Underneath the Nene Parkway - Longthorpe Flyover in Orton Mere is a hidden gem, a legal graffiti site that is a beauty to behold. Located in Thorpe Meadows where you will find Nene Park’s purpose-built rowing lake, nice riverside walks and a public sculpture collection, these graffiti walls are a very welcome sight to regular walkers and cyclists who have seen this part of the bridge once littered with ugly graffiti by vandals.
I think the reason this place was touched up was because it became a venue for outdoor dance events by a company called Mixology. They held their first dance event in this area in summer of 2021 and I seem to recall passing by this site while out cycling with my wife. I think they were about to start back then as we saw young people walking towards this site, which was fenced off and had a few burly security staff directing them to the venue.
Part of this graffiti site under the bridge was also painted over as a community art project, the Jubilation in 2022. The aim was 'to illustrate the diversity of the city in 2022, and celebrates the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and young people in Peterborough.' Artists Keith Hopewell and Nikki Goldup worked with local young people to create this community art project.
As a regular in Thorpe Meadows where we do our walks and cycling I always find this place a nice contrast, the once drab industrial walls transformed by colourful graffiti, juxtaposed with the natural surrounding of trees, grasses and the river nearby. After all, this site is part of Thorpe Meadows, one of the smaller parks that comprise the Ferry Meadows Country Park.
All photos were taken with an Android phone, Google Pixel 6 (https://amzn.to/3XDYCWr)
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