Somerset Space Walk
The Somerset Space Walk is a sculpture trail model of the Solar System, located in Somerset, England. The model uses the towpath of the 22-kilometre (14-mile) Bridgwater and Taunton Canal to display a model of the Sun and its planets in their proportionally correct sizes and distances apart. Unusually for a Solar System model, there are two sets of planets.
Aware of the inadequacies of printed pictures of the Solar System, the Space Walk was designed by inventor Pip Youngman as a way of challenging our perceptions of space and experiencing the vastness of the Solar System. The model is built to a scale of 1:530,000,000, meaning that one millimetre on the model equates to 530 kilometres. The Sun is sited at Higher Maunsel Lock, and one set of planets is installed in each direction along the canal towards Taunton and Bridgwater; the distance between the Sun and each model of Pluto being 11 kilometres (6.8 mi). Fortunately for less hardy walkers, the inner planets are within 67 metres (220 ft) of the Sun, and near to the Maunsel Canal Centre (and tea shop) at Lower Maunsel Lock, where a more detailed leaflet about the model is available.
The Space Walk was opened on 9 August 1997 by British astronomer Heather Couper. In 2007, a project team from Somerset County Council refurbished some of the models.
The Walk is a joint venture between the Taunton Solar Model Group and British Waterways, with support from Somerset County Council, Taunton Deane Borough Council and the Somerset Waterways Development Trust. The Taunton Solar Model Group comprised Pip Youngman, Trevor Hill – a local physics teacher who had been awarded the title of "Institute of Physics (IOP) Physics Teacher of the Year" – and David Applegate who, during his time as Mayor of Taunton, had expressed a wish to see some kind of science initiative in the area. Pip came up with the idea for the Space Walk, and Trevor assisted by calculating the respective positions and sizes of the planets.
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