The High Line
The High Line is a disused elevated freight railway that served the Meat Packing District of New York running almost entirely within the Chelsea district from Hudson Yards downtown where train cars were shunted right into buildings two stories up from the ground level. The railway was abandoned and in recent years has become a city park giving an oasis of green and artwork above the city streets. The High Line is has become a major tourist attraction and is loved by both tourists and New Yorkers alike. I first visited The High Line in 2018 and decided to use it for a photowalk this year while in New York as they had opened the final part called The Spur and I wanted to see it. You can find out more about The High Line at their website thehighline.org.
The Walk
On 29th of October on a bleak near winterâs day, five intrepid Local Guides gathered at the Beginning of The High Line in New York City. The five were L-R Martins, Chris, Katie, Traci and myself. You might recognise some of them.
We meandered along the walk enjoying artworks such as Five Conversations by Lubaina Himid and Four Arches by Sam Falls and many others. The wet kept the numbers down on The High Line and the autumn fall colours were simply breathtaking.
The sites along the avenues as you look from your high vantage reveal atypical New York scenes full of yellow taxis and a throng of people.
Part way through the walk, a sixth Local Guide Hudjy joined us right near Chelsea Market and continued with us for the remainder of the walk until we reached The Vessel.
As we walked we talked all things Local Guides and New York. We all shared the fun of simply being in the moment with some like minded people who easily transition into friends. This is the coolest thing about Local Guides meet-ups - we share the same mission and goals so itâs easier for us to form a cohesive group.
We ended the walk there and went our separate ways with some heading to Whitmans for a delicious burger. Weirdly a sixth Local Guide taught me a valuable lesson about leaving location sharing on with a public link when he dropped into our dinner and joined us.
New York was very kind to us during our short photowalk as it had been raining steadily (Iâm told it was New York Mist not rain!) and suddenly stopped when it was time to do the walk and opened right up allowing us to take some awesome photographs and enjoy each others company.
The main take homes apart from the photos of this walk are that the weather can play a hand in a successful meet-up and that the lovely Googlers that joined the walk are very much Local Guides just like us.
If youâre ever in New York I highly recommend a walk along The High Line no matter what the time of year, or weather it will provide a series of delights and best of all itâs free!
Accessibility
The entire line is accessible with a gentle ramp up at the Hudson Yards end and several elevators along the walk notably at the beginning, Chelsea Market, The Spur and in the mall adjacent The Vessel. There are accessible bathrooms at the beginning of the walk and within the mall adjacent The Vessel.
You can see my images from the walk in this album.
Thanks for reading and I invite your feedback on this post.
Paul
