COLOURFUL AND IMAGINATIVE trails through New Elgin are to be created as part of a project by a pioneering Glasgow-based organisation seeking to ‘empower a public audience’.
Nadfly’s ‘123 Routes’ project creates routes of discovery along imaginative trails that are marked by unique glyph signs.
Each month, new routes appear in different parts of the country allowing the public to walk, cycle and rediscover areas – and next in line is the New Elgin neighbourhood.
Everyone will be able to seek out the glyph signs, find their favourite route and experience Elgin in a new way through the project, while aims to create six routes between February and May this year in New Elgin, introduced in phases each month.
The routes and glyph designs are kept secret until the signs appear in the streets and maps are released to help guide explorers. A programme of events includes a Night Walk, inviting locals and visitors to see Elgin at dusk using flashlights to reveal the reflective, beam-catching signs.
Nadfly will be working closely with ambassador classes at Greenwoods and New Elgin primary schools, encouraging parents and pupils to walk to and from school.
Nicola Atkinson, Director of Nadfly, said: “We very excited to be creating routes of discovery through New Elgin, each of which has its own feeling.
“The glyph designs follow a thematic of bold colour and design, created especially for the neighbourhood. We look forward to meeting the community and learning how people use 123 Routes in their daily lives.”
Pat Douglass, Sustainable Travel Officer for Moray Council, added: “This is a new and innovative approach to discovering local walking and cycling routes.
“Through art NADFLY will create a voyage of discovery that everyone can enjoy, where it’s not about the destination but the journey along the route. An opportunity for people to discover some of the many back-door routes that wind through the local communities away from the more familiar road network.
“The programme of events on the route and the work with the primary schools will provide a welcome opportunity for additional community engagement.”