Up and Down in Edinburgh

Before my walk this week on a planned day out in Edinburgh, I asked my uncle what might be the best thing to go see and he answered “Just go and see the place itself – it is all on different levels and that is one of it’s main attractions as a city“.

Water of Leith

Water of Leith

Continue reading

Art in Edinburgh – Modern One

At the entrance to the Scottish Gallery of Modern Art – Modern 1, we were met by this figure emerging from the pavement! This work is by Anthony Gormley and although one of the main exhibitions in gallery at the time was by Bridget Riley, as with Modern 2, there were other interesting things to be seen as well, including the building and its grounds.

Both Modern 1 and Modern 2 have mural projects in their stairwells – in Modern 1 it is a Douglas Gordan piece which lists all the people he could remember ever having met. The list stretches from the ground floor to the roof and looking over the banister gave me quite a woozy feeling.

We were lucky with the weather on our visit to Edinburgh and the light played a part in the art of this building just as it did in Modern 2.

sculpture by Anthony Gormley

Anthony Gormley sculpture

Willow Wall

Returning from the wildflower garden to the children garden on my walk this week at Kunsthuis Gallery I explored one of its features. The willow tunnel entrance to this natural / man-made “dwelling” was too enticing not to do so. Bending down to child height I entered the dome shaped structure and enjoyed the changed and semi-secretive space with its growing willow walls and willow roof creating patterns and textures as it changed the sunlight from above.

willow wall

If viewing this in an email, please click the post title to see other photos in this post, thank you.

From Inside and Outside

With a final look across the landscape from inside Cairnholy chambered tomb and a last look back at its standing stones, we descended back down the lane through woodland to the car.  If you are ever in Galloway, StillWalks Scotland and enjoy the neolithic era of burial architecture, this is a site worth visiting. Don’t let bad weather put you off, it’s worth it in the rain as well as the sunshine.

Cairnholy chambered tomb

Looking out

If viewing this in an email, please click the post title to see other photos in this post, thank you.

Stone Character and Looking Inside the Tomb

Looking at the second chambered tomb of Cairnholy on my walk this week in Galloway, SW Scotland and facing east (approximately), the covered chamber takes on the appearance of an oriental character in stone. I don’t speak Chinese or Japanese so have no idea if the chamber’s form seen from this angle actually does resemble anything in those languages, but it seems to have an essence of it. However, I imagine this is completely coincidental.

Cairnholy 2

If viewing this in an email, please click the post title to see other photos in this post, thank you.

Cairnholy 2

Continuing up the hill on my walk this week we found the second Cairnholy chambered tomb site. There are not so many standing stones arranged around this burial chamber but the profile of it against the cloudy sky made for a strong composition.

Cairnholy 2

Cairnholy 2

If viewing this in an email, please click the post title to see other photos in this post, thank you.

My Walk this Week – Cairnholy

My walk this week’s actually taken a couple of years ago but as I am going to be in the same area again over the next week or two, it seemed a good time to post about our visit to the chambered tomb of Cairnholy in Scotland. I don’t have any field recording from this walk so I am afraid there will be no soundscape this week.

The weather on this walk could have been better but was not so bad to stop us going and the walk up the small road towards the ancient site was very attractive in itself.

Cairnholy woodland

 

If viewing this in an email, please click the post title to see other photos in this post, thank you.

Hereford Cityscape – Reviewing the Walk

Back at the start of my walk this week and you can listen to the soundscape while viewing the images. The image below shows two parts of the same alleyway – despite the graffiti the walkthrough is kept pretty clean.

Hereford walkway

Hereford City Walk Soundscape

If viewing this in an email, please click the post title to see other photos in this post, thank you.