Photographs by Sandy are provided with permission to use in this post
When I encountered Purdown during the Autumn of last year, I was quite taken by the bright sunshine, the clouds and the great views, finding a huge tract of land, running down into Stoke Gifford and Stoke Park in one direction, and the Lockleaze estate in the other direction, and nowadays connecting-up with the recently built Cheswick Village, and the planned new houses by Linden housebuilders, adjacent to the space. It is always interesting to see the expansion and growth of Bristol, although possibly more annoying than interesting for those experiencing negative impacts from the new builds.
What struck me was the great use of the estate by a wide variety of adults, children and dogs, in a big enough space for all to enjoy, without falling over each other. I was both transported and guided around the sculptures and carvings by Sandy and ‘Doug the Dug’ (aka Eric), for which I am very grateful. It was a beautiful, mild Autumn day, ideal weather for me, especially after the excessive heat of the Summer. For me, at least, it was still ‘comfortable in a t-shirt’ weather, even in the cool shade of the woods.
These days, I don’t go out much, and a trip like this constitutes a ‘grand day out’, even if only for a few hours — which is about as much as I can manage, anyway.
In any case, seeing all the artistry carved into the wood was exactly like visiting an open-air art gallery, with all the added benefits of fresh air, sunshine and exercise.
These words are short to make way for the photographs (below) which tell their own story.
My thanks again go to Sandy and ‘Doug the Dug’.
Fraser
August 2023
