Gold Down

A golden Sun sinks slowly through the Tynham Valley and below Gold Down; in to the sea. The Sun appears so large in those last moments before it vanishes. A perfect end to a lovely day.

Wrack and ruin

One of the buildings at North Egliston in the Tynham valley. Once it must have been a near idyllic place to live, set in the midsts of rural and coastal beauty; now isolated behind the wire and warning signs of the Tynham Ranges. It appears to have been one of the few that was commandeered during the war years, though did not suffer the destruction others did; maybe as it's far up the valley, near the edge of the ranges. I know old pictures don't tell the whole story, they don't show the hardship of rural life or the other tribulations which have always have afflicted folk, but what they do show, I like, or maybe I see as an antidote to the pressures of modernity, or maybe it's just that the grass always appears greener in an old black and white photo.  Whatever. It's sad to see such a lovely building die through lack of occupation and neglect. It looks like 2/3's of the building has sunken over the years by a good 2 foot, the entrance and front door attest to this.  The stress this has put on the building as a whole has caused the internal floors to collapse, weakening and finally leading to a section of the rear wall going over.  Now with wall missing and the interior open to the elements, I shouldn't imagine it will be long before the roof goes and that will be that. Sad.