Sculptures for sitting . . .

. . . or climbing!

We took the two grandaughters to find another Eden benchmark. This is above the river, at Temple Sowerby. We first came across this a number of years ago, whilst on a walk, and we were quite intrigued by it . . . and yes we sat on it! Then it stood out in its raw red sandstone.

Now it has weathered and grown into the landscape. Called Red River, the idea of it was supposed to be river valley geology, the stepped slabs representing the contours of the landscape. This works very well, the contours reflecting light and shade, pattern and form. Wave patterns are carved into the slabs, now not as distinct as they were, but still there. I am not too sure about the spheres. They seem a bit out of keeping with the natural environment. As gigantic pebbles or grains of sand . . . not certain! However, they intrigue passers by and are actually quite comfortable for sitting on.

The two girls did not do the sedentary thing long enough for me to take photographs, they were much too keen to jump around and climb. (In case you are wondering, they both carry Olympic mascots, as they stayed in London on Monday on their way back from holiday in France)

Another interesting thing about this sculpture is its position. In the booklet, which is way out of date, that I have been using to locate the benchmarks there is a severe warning about having to cross the very busy A66 in order to get to it. At the time, a number of years ago, the A66 went through Temple Sowerby and this meant that a steady stream of heavy traffic rumbled through the village - cars, vans, lorries. And it was indeed extremely difficult to cross the road. Then . . . after years of campaigning, the village was bypassed and now the road is a quiet country lane with hardly any traffic at all - a calm backwater.

However, this has had repercussions elsewhere - sitting on Red River and contemplating the river below was once to sit in a quiet and beautiful spot. Now, the bypass goes right across the river not far away and dominates the scene. Well, I suppose there have to be winners and losers in everything!