Further to my previous posts on the Landmark art installations on Longridge Fell and Beacon Fell I decided today to visit the other two sites – Langden Intake and Gisburn Forest.

http://www.forestofbowland.com/bowlandrevealed

It was rather a dull day and I was quite happy inside my car driving out to Dunsop Bridge and onto Langden Intake carpark, no ice cream van today.

Didn’t have to go more than 10 yards into the trees from the car to view  Phillipe Handford’s Out Take. This consisted of boards hung between trees with perspex inserts forming a curvy pattern. You can walk into the installation and view it from different angles and with different backgrounds. Behind are the rolling Bowland Hills. I spent time here and began to appreciate the natural setting and the curves within the boards. Are they a reflection of the Bowland hill outlines or of the Langden Brook’s sinuous journey?

I drove on to the Gisburn Forest hub carpark [pay and display!] and walked up the hill to Salina Somalya’s Celeste. This was a sculpture on the edge of a stone wall with a view through the forest to Stocks Reservoir, on a good day. The multitude of cyclists on the fell ignored it or were unaware of its existence. I found this metal and stone much harder to appreciate, couldn’t see any symbolism and felt it intrusive. Maybe if I had the views it would take on a different aspect. So thumbs down to Celeste.

I’ve enjoyed visiting the other three and hope they can achieve some permanence in the Bowland scene. Catch them while you can.