I traveled from river side to hilltop,
and, perhaps inevitably in South West Scotland, I encountered the magnificent work of Andy Goldsworthy.
A long walk along snow covered forestry tracks, frozen burns hiding in the shadows, took me to one of the red sandstone arches (each comprising 31 blocks totaling 27 tons) constructed on three inter-visible upland locations. The Striding Arches website is a great resource where you can get further information but I would recommend, if at all possible, you take the time to visit as they only make sense experiencing them in there landscape.
Before I visited I had not appreciated that Goldsworthy’s work blends with the work of two other artists within the Cairnhead Community Forest. Along the Dalwhat Water riverside are, The Hill of Streams letterboxes by Alec Finlay : also complemented by audio-files of the varying sounds of the different confluences. While the artwork at the Bothy, also comprises some beautiful detailed stone carving by Pip Hall that presences the earlier names of the settlement and some of those who once dwelt there.
Inside the Bothy I was intrigued to discover a dirty acetate sheet with a concrete poem printed on it.
It seems fair to let the found poet have the last word:
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Coincidentally, there has been another recent post on Striding Arches at ECOARTS which is worth looking at too.
heritagelandscapecreativity 