Unregistered

October 26th, 2013: the day of Unregistered's first Artswalk around Sheffield's Parkwood Springs area. There had been a question mark hanging over the event because of the inclement weather of the previous few days, and my heart sank when I woke to hear rain beating on my window. But the sun soon chased the rain clouds away and by the time we set off from the Infirmary Road tramstop at 10.30am it was quite a fine morning. A modest band of interested locals had gathered for the walk, many of whom had grown up on or around the Parkwood Springs estate, and it didn't take long for the conversation and reminiscences to start flowing.

Our first stop was on Bardwell Road, at the railway bridge which marked the entrance to the old Parkwood Springs estate. This was, and still is, the only way in and out of the estate, so it seemed a suitable place for our first activity. Lead artist Mark encouraged the walkers to describe their memories of the area as it used to be; a hive of activity amidst the steelworks, with steam hammers ringing out and shire horses in every archway. As they talked, the participants were asked to write a few words to describe their impressions or memories of the scene in the form of a sign; then they photographed each other holding their signs in appropriate locations around the area, using the bridge and archways as natural frames for the pictures under the guidance of photographer Charlotte Newton.

The walk then continued up Douglas Road to the Ski Village entrance, where some of Parkwood's terraced houses used to stand. We read through a list of the inhabitants of Douglas Road from the early 1900s, and some of these colourful characters from the past provided the inspiration for more signs.

As we climbed further up the hill the weather began to close in and our photographs took on a steel grey hue as we looked out over the city. But after a brief shower the sun burst through again and we witnessed the wild beauty of today's Parkwood Springs in all its glory.

The future of this area may be uncertain, but this walk helped to ensure that the past and present of Parkwood Springs won't be forgotten.