Dogs using Slow Ways #4: Bronson

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Wildlife photographer Jasmine Pasha turned her lens on dogs going about their Slow Ways journeys. This time, Bronson on Ealing to Southall

Since Slow Ways began two years ago people have poured hundreds of thousands of words of reviews, and thousands of photos, into the collective pot. Routes are being walked and reviewed at a rate of 137km a day! We are well on the way to discovering how people feel about the routes they are walking, as each reviewer leaves notes and clues, tips and memories, like a postcard to the next user.

But there is another major user of the routes. Love them or hate them, there are many, many dogs of Slow Ways, all non-verbally having their own experiences of the routes, back and forth (and back and forth and back and forth) all over the country. What are they thinking? What do they love, what do they hate? It’s not our place to suggest, so the best tool we have is a camera.

We asked talented wildlife photographer Jasmine Pasha to spend time on routes, where she’d try to capture some of the spirit and soul of these route companions. The photos stand alone, but as you look at them you might like to think: what is the dog thinking? What senses is it using that its owner can’t access? What extra information would the dog write in its review? Can we recognise joy, right here? Might it be contagious?

Here’s Bronson on his journey.

Slow Ways route: Southall to Ealing Broadway on Soueal
Distance: 7km / 4mi

Bronson has walked this route countless times; each time there’s something new to discover – the smells, the people, the birds. Bronson is in awe of it all. He watches the boats pass as we walk along the canal, and sometimes it seems as though he’s wondering how deep the water really is… will he ever dive in? Who’s to say.

Do you have a dog that uses Slow Ways? Share their journeys on our socials using #DogsUsingSlowWays @slowwaysUK

Slow Ways
Slow Ways is an initiative to create a national network of walking routes connecting all of Great Britain’s towns and cities as well as thousands of villages. It’s designed to make it easier for people to imagine, plan and go on walking journeys, walking further and for more purposes.