Goldsworthy and Glenkiln

I have been a long-time admirer of Andy Goldsworthy, and I try to visit exhibitions and collect books etc. The DVD Rivers and Tides is particularly hypnotic.

Even though it is not that far from home, I have never explored fully his own local stomping ground, Penpont. Parts of the DVD were filmed in the local area and I had always wanted to visit, expecting that every other streetcorner should surely have a statue dedicated to him!

We travelled up through Dumfries and Thornhill. On approaching Penpont from Thornhill, I caught a glimpse of the giant egg sculpture on the skyline. It was a dull day but the shape stood out in front of the clouds. A convenient lay-by was found, and there was a nice iron gate beckoning us up the little hill to where we found the egg-shaped cairn, made itself from local reed sandstone and built on a base of more sandstone.

All around its base were the spoils...leftover pieces of the stone which hadn't made it into the sculpture itself, but somehow made it look as if it had just been finished - perhaps Andy had just completed it and left for lunch, intending to return later to tidy up!

Links to Andy Goldsworthy Sites:
The Sheepfolds Project
Abbleby Heritage Centre

Next was Glenkiln Reservoir, some Henry Moore sculptures here and also this very odd cute stone with elephants on it!