Mapping the Necklace at the Dott 07 Festival officially opens on the 16th October 2007.

The Mapping Team invite visitors to the festival continue this blog with their thoughts and experiences here at the festival or online in the rest of the world!

has anybody else tried it ?
Have tried parachuting, hot air balooning, snow and water skeeing and love being at sea in my dingy.
read Beths blog, and met Beth on Kitchen Criminals

Dott 07 Design Boot Camp comes to Durham's Necklace Park for a day to explore the area's potential for sustainable tourism!

Approximately 6 adults and 10 children attended a wild food walk, near Durham City, led by local food enthusiast Wilf Richards.

The walk started at The Pump House restaurant near Houghall College, headed down to Houghall Farm, cut across the field to Great High Wood, followed the bottom of the woods to the A177 main road, skirted around Maiden Hill, popped over the River Wear and finished at Old Durham.

A couple of people joined us from the Play Mapping Team for a bit at the start of the walk and took some photos. No other photos were taken for the walk, but there was plenty of tasting, smelling and discussions on recipes.

The walk covered 3 distinctly different habitats. From the start to Houghall Farm was predominantly hedgerow, then the second main habitat was woodland through Great High Wood and the walk concluded with riverbank habitats around the River Wear to Old Durham.

In the hedgerow section of the walk we found Ground Elder, Elder, Burdock, Nettles, Jack in the Hedge, Apple and Cherry.

Ground Elder is normally considered an annoying weed by most gardeners but is in fact perfectly edible and can be cooked like spinach when young. It was ready for the picking today.

Elder trees were common and we could see the flower buds forming although not quite ready. The flowers are excellent for cordial and sparkling drink production. Later in the year the berries will be available for jam making.

Burdock could be seen growing up under the hedges. Similar in appearance to Dock but much bigger and more wrinkly. At the end of the year the roots can be dug up, chopped like chips and fried or boiled.

Various types of nettles were found. We didn’t touch the stinging types, but if we had gloves we could have picked it for the pot later on that day. The not stinging types known as Dead Nettles are also edible. In particular the flowers were ready. One participant described how they ate the flowers as a child. Some of us tried them, they were indeed sweet from the nectar.

Jack in the Hedge was also common, with its light green leaves and small white flowers. It is an ideal addition to a salad with its slight garlic flavour.

Apple trees and Cherry trees were also common in this section of the walk, most in flower and we were all considering returning to this section of the walk for picking time, typically late July for Cherry and late September onwards for Apples.

The next section of the walk took us through the bottom path of Great High Woods. We found Hazel, Wood Sorrel, Bramble, Rowan, Garlic, Raspberry, Blackthorn and more Cherry, Nettles and Ground Elder. It is noticeable that plants in a woodland habitat seem less edible at this time of year. Most are nut and fruit bearing and we would need to wait until later in the year for the hazel nuts (if the squirrels hadn’t got them first), for the sloes from the Blackthorn, the blackberries from the Bramble and berries from the Rowan tree (although these are often bitter and probably best left for the birds)

Wood Sorrel was ready, with its small leaves growing in clusters on the ground and small white flowers. Only a few of the leaves should be eaten as they contain Oxalic Acid, which on one hand gives them their distinctive flavour like lemons and vinegar but too much is apparently not good for you. Excellent in salad but they are not common in the woods and I often think they should be left alone.

Wild Garlic or Ramsons as they are also known were lacking from our walk until we drew closer to the river. They need a damp, woodland habitat, too dry and they won’t grow. They were in flower and the leaves were starting to come to an end. But none the less they were tasty and fiercely spicy with their garlic kick. The flowers are also edible and as one child pointed out they also smell like honey and even taste sweet for the first second before the garlic punch.

Our last habitat was by the river although we were all quite tired by now and in need of food and drink awaiting us at Old Durham. Our main discovery there was Comfrey, which some say is edible, although others say stay away from it. I’m of the camp that says stay away from it. It is on the other hand an incredible supplier of a rich liquid fertiliser, produced from the rotting leaves, and that’s particular good for growing food in your own garden.

After leaving the group and the finale at Old Durham, I headed home towards the centre of Durham along the river edge and I was pleased to find a bit of Horseradish, quite rare in these parts. The last time I had seen it in the wild was growing abundantly along ditches in Somerset. The root of the Horseradish plant is used to make Horseradish sauce. I am currently growing some at our smallholding but it’s not ready for harvest yet. I have been told that grating should occur outside on a fine day as the spice is strong enough to make a whole village cry and puts the average onion to shame. I’m looking forward to that.

If you want to know anymore about wild food walks in the area then you could join the Durham Local Food Network by sending an email to wilf.permascape@virgin.net. The network is free, it promotes and shares information about local food events including wild food forays happening in the area.

I would always recommend that you know your botany of plants before picking any from the wild and technically you are meant to have landowner’s permission to pick.

There are several books I could recommend – 2 great starters are Wild Food by Roger Phillips and Food for Free by Richard Mabey.

This part of our journey is to be somewhat easier, as we are at the highest point on our route, but we are not prepared for the ancient cobbled surfaces as SOUTH BAILEY snakes away into the distance. ADAM decides to use the footpaths, a challenge in itself, for they are just a little wider than his wheelchair, with the occasional downspout protruding into the narrow path, it turns out to be as troublesome as MIKE's chosen route along the cobbled street!

At least JOHN has a respite from pushing us up hills!, but he tells us tales of nearly every building along the way, pointing out historical and amusing parts of the locality (This man should be a guide for tourists, he held our attention like this along the whole journey!)

SOUTH BAILEY leads on to NORTH BAILEY where the surfaces remain the same, but at least at the low pace we can appreciate the architecture along the way, I notice the streets are kept clean & tidy, just like the rest of DURHAM (except for the myriad of paths, why are these a litter strewn mess?)

The views along NORTH BAILEY include the tidy individual houses opposite the cathedral buildings, the whole area looking as if it is from centuries past.

There are many fine sights along these streets, we recommend anyone to view them, but if you are in a wheelchair, don't forget your "pushing pal" to help you over the obstacles! (it is easier than the tracks in chapter one-but only just!)

NORTH BAILEY drops down into SADDLER STREET, it is market day-there are a lot of shops and restaurants along SADDLER STREET, we find it great that most folk notice us and step out of the way, while we busily look around the shop windows too!

All too soon, we reach the MARKET PLACE ...Wow! Stalls, people bustling, children gazing at the bright coloured attractions, the hustle-bustle of a market set in a medieval square.... This scene must have been repeated each week for hundreds of years!

The final part of our journey takes us past St.Nicholas Church, along CLAYPATH to the CLAYPORT LIBRARY, where we "check in" with the mapping group, each of us relating our experiences to the assembled Mapping staff.

ADAM smiling his wide smile, JOHN resting awhile, and me? I relax with a welcome coffee, thankful that the cobbles are behind me!!

May bank holiday Saturday, our team of three set off from Clayport library to travel along the river side to Prebends bridge, where we would return via South & North Bailey, Slater St, Market place & back to Clayport Library.

You may think it is a short, relatively easy journey, but we are in wheelchairs, Adam is confined to an electric wheelchair (he has a muscular disease) I am using a lightweight wheelchair with a hand cycle attachment & a small hub motor for some assistance (I am Mike, I have an amputation & suffer with poor circulation due to diabetes). The third member of our team is JOHN, a frequent visitor to the library, who is a keen walker, with knowledge of the many paths around DURHAM. (He was press-ganged into helping us by BETH).

So off we set, crossing CLAYPATH, (not easy, there are ramps, but no pedestrian controlled traffic lights!!) heading down the cycle track to the tunnel under the roadway (MILBURNGATE A690?). Once through the tunnel we are faced with a choice of 3 routes, John advises the riverside path, so we continue under more road bridges, negotiating broken surfaces which are well past their sell by date, and could do with a LOT of REPAIR.
Eventually it is obvious the path is the riverside path, as it runs along the riverside!! Passing the moored river cruise boats the path narrows and snakes between river WEAR & the overhanging trees & undergrowth, BIRDSONG abounds! Thrush, blackbirds and small birds (ROBINS DUNNOCKS ASSORTED FINCHES & TITS) all singing their claim to territory, but not visible as the leaf canopy is so dense.

Pretty soon, we happen upon a clearing beside the path, it is bathed in sunlight, with well mown grass, the area is big enough for kids to have a kick-about, while parents watch from the picnic they brought, an idyllic scene.

As the path leads us on our journey, I realise why JOHN was sent out with us, for ahead of us lies a short ramp, about six to eight feet high (2-3 metres for you metric types). We need JOHN to push both myself and ADAM up this ramp, as it is very steep (other wheelchair users should bring their own JOHN, or perhaps a team of fit teenagers! As it would be impossible to push yourself up these slopes) THESE you say? Yes there's another one!....and more ahead!

But back to the journey, we pass the rowing club boathouses, noticing rowers out practicing on the river, the dappled sunlight glinting off the wet oars, the gentle ripples of water, sliced by the prow of their boats mixed with the sound of laughter, the ever present bird song lulls us into thinking the day is complete........

AHH-HA! There ahead lies the mountainous gradient that leads up to the dizzy heights of PREBENDS BRIDGE, other path users coming in the opposite direction are carrying small bunches of wild garlic (ramsons?) we are advised by a lady that it is good for cooking with and has a much more subtle & lighter flavour when used in salads or stir fry's, then JOHN tells us all that legend has it the garlic was planted by medieval monks to ward off evil spirits (he also says it must have worked, as no-one has ever seen an evil spirit here-abouts!)
Pretty soon, we rely on JOHN to assist us up the rutted steep slope to PREBENDS BRIDGE, where we rest, to prepare for the video team who have followed our every move so far, but when we have our interview to camera, they will cross PREBENDS & join another mapping group.
During the interview, I asked ADAM,"What do you think of it so far ADAM?"

He replied directly to the camera, with a huge grin on his face, saying, "I never thought I would do this.....but now I have, I want to do more, it is fantastic!"... JOHN & I said a few words, but ADAM had put everything we wanted into his comment, the facial expressions he had really said it all.

The video team left, JOHN told us a few points of local interest, then we turned and faced the track up to SOUTH BAILEY
After consulting with JOHN, we decided that ADAM should go first, with JOHN pushing him, the heavy electric wheelchair fighting for grip & traction, the summit was reached, but at the top a heavy duty metal barrier was locked across the roadway(apparently, only HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN may drive across PREBENDS bridge, so this barrier must be to deter anyone from such an attempt!) the track surface is hard-packed earth/rock, the slope is VERY steep! That would be enough deterrent, even for a tractor driver!!!

But I digress, my turn next! To attempt the climb, JOHN asked me how would it best be attempted by my wheelchair, after some discussion, we decided that I would use the assistance motor, JOHN would push the chair, we would pray(!) but the idea came to us both that a zig-zag route would be advised as the steep angle could have me fall out of the back of the chair!
Off we set, zig-zagging, the front drive wheel spinning for grip, JOHN heaving the wheel chair up the hill(it is a lightweight, BUT I AM NOT!!)

MADE IT!! But now JOHN has to wrestle the chair & me around the tiny gap at the side of the metal barrier, we are driven on in our efforts by ADAMS encouraging grin, as he surveys our struggle with gravity!

END OF CHAPTER ONE.
Coming soon, CHAPTER TWO - The cobbles!!!

What I found out is you can play anywhere. So if you look a bit harder when you are walking down to the town or even on your way to work or school or if you catch the train look out for all those tiny little corners where kids could play and just up date me when ever. What I found is that if you're an adult just think back and remember all those times you played in your home town and found hiding places where no one at all could find you and now just take some time off whatever your doing and just think of all those happy memories in your child hood and if you think hard it will bring a smile to your face even in the worst times. Such as going fishing with your parents and even when you did simple things like swinging on the swing or anything just think back.

this weekend all of us (the shelter girls) went to the picnic at old durham gardens where we met all the other groups and told each other their mapping ideas. On monday we actually went out to do our map with a video camera and audio equipment. Our shelter is for youths found outside without any where to go, for them to hang out or just sit and chill.
It was a good day thanks to dott 07 for giving us this opportunity to change our local area.
The Shelter Girls

Blogging for the first time here, having just been decanted from a flight in from Sydney, and having very little idea of what time of day, week, month it is I climbed aboard the train to Durham. A promise made to play a part in an exciting project for a virtual park in Durham called mapping the necklace.

My concept is one involving colour, scale and looking at things in different ways. Colour mapping could take on many levels of subject, flora, fauna etc. however my drive was to take the work of other mappers and develop abstracted images, using colours and textures to explore different dimensions and scales.

Please feel free to join me and continue the colour mapping, either abstracting or choosing other subjects to map. Thanks to everyone involved, it’s been a great weekend!!!