Some place names describe the shape of landscape. South east of Lochinver lie Cnoc a Mhuilinn (“Mill Hill”), Gleann Sgoilte (“Cleft Glen”) and Gleannan na Gaoithe (“Windy Glen”). These are dramatic features where the land has been cleaved, leaving narrow slots where the wind howls and narrow fast rivers make mill streams. These dramatic features… Continue reading Assynt’s etched landscape
Category: landscape
Looking out for the red rocks
Author Tim Robinson spent countless hours in the west of Ireland, unearthing local Irish-language place names. Some are anchored in myth and poetry, referring to miracle-working saints or Celtic Gods. Most though are prosaic, being linked to people’s names, local plants or animals and – occasionally – geological features. Fàire nan Clach Ruadha is one… Continue reading Looking out for the red rocks
North American Arctic – icy beauty
Look at this. As an abstract pattern, it looks like something Gustav Klimt might paint. View Larger Map But drill down into it in more detail and it changes into an uncomfortably close view of a reptiles skin. View Larger Map All images in this post come from the North American Arctic – a place… Continue reading North American Arctic – icy beauty
Paths across the Cheshire Peak
Driving west across the edge of the English Peak District is a good way to see how geology shapes landscape. Tracing the routes that cross it – feeling their shapes with a finger on a map or with your body as the car swings round bends – hints at how they are shaped by the landscape beneath,… Continue reading Paths across the Cheshire Peak