It’s just over two years since I started our companion photo gallery of buildings in high places and remote locations. Those who love mountains and wilderness where the wind blows free and clean, will know that these are places for reflection and release, for solitude and renewal. The buildings are if you like, one key to unlocking the nature of place. In Camus’ phrase here you can feel ‘beside oneself’.
The simple building opposite was originally a shepherd’s cottage in Cumbria on the moors above Penrith. Despite its proximity to a road and bridleway to Selah Bridge, it has all the feel of a wild retreat with a stunning panorama.
All these buildings are set in magnificent landscapes. The highest at 4400m is a Civil War frontier post on the 18 km ‘Rooftop of Africa traverse’ in Ethiopia’s Simien mountains; the lowest is 300 BC Mousa Broch in the Shetlands at 6m. We have learnt as we have collected the images that there is a key ingredient. Behind each of the pictures is a human story of engagement with that landscape – a story of toil, travel, exploration, warfare, farming and so on. Who has built them and why? Who has lived here? Who has left? How does this nomadic child in Kyrgyzstan on horseback with his father on the ancient Silk Road receive his schooling at 3500m?
To expand on our pictures, we have included some photos which show the people living there and hint at their life stories. Most recently we have added photos taken on the classic Haute Route long distance walk between Chamonix and Zermatt; and from South India’s Western Ghats in Kerala where at 1600 metres, technology has made it possible for families in remote villages to watch World Cup cricket via satellite dishes.
Most poignantly we have included a triptych of images of crofts at Calgary Bay on the island of Mull. Deserted by crofters in poverty in the 19th century, they are a reminder of how families then just as now are forced to leave their homelands in search of work and a new life. Does the photo below of Calgary Bay with its rays of sun piercing a cold sea reflect that new life or the chimera that has betrayed so many migrants in the past?
The gallery has been a great cooperative venture and we hope that in reading this you will want to send us other pictures for inclusion. We now have 57 photos, of which half have been supplied by other people. We would like to express our thanks to Barney Harford, Chloe Harford, David Harrison, John Loudon, Liz Moore, Jim Richardson and lastly Mog Empson for his translation of the wording on a refuge wall (see opposite) in Tiger Leaping Gorge In China. We have been greatly encouraged by their support.
Don’t forget to click here for a look at the photos in the Gallery! If you would like a full size image (2Mb-3Mb) of one of these photos to print out or for a Christmas present just email me (ian@lakelandbelvedere.com) for a copy. And if you like what you see on the site, why not pass the details to your friends?
Yes, you’ll have guessed that we are talking about the ospreys, who returned this year to the Derwent Valley in April. Since we built the Belvedere three years ago with its wide range view across the marshes, we’ve been keeping an eye out for the ospreys. In 2008 they moved, conveniently for us, to a site in Dodd Wood which was visible from the Belvedere, though hard to see in any detail as over 1.5 miles distant.
We received news however last week from Lee Gretton who was staying at The Larches in August. He confirmed what we thought: “The osprey’s nest is easy to view from the Belvedere. I spent quite a lot of time with the binoculars watching them flying across the marshes”. The photo at the top shows the view through the binoculars of the bare tree with the nest. The site is indicated with a grey magnifying glass at bottom left of the photo.
In the US this month visiting family, we’re spending time in multi ethnic Chicago getting to know more of its history, character and traditions.
People visit the Lake District for so many reasons – its history and traditions, fresh air, walking, fell running, climbing, biking, boating, mountains, lakes, changing colours and great landscapes. As a reflection of this perhaps, the Lake District National Park has this month won 
Back then to Google Books! When we were at the 
It’s nice to see that The Economist (“
As predicted the White Paper doesn’t contain anything very new about the Big Society. There’s an emphasis on localism (parish councils may have more to do), greater choice, diversity, fairness and accountability.