Un-led, with only a rough route and just the theme to shape the experience, this was an on-foot adventure, undertaken by three relative strangers, hiking purposefully through areas of urban deprivation, just for the pleasure of doing it and seeing what they could find and share.
This Saturday, a mass Urban Story walk is planned, with multiple groups of people walking from the outside edges of London to a central meeting point.
Degrees of London will see walkers create different angles into London, converging on Ye Olde Cock Tavern, Fleet Street by 6pm. Anyone can join in and it's free. You can choose who to walk with, where to start and what route to take. You can also decide how you'd like to capture and share your experience.
In the pub in the evening all participating groups will be asked to present a two minute 'show and tell' and share the story of their walk in whatever way they have seen fit to document it — stories, photos, sound recordings, found objects, artwork created on the hoof, messages from Twitter etc. A temporary exhibition will be collaboratively mounted representing and contrasting the different degree walks. And you'll be able to put your feet up after the trek and reward yourself with a drink in the company of like-minded adventurers.
Already eight groups are up and organised having picked their starting points: Heathrow Terminal 5, Crews Hill, New Addington, Chingford, Hampton Court, Slade Green and Knockholt are already bagged. But there are 24 suggested starting points in total so it's not too late to start up a group and pursue a different angle on London.
The Degrees of London Urban Story walk is on Saturday 10 March from 10am. Find out more at Urban Earth.
