

sloes and Carole couldn't resist the opportunity to do a bit of foraging.

We picnicked on the grass amongst the hedges.  Carole had brought along her bubble wands, and John suggested that bubble blowing would be a great Olympic event!  So we decide to hold the first ever Great Bubble Olympics right there and then!

Longest bubble gold medallist

Most bubbles in one breath gold medallist

 

It was a happy / sad moment in the car park at the end of our walk, as through walking we have shared some great conversations and have explored different terrain together and now we had reached the end of this particular project.

Everyone was given a set of the maps we made which record the memory of our walks in Corby in both words and images. We hope to walk with the group again in the future.

Visit our Wellbeing maps page to see the maps.

Here is some of the jam Carole made from her foraged fruit after the walk!

Mailbox

We now have a new page on this blog, the Mailbox, where we will be posting copies of the postcards that have been sent to us by people we met on the Ticket Exchanges.  They have been fascinating reading and great inspiration!  Together they become a wonderful collection of the thoughts of people as they travel.  Please visit, read, comment and continue the conversation!

A big thank you to everybody who has sent us a postcard and become part of our network!  It is absolutely thrilling to receive a pile of postcards each week and to have the sense of all those new connections.