In our quest to find buskers to test and map spaces in Durham's Necklace Park, my mate Rachel and I stumbled across an open mic session in the Hog's Head pub in Saddler St.

It was great to see a Tuesday night crowded out with some of the City's young musicians giving heart and soul to the regulars!

I would like to thank Alex, James, Mark, Simon, Dave, Ian and Andrew and all those performers we didnt manage to chat to!

Fingers X we might see you at the Mapping event!

On the 16th March, Derek with Donald the dog, Ed, Enid and Calvin from the Durham Society for the Blind and Partially Sighted navigated a section of the Durham Necklace Park. It was the first opportunity for them to try a section and explore it from the perspective of a blind person and how accessible and how infomation could make it more accessible.

The group tried out how easy it was with a guide dog and a long white stick. Apart from a few pot holes along Frankland Lane and the very cold weather, it went very well!

create a participatory sound map of necklace park which can be done with the most lo-tec of recording devices like your mobile phone or a mini-disc player. you can record absolutely anything that takes your interest and/or you feel is representative of the location the sound is recorded. it could be a conversation overheard at a bus stop, an interaction with a market trader, a dog barking or your footsteps on a particular path.
the sound-tags get uploaded onto a map and can be listened to by clicking your mouse on a specific location on the map.
for an example of how this works go to:

There is a little piece of software that converts images into sound that aims to describe an image to blind people! I have attached an example of the Necklace Park that has been converted, it is a bit 'alien' to listen to but interesting experiment!

You know how it is. Out & about with your tunes, one of which is your perfect soundtrack for some activity, whether it's gliding through the arcade at Millburngate or trail surfing under the Elvet. So here's the challenge: You're somewhere in the Necklace Park; you're doing a particular thing, running or walking, maybe with a camera, a book, your bike. Now: what melody is going through your head?

Come back here and tell us what, where, when. Can we make an audio map of the Necklace Park?

Or the other way round. Can we make a journey that involves going to a particular place and listening, then describing what we've heard? What do you hear when you put your ear next to the stones around the marketplace?

For many people visiting The Durham Necklace Park, walking around and experiencing the sights, sounds and smells of the riverside will hopefully be a pleasurable experience. But what if you lose one of those senses; can you still have the same pleasurable experience?