2009 Festival: A slow stroll over Waterloo Bridge
Slow Down London kicked off very slowly on Friday 24 April with about two hundred Londoners calmly strolling over Waterloo Bridge. Watch a video.
The crowd gathered at Embankment Gardens by the Thames at 5pm and were handed t-shirts and placards for the walk.
Speaking over a megaphone, one of the walk leaders Jane Ward told people to simply enjoy the experience and appreciate the changing views as they passed over the bridge.
The group then slowly made their way across the bridge in a narrow procession, flanked by news cameras and hurried passersby.
Strangers chatted to each other as they walked in the afternoon sunshine. “I’ve met so many people,” said Ruth Smith from west London. “When you’re buzzing along you aren’t really listening to other people, but when you slow down, suddenly everyone feels more comfortable just talking to each other.”
Others welcomed the chance to soak up the views of London at a slower pace. “You forget how beautiful London is when you’re rushing around,” said Philip Darby, a charity fundraiser from Surrey. “Walking slowly across the bridge makes you remember there is actually light and space in London, you just need to seek it out.”
Not everyone was taking the Slow approach across town. “Is this Slow Down London?” asked one woman as she hurried past towards Waterloo Station. “You really need to speed up.”
The walk ended outside the South Bank Centre,where the crowd listened to London singer Annalie Wilson in the last of the sun.
“It’s been a very calming and enjoyable experience,” said Slow Down London director Tessa Watt, who led the walkers over the bridge. “Just taking the time to enjoy the river and the views can have a powerful effect – they make you slow down and appreciate where you are.”
The Slow festivities continued at the National Portrait Gallery with live jazz and a talk on timekeeping by David Rooney from London’s Royal Observatory in Greenwich.
Chris Cox
Visit the Big Slow Walk photo gallery.
Watch a video of the Big Slow Walk on YouTube by Zelda Moehring.
Image by Richard Woolley
