Open Spaces in Nine Elms

Responding to this year’s Festival theme 'in common', local poet and historian Hilaire will lead a guided walk around Nine Elms focused on the open spaces being incorporated into the ongoing developments. Starting at Nine Elms tube station, the walk will centre on the linear park., which aims to connect green spaces between Vauxhall and Battersea Park. The route, to be confirmed, will include Embassy Gardens, US Embassy public realm, Nine Elms Park, Riverlight, and will end at Battersea Power Station tube.

New areas of Nine Elms are being opened to the public for the first time in more than 150 years. Before the arrival of the railways, common fields covered much of the area, and were cultivated for food growing. As part of the walk, Hilaire will share heritage information about the area and background on the redevelopment of Nine Elms, focusing on the public realm and landscaping elements. Highlighting the area’s history, as this walk will do, can help to create a shared sense of place.

The walk will take around two hours and will include some short, seated stops.

In light of the Festival and Wandsworth Council's commitment to sustainability, we advise that those attendees that are able to please arrive to the meeting point either by foot or by public transport, and we will not be producing any printed material as part of the event.