Jane’s Walk will be taking place in London on May 2, 2010.

What is Jane’s Walk?

Jane’s Walk is a series of free neighbourhood walking tours that helps put people in touch with their environment and with each other, by bridging social and geographic gaps and creating a space for cities to discover themselves.

It’s a thriving Canadian innovation that’s gone global. Last year 46 cities took part across North America. This year Jane’s Walks will span 60 cities worldwide (approx 30 in Canada, 25 in the U.S, five internationally) with some 350 walking tours on offer. New Jane’s Walk partnerships this year include Los Angeles, Brooklyn, Chattanooga, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Victoria and …. London, ON.

Best of all, all Jane’s Walk tours are given and taken for free.

For more details check out www.janeswalklondon.com

In participation with Jane’s Walk London we have decided to schedule another May photo walk taking place on May 2nd. Although we realize that this is happening not too long after our last photowalk and very close to our joint Photo Walk with PodCamp London we thought it was important to celebrate the City of London on May 2nd with the many other walkers that will be out that day.

With that said, here are the details of the photo walk happening for Jane’s Walk London:

Date: Sunday, May 2nd, 2010

Time: 5:30pm – 7:30pm

Location: The Forest behind Bresica University Collete (at the University of Western Ontario)

Starting Location: Bresica University College (See Map)

Route: Marked in GREEN on the map

Ending Location: Bresica University College

Parking: Typically the parking lot shown on the map is open and free during the summer (from past experience), however this cannot be guaranteed and as such you should be prepared to find and pay for parking if you are driving. You can CLICK HERE to check out Western’s Parking Services.

This walk will take us through the forest and on trails that aren’t paved so we suggest that proper footwear be worn.

As usual, if you have any questions or comments just post them below.

One of the next London Photo Walks is scheduled to be held at the University of Western Ontario (UWO). Although this walk will take place after most students have left the campus, this Sunday morning walk in May will prove to be a beautiful one with the flowers and plants hopefully in full bloom.

The details for the walk are as follows:

Date: Sunday, May 9th, 2010

Time: 10:30am – 12:30pm

Location: University of Western Ontario

Starting Location: The Concrete Beach (See Map)

Route: Marked in BLUE on the map

Ending Location: Because it is the summer and we are not sure if any of the on-campus eateries will be open, we will determine an ending location closer to the date.

Parking: Typically the parking lot shown on the map is open and free during the summer (from past experience), however this cannot be guaranteed and as such you should be prepared to find and pay for parking if you are driving. You can CLICK HERE to check out Western’s Parking Services.

Buses: #6 Richmond, #13 Wellington #2 Dundas #10 Wonderland (plus many others)

We have been informed by some people that this date is actually Mother’s Day and as such there are other activities going on and some people might not be able to make the walk. Taking this into consideration we encourage everyone who wants to come out to bring their mother to enjoy (what should be) the great weather and beautiful scenery.

We are trying to arrange a guide for our tour that might be able to let us in to some “secret” areas of campus, details of this will come closer to the date if possible.

This walk will be taking place in conjunction with PodCamp London 2010 which is happening the day before on May 8th 2010.

When 14 individuals got together a year ago to simply take pictures for a couple of hours I thought nothing more of the day. Now a year has come and gone (very quickly) and in April 2010 we are still photo walking month after month.

Personally the London Photo Walk has been great for myself. Being able to explore and photograph the unique and diverse neighbourhoods that London has to offer  in a relaxed and comfortable format/environment has been something that I have really enjoyed. On top of this, I have had the opportunity to meet some of the greatest people, from both inside and outside of London, and have made a number of lasting connections with people I would not have normally met otherwise.

I know that other people feel the same way as I have received a number of emails over the past year that mention the relaxed informal nature of the photo walks which makes people feel more at home and less pressured than traditional clubs.  When I get letters such as these I can help to think about the next walk we will have and the people we will meet.

With that said, in order to celebrate one year of photo walking in London we thought it would be fitting to return to where it all began, the Old East Village. Over the past year many changes have taken place in this unique neighbourhood of London and it would be nice to head back to the Old East Village to see the contrast that a year of time can produce.

The details of the photo walk are as follows:

Date: Sunday, April 18th, 2010

Time: 10:30am – 12:30pm

Location: Old East Village

Starting Location: East Village Coffee Shop

Route: Marked in RED on the map

Ending Location: Someplace for Lunch (still to be determined, stay tuned)

As far as I know there won’t be presents, cake or candles, but there will be good company and great conversation. I encourage everyone to come out and enjoy this day. Whether you are a photographer, resident, business owner or just someone who likes good conversation, the day will prove to have something for everyone.

Although this is called the London Photo Walk I can personally vouch that photography is no longer the main purpose behind it all (at least not for me). Over the past 3 months I have taken less and less photos at the walk but have enjoyed each walk more than the one before.  The people, conversations and places are what the London Photo Walk is all about and as such everyone is invited.