The Seated Figure sculpture (left) was placed on Brown Hill towards the southern end of Castleton Rigg in 2017, with permission for it to remain for a maximum of three years.
It immediately caught the public imagination, and huge numbers of people took to their feet and walked up to see it, leaving their cars along the nearby moorland road and causing considerable congestion. Not only that but the path up to the sculpture and the moor top around it began to suffer erosion. It was eventually removed after two years and relocated to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, although the view there can't compete with this view. The figure is looking towards Roseberry Topping (the prominent hill to the right of the left hand shot) and over Westerdale.
The right hand shot is the 2022 view, with me sat on a boulder taking photos, quite close to where the seated figure was once located. The view from here always reminds me of the old Beatles song 'Fool on the Hill'.
There are signs that nature is beginning to heal the damage caused by the many people who walked up here in 2017 / 2018. On our walk Katharine and I didn't see another walker until we were close to the northern end of Castleton Rigg, and the area is back to it's normal peaceful condition.
Another late post I'm afraid, we are only just back from today's Moorsbus outing.
Love your comparison. It was a sight to see! I remember seeing all the cars parked up and the amount of sight seers, the damage was showing when we saw him.
Two beautiful images. The location chosen for the statue was a definite hit with a view like that and the man on the stool looks very real from behind. You look much better than the man in the statue and have the same lovely view to enjoy.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
It was a shame that the sculpture had to be removed, it had become quite a landscape feature. Sadly it became far more popular than expected, with resulting erosion from the many feet walking up to the sculpture, and the parking problems on the nearby moorland road resulted in it having to be being removed early. At least it has a new home, and the moorland is beginning to recover.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
It was a shame that the sculpture had to be removed, it had become quite a landscape feature. Sadly it became far more popular than expected, with resulting erosion from the many feet walking up to the sculpture, and the parking problems on the nearby moorland road resulted in it having to be being removed early. At least it has a new home, and the moorland is beginning to recover.
Ian
Thank you Nina - this has become quite a favourite place to visit, especially now there are no longer crowds!
Ian