Lockdown in Lancaster and Morecambe

In our #BreathingSpace programme, artist Louise Ann Wilson is collecting maps of our daily exercise routes in Lancaster and Morecambe. Please share your route! Here is more from Louise and how you can take part.

Lockdown in Lancaster and Morecambe:
Walk, Run, Pedal, Push, Map

Are you discovering new places and routes to walk, run, pedal or push due to the Stay at Home / Stay Aware restrictions we are experiencing due to COVID-19? Places and routes that give you a breathing space – mentally, emotionally and physically? If so, please record them and add them to a new artwork, Lockdown in Lancaster and Morecambe: Walk, Run, Pedal, Push, Map

Since the COVID-19 Lockdown, I have been running and walking every day from home. Gradually, I have found and followed new paths that have taken me to parts of Lancaster that I didn’t know were there! I am now becoming more aware of how the city connects; where tracks, streams, waterways, roads and the river meet and cross. I have found allotments, prisons and graveyards, followed narrow bluebell-lined tracks through woods and into high-up places where the view across The Bay or The Lakes open up and lorries on the motorway push past. I wave at Ingleborough Fell and glimpse Clougha and Pendle Hill in the distance.

I’ve gained fitness, am running more regularly and a little further than usual. The pull of fresh air, warm sun or the whip of the wind is irresistible as is the need to stretch my legs and body, and clear my mind – and have some physical, spiritual and mental breathing space.

I am not alone in these findings and revelations – lots of others have told me they are doing exactly the same as me. Whether it be on foot or bicycle, with pushchair or wheelchair we are still venturing out from home. Those who can’t leave the house, move very far or easily are walking indoors, in yards, squares, gardens, streets and parks.

Whatever mode or distance, can you start recording your favourite lockdown walks and share them with me?

Submitting your route is simple, you can do so either electronically or by hand. Find out how below.

All of the mapped routes will be combined in to a single Lockdown in Lancaster and Morecambe: Walk, Run, Pedal, Push, Map map. This map will then become a bespoke artwork that abstracts and stitches the routes and paths into a made-at-home PPE intensive care gown.

Recording & Sharing Your Route(s)

You can record and share your route/s via GPS, email or post. From hand drawn to digitally captured GPS, all maps are welcome! All of the mapped routes will be combined in to a single Lockdown in Lancaster and Morecambe artwork.

Please send your maps in one of the following two ways:

Digital GPS maps can made and shared via Strava

Hand drawn or marked up maps can be sent to:

  • louise@louiseannwilson.com or
  • request a postal address via the email above.

The deadline for getting your maps to me is Friday 31 July.

So this project does not contribute to making favorite/hidden/narrow paths too busy. Routes will not be shared publically, until later in the year (and post lockdown) when the artwork/s map/s are completed.

Enjoy your mapping and really look forward to seeing them!

Here are links to a downloadable maps

Please note, walks can be shared from all parts of Lancaster and Morecambe AND the surrounding areas.

#WalkRunPedalPushMap

Posted on 19th May, 2020