Pittville Pump Rooms and the park that surrounds it provide a green space for locals. I myself, walk through it almost everyday on my way to campus and onwards to the town centre. The well-trodden footpaths are becoming so familiar that I could re-trace my steps, whether it be light, dark, in conversation or on my bike, with ease. The walk this week however changed my route slightly as I got to explore the meadow within the golf course where at this time of year, thorns and thistles are its main feature. I loved the undulating hills and gullies that creates a more naturalistic landscape than the confined expanse of the field opposite. You can imagine also, how the variation in levels provide shelter for wildlife where they can hide from predators and people. Intersecting these miniature valleys are winding grass paths that weave their way through following desire lines. A 'desire line' from my perspective is made from people walking the most efficient route across a space, like cutting off a corner for example. The artist Richard Long and his temporary piece, 'A Line Made by Walking' demonstrates human impact literally on the Earth and the transient nature of such a simple interaction between us and the environment. This piece is only exists as a photograph because the 'line' cannot be preserved as it existed only for a short period of time in the environment. His work represents impermanence, motion and relativity, all concerns that challenge a Landscape Architect. We must be able to envision how our designs will develop in the future and their longevity as well as how people will respond to the landscape. For example, I looked on with glee as a group of children played hide and seek in the meadow, imitating the relationship between predator and prey, relishing in the thrill of the chase!
Watching how people use the park invites us to analyse how successful the transport network is. In an ideal situation, the paths would be wide enough to accommodate both cyclists and walkers so the space can be shared easily. At the moment, it's obvious that there are multiple points in the park where transport flow is blocked. I'd like to highlight the Pump Rooms as one of these sore points; the entrance is too narrow and the flow of people too overwhelming. One could argue that the introduction of a large playground has lead to the increase in foot traffic combined with how the busy main road discourages cyclists so they choose to navigate through the park instead. Especially now, with such wet weather, the footpaths are slippy from the mass of fallen leaves so navigating through the park on a bicycle results in hairy moments with the brakes forcefully applied to narrowly avoid a stray dog!
To conclude, Pittville Park is essential to the surroundings because it provides a space for everyone and for that I am grateful to have it on my doorstep! It may need improvement but there are aspects to it that are very charming and pretty and I would much rather get muddy shoes than have to walk/cycle only on concrete streets.
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