Date/Time
Date(s) - 21/03/2016
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Location
Blackfriars rail & tube station
6.30pm-8.00pm Monday 21 March Start from Blackfriars rail & tube station North bank of the Thames
Photographic exploratory walk of one of London’s lost rivers in the company of writer and 
photographer, Dr Peter Coles. Starting at the mouth of the Fleet river and following it upstream to stalk the Hardy Ash in Old St Pancras Churchyard.
150 years ago, poet and novelist Thomas Hardy while working as an architect’s technician was in charge of the excavation of the graveyard in Old St Pancras churchyard, arranging for the removal of gravestones so that work could continue on the London & Midland railway. The gravestones were leant up against an ash tree. Over time, the tree roots have enmeshed the gravestones, creating an extraordinary feature.
And here ends our journey: a photography walkshop to explore other unusual trees along the banks of the now buried River Fleet and seek out significant trees that Thomas Hardy himself would have seen. This walkshop will include some amazing discoveries and uncover some revealing facts surrounding our trees.
We are delighted to be working with Peter Coles (Visiting Fellow and tutor at Goldsmiths and specialising in urban nature) in delivering this participatory walkshop.
Come celebrate the first days of Spring!
Part of Find your London Festival
£15 for Adults (introduce a friend get £2 cash back) £10 for NUS Concessions (introduce a friend get £1 cash back), accompanied children come free -places limited.
Stalking Trees? When we first met Peter Coles he told us that when he had been trying to photograph the magnolia tree in the gardens at Kenwood House, it had taken him several weeks to get the shot. Now we thought that was pretty extraordinary as we didn’t imagine you had to creep up on it…so we asked why on earth it took him so long to ‘stalk a tree’ – and that’s where the idea came from for our series of Stalking Tree walkshops, in which we walk, talk about trees and discuss how to photograph them…
This is what Peter recollects: “It did take several weeks to find the exact right time to photograph the tree when the flowers were just in bloom. And I got it when a thunderstorm was about to break, with my favourite lighting of a black sky and brilliant sunshine. But yes, creeping up on the trees is what landscape photography can be about. But how often do we get the chance to keep coming back to a subject, or stay there for hours or days till the light’s right?”
Walking in Step