Lighting up the Games

IT is a route that will be used by millions of walkers and cyclists in the run up to the Olympic Games.

Now a Norfolk engraving company is helping to shape the look of a new green pathway in London to celebrate the 2012 games and the Queen's forthcoming diamond jubilee.

Norfolk Resists, which is based at Riddlesworth, near Thetford, has been commissioned to carve 600 bespoke glass plaques that will help mark the Jubilee Greenway that was launched last year.

The 60km continuous pedestrian and cycle route starts and finishes at Buckingham Palace and is part of a project to celebrate the Olympics and the Queen's 60 years as sovereign in 2012.

Officials at Norfolk Resists spoke of their pride after being subcontracted to etch the Jubilee Greenway logo into hundreds of directional discs that will be placed along the pathway.

The glass engraving company, which was formed in 1988, was asked by London-based recycling arts firm eluna to take on the royal project last year after being commissioned by the Jubilee Walkway Trust.

Robert Clegg, partner of Norfolk Resists, said his three staff were currently a third of the way through the order to etch the glass plaques, which will highlight the greenway path.

“We do work for corporate companies all over the UK and some jobs in Europe, but this is a big job and a very prestigious one at that. It will be nice to go down to London and see the Jubilee Greenway once the plaques have been put in place,” he said.

The company has been sandblasting the slabs, made from recycled London glass, to carve out the logo, which are sent to another firm that paints them a dark forest green.

The Jubilee Greenway was launched by the Duke of Gloucester in April and links all nine central London Olympic venues with some of the capital's best attractions, parks, waterways and views. The waymarks carved by Norfolk Resists will enhance the pathway and enable visitors to negotiate it without the need of a map.