Chalk Cliffs, Dover
Chalk is the skeletal remains of plankton, deposited on the sea floor in the Cretaceous period.
Trails run along the cliffs for miles east of Dover. Once you get out of earshot of the ferry terminal, these paths seem serenely remote. The scenery swallows you whole.
Wind Blown Wheat, Dover
Considering how I was knocked about by wind gusts on the cliffs, I confidently asked my hostess back at the guesthouse how many people per year fall to their death out there. She looked at me quizzically then replied, "We don't lose any PEOPLE off the cliffs, but we lose a few dogs every year - ones that can't figure out they must stop when they are chasing something toward the edge."
Osmington White Horse, South Dorset Downs, North of Weymouth
Our Hostess in Weymouth told us that this geogliph was made by the people of Weymouth as a gift of homage to King George III, who was fond of staying in Weymouth during the summer. But when the King saw the image, he noted that the figure was facing away from Weymouth, which he took to mean that the inhabitants would rather that he stay away. It is said he never returned.
Fishing Boats at Low Tide, Port Isaac
Port Isaac, of Doc Martin fame, remains a beautiful little fishing village even though it is hammered by tourists. We arrived at our little dockside inn early enough to watch fishermen unload their catch and secure their boat for the night.
The boats are secured to mooring lines spanning the length of the harbor. When the tide goes out, the boats settle on the sand, maintaining the same spatial relationship they had while floating.
Coastal Path North, Port Isaac
I took a walk that led me straight out of town, hugging the bluffs above the surf. I met a couple coming from the other direction. They said they had been on the trail all day and I was the first person they had encountered.
Sudeley Castle, Winchcombe
Perhaps most notable as the home of Queen Katherine Parr, the last wife of King Henry VIII, today it best known for its quintessential English gardens.
Sudeley Castle, Winchcombe
The knot garden gets a trim.
Graveyard, Somewhere Between Winchcombe and Cambridge
I spent a lot of the day lost.
Plastic Bottle Installation, Tate Modern, London
This was a large installation. It was hard to capture with any one angle. It really had the feel of a cave. It was predominantly made of quartz-size milk jugs.
(Colored) Sand Box, The Queens Walk, Tate Modern, London
England, 6/15-24/2012
I met my Mom and her sister at Dover, England. We drove from there across the southern lobe of England to Port Isaac, then back to Bath, up through the Cotswolds and ended in London. We enjoyed stopovers in Weymouth, Port Isaac, Bath, Winchcombe and Hammersmith.
We attempted to find a number of geoglyph hill figures close to our route. We successfully found Long Man but we couldn’t find Cerne Abbas giant. By taking a wrong turn near Weymouth, we stumbled upon the Osmington White Horse. Interest was lost before we went after the Uffington White Horse. They were interesting sights but difficult to photograph meaningfully. Provisions for finding, parking at and hiking to these sights were meager and primitive at best.
We visited Stonehenge on the eve of the Druid solstice gathering. They manage to host an overnight crowd of 20,000 visitors, although I don’t know how. (Insert picture of Woodstock here.) Luckily, we got out of there before the real madness began.
In the afternoon of the same day we visited Avebury, which is also known for their stone circle. Silbury Hill is near there. Many crop circles occur in this vicinity. We got out to explore a crop circle at the foot of the Hill, but couldn’t find it. On the way back to the car I noticed a steady line of people hiking between fields to something else in the vicinity. One of their number told me they were walking out to view an area of ancient burial mounds. We managed to visit another crop circle in sight of the road but it had been so many weeks since first discovery, it was only a ghost of its former self.
