Name: Side Quests: River Ouse
Start: 2026-02-21T11:00:00+00:00
End: 2026-02-21T12:30:00+00:00
Location: St George's Field Car Park

Join us for a walking workshop around the River Ouse, using words, sound, and the process of walking to creatively engage with the river.
About this Event

Side Quests: River Ouse

Explore the river as an active presence in creative practice, drawing on ideas of ecological agency, ecopoetics, and soundwalking.

This 1.5-hour workshop involves a slow and meandering group walk along the Ouse, with creative prompts and exercises developed in collaboration with archaeologist Fran Mahon and York-based eco poet Becca Drake.

We will meet at 11:00am at the road entrance of St George’s Field Car Park (https://w3w.co/clap.earth.filed). The walk follows the river path to Millennium Bridge and returns on the opposite bank toward the city, ending at Patch York (https://w3w.co/weedy.putty.length).

The walk forms part of Side Quests, a collaborative project led by Bryony Aitchison and Gaia Blandina that integrates sound art, poetry, and participatory research. Side Quests offers art walks as creative disruptions rather than guided tours — open-ended encounters that provoke new ways of seeing, hearing, and imagining landscapes.

What you’ll need:Please bring a phone, if possible, for taking photos and making audio recordings, and a bottle of tap water. Paper for writing, along with creative tools and prompts, will be provided.

Accessibility:The route follows an accessible path; however, sections may flood and can be muddy or slippery. If the river is flooded on the day, an alternative route will be used. For questions or access needs, please email [email protected].