Taint what a horse looks like...

[jadesfire]

Before I get into what I actually opened this window for, allow me to point you to something that amused me:

rent_a_fangirl is a comm aiming to act as a 'Yellow Pages' for SGA fandom, where artists, vidders and writers advertise their services and people come to them there. It's a neat idea, even if I don't plan on signing up myself. I'm having enough trouble with the fics I'm already signed up to write...

However, the point of this post was the Uffington White Horse, which is (shockingly) in the The Vale of the White Horse, about an hour's drive from Oxford. It was a beautiful day here. Cold and crisp, but with a clear blue sky and hot sunshine. It really shows off Oxfordshire at its best, so we decided to take advantage of it.

I've put some pictures under the cut, although they can't really capture the atmosphere of the place. This is a prehistoric landscape, largely untouched by roads and towns, and The Ridgeway cuts a path through the landscape, rising above the Lambourne Downs and then carrying on into the distance, looking like some giant monster sleeping on the lower hills.

NB: smithy161? I saw something today and thought of you... (see the third picture...)



This is Dragon Hill, as seen from the White Horse Hill, with the horse itself in the turf to the right of the picture and the Lambourne Downs stretching away in the distance. You can't really see the horse from the ground, but you get an amazing view of the landscape around it. Dragon Hill is a natural chalk outcropping not, as I thought, part of the hill fort. Nobody's perfect.



I took this picture from on top of Dragon Hill, showing just how cold it was today! Where the sun shone, it got really quite warm, out of the wind at least, but whatever was in the shade stayed frozen. This was to our advantage during some of the muddier parts of the walk, which would have been impassable if they had melted. As it was, we had some trouble with broken stiles. The ones where the plank had just disappeared weren't too bad, since we didn't even attempt them, but it's a pain getting to the top of a high stile and realising the second plank that you need to get down just isn't there. The results were some jumps onto (hopefully frozen) mud. I think I can now officially say that my walking boots have been broken in!



This is Wayland's Smithy (not to be confused with our Smithy ;)), which is a neolithic long barrow, that has been thoroughly excavated and is now maintained by the National Trust. It turned out to be a lovely spot to have lunch on, even if I did keep expected Nac Mac Feegles to come swarming out to try to steal our sandwiches. The picture is of the barrow entrance, and it stretches about 50 yeards away from here, with another pile of stones on the top. The Wiki entry has got some lovely atmospheric pictures of it, and I can see how it would be a really magical place by night.



All in all, a lovely day. We walked through some real picture postcard villages, with thatched rooves, and a chalk-built church. I've never seen chalk used as brick before, but there were several houses built out of it. This was Tiffany Aching country, and you can really feel the age of the landscape, the 'Land under sea' feeling of the weight of centuries. When the mist was rising off the Downs this morning and we were standing on White Horse Hill with the castle behind us, you could understand why people would want to live there. It felt safe and secure, and solid in a way that only places which have been occupied for thousands of years can. They have a project every year to clear the weeds off of the White Horse, just as they've been doing for the past 3,000 years.

Here's to 3,000 more.

Comments

[jpgr.livejournal.com]

Those are beautiful pictures, very atmospheric. I've seen arial shots of the Horse so I have a general idea of here you are and what it looks like. I think next time I go to England (whenever that may be) I definitely need to get out and see some of the prehistoric sites.

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

You get quite good views of it on Google maps - it's a lot smaller than you think! But yes, the prehistoric sites are definitely worth the visit.

[miss-zedem.livejournal.com]

That looks beautiful. Hope it managed to blow away some of the cobwebs *huggles*

I've spent the day feeling sorry for myself, guzzling paracetamol and reading a long fic, apart from a brief interlude in which we met lovely friends for coffee - during which I slumped in a chair and felt sorry for myself *rolls eyes*

(nothing actually wrong that paracetamol and a hot water bottle can't cure, but I reserve the right to have a hormone related sulk one day out of the month ;))

Also, can't believe you have frost! *pouts* It's chilly here, but I suppose the almost-coastal breeze keeps it from getting frosty.

*more huggles, just cos*

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

It was lovely - the wind was definitely brisk! It's been freezing here all week, and the nature reserve out the back has looked amazing. Oh, and the river was frozen over this morning! Very cool.

Sorry you're not so well - you're definitely entitled to that once a month. *offers hot water bottle*

*huggles back*

[dune-drd.livejournal.com]

Brrrr, looks as cold as I feel

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

*g* In the wind, it was really bitter, but we had a long steep hill to climb, and in the sun, out of the wind, I got hot enough to have to undo my coat. It's just gorgeous, and worth the cold :)

[aeshna_uk]

Ah, has been a few years since I was last up that way! I remember being surprised by the size of the white horse - I'd always pictured it being much larger! The main association I have with the horse is a song by a friend of mine, which is (or was) one of the few things I can (or could) play on the mandolin. :)

Right, back to plotting.....

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

I have to admit that we spent a few minutes looking at the horse going 'er...is that it?'. I think it's best viewed from the air...

That song sums up the atmosphere of the place really well. It's still got that magical quality, or at least it did in the morning. By the afternoon it was more or less heaving with walkers/tourists/kids, so I'm glad we got there early!

Ooh, plotting. Sounds good :)

[aeron-lanart.livejournal.com]

I love that part of the world, it's such an ancient landscape. The only places that come close to giving me the wibbles in the same way are Salisbury Plain and a valley in Scotland where there are about 5 ancient sites, all in a straight line over a distance of miles.

I have piccies of Waylands Smithy, the Horse, the Fort and Dragon Hill somewhere too, but it was raining on mine.

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

I've only ever been past Salisbury Plain once, but we were driving it on a really drizzly day, and came over the brow of the ridge to see Stonehenge lurking on the horizon ahead, shrouded in mist. Even from the car, it was a breathtaking moment.

With such a lovely day, it was great to go somewhere that could really show off in the sunlight. I love the Ridgeway, and would love it more if it wasn't quite so steep... ;)

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

Puppy!! Ahem. Icon squee.

Those pictures are lovely! I've seen pictures of the Uffington White Horse and always thought it would be cool to visit, but I hadn't thought about what the countryside around it might be like. Your whole excursion sounds so healthy and makes me happy. I love eating outdoors and hill-climbing and little villages. I'm glad you had a good day!

I was going to ask how big the horse is in terms of paces, but I see from the dimensions that it's about the size of an American football field, a set of dimensions I'm intimately familiar with. (Marching band was good for something!) Still pretty impressive, though I guess the view from the air makes it look bigger.

Continuous upkeep for 3000 years. Wow. I visited a Native American mound site near here last summer. At 1500 years old those structures are by far the oldest manmade thing around, and they were abandoned several hundred years ago.

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Uh...I'm not sure about the size of the White Horse. We did get there, look at it and go 'shouldn't it be bigger?'. I'm not expert on American football, but I wouldn't have said it was anywhere near that in size. It was barely as long as a tennis court, I'd have said. Of course, we were viewing it from an odd angle...

The horse did get a bit overgrown in the mid-nineteenth century, but someone organised a group to keep it cleared. The National Trust does a brilliant job protecting these things. We have membership, which isn't cheap, but is definitely worth every penny.

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's interesting! Now I'm wondering if I'm familiar with the size of a regulation tennis court. The Wikipedia article says the Horse is 110 m long, which is roughly 100 yards, the length of an American football field. I wonder if the article was counting the length of the whole area of turf or something?

Well, no matter. It's neat regardless, and part of what sounds like a really nice day. :)

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

So...let's just pretend that I didn't use Google maps and a ruler to work this out, shall we? because obviously I'm not that geeky...*ahem*

You're spot on about the length - it just really doesn't look that long when you're standing on top of it. Incidentally, Google maps gives a fantastic view of the landscape :)

[smtfhw.livejournal.com]

even if I did keep expected Nac Mac Feegles to come swarming out to try to steal our sandwiches.

Somehow, I've a feeling if they did show up stolen sandwiches would be the least of your problems! Lovely photos, by the way!

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Thanks! And we watched out for sheep going backwards not under their own steam, but the hills seemed to be Feegle-free ;)

[smithy161.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow. Gorgeous photos! The receding shadow and the frost melting behind it looks really strange, in a cool sort of way.

Wayland's Smithy looks very cool. You're right, that is utterly Tiffany Aching country.

It felt safe and secure, and solid in a way that only places which have been occupied for thousands of years can.

That's very true! There's something very comforting just knowing people have lived in an area for thousands of years.

Looks like you had a great day out!

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

I couldn't get 'Hat Full of Sky' out of my head as we were walking, especially when we could actually see the chalk in the fields. It feels amazing, and yes, was a really lovely day :)

[becky-h.livejournal.com]

Oh, these are gorgeous. Thank you so much for taking and sharing them!

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

*grin* You're welcome! I love seeing where people live, and thought it was only fair to return the favour :)

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

those are gorgeous. What a lovely place for a walk

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

It's really stunning - I wasn't sure how well it'd come across in photos, but it looks just like that in RL too!

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