Visit to Devils Den, Wiltshire

Today I managed to find Devils Den Dolmen, on Fyfield Down, near Marlborough, Wiltshire. I visited Devils Den at Fyfield Down, by cycle along bridleways. I think without carefull planning and maps, it would be difficult to locate it stands by foot. I’m fascinated by ancient stone monuments in the landscape and spend a lot of my time searching for them. Devils Den is the remains of a Long barrow chambered tomb located in a chalk Valley on Fyfield Down. It was built with 4 largish Sarsen stones and a capstone and is of Neolithic origin. When I visited the Dolmen, I found it much larger than I had expected. I would like to return again soon and make some natural sound recordings of the landscape and surrounding area.

There is many legends on why the dolmen was named after the devil, along with many other prehistoric remains, after the coming of Christianity. A local tradition said that if water was poured into hollows on the capstone, a demon would come in the night and drink it.

Ancient frescos in the hills of Ithaca island, Greece

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Exploring the island myths of Ithaca and the Odyssey

Ithaca is an island of mystery and legends welll known for its connection with the Odyssey, Greek gods with its legends and history. It is shrewn with ancient sites scattered around the thickly vegetated mountains of the island. I am always searching new places, landscapes and art forms whenever I find myself somewhere new. Life is for exploring! Here in this short break, I managed to kayak around most of Ithaca Island, visit some ancient caves with myths and legends (The Nymph Caves near Vathy), walk amongst the ruins of Odysseus Palace and visit ancient frescos in an old Venetian church up in the wild hills above Vathy. I was excited to see such an abundance of vegetation and flowers, even in the Autumn. How does all this link with my practice do you ask, well I am curious about what is left behind, remnants in time and natural history, earth formations, wild plants, rocks and patterns in the landscape and our natural world. I am always with my camera when I am out on one of my ‘joiurneys’ and I am awed by how natural light is reflected on solid surfaces in our landscape, and the effects this has different times of the day. It actually changes colours of the sea, mountains and hills. Lots of inspiration here for painting and seeing colour as it is naturally emerges. I am also fascinated by the people of our past and how they lived in these natural and wild locations. So visiting old pockets of history whether it be within a hidden forgotten village or an ancient palace or ancient neolithic stone monuments like the ones from our Neolithic past, or clambouring through coastal caves. This is what I do.