Yorkshire Sculpture Park

17th/18th August 2023 - Yorkshire Sculpture Park 

There have been a series of stressful happenings in my life recently so a bit of therapy was overdue.

But first some chores. I usually fill up with fuel the day before for a long journey next day but this time it was not done. Stopping to do that on the way is tiresome when one is eager to be off. I had picked up daughter Jill and granddaughter Katie at 10:30 ish.

Next I had my car loaded with stuff for the charity shop just up the road from the Spa filling station, so again we stopped only to find I had not actually put that stuff in the boot.

Yet another stop at Carnforth recycling to offload rubbish. That is not quite so tiresome. I always have a huge sigh of satisfaction at offloading rubbish which some would say was disproportionate to such a mundane task. and that relief of burden was so today, but now enhanced with a feeling of even more liberation as we were able at last to find ourselves purposely on our way. Daughter's busy life as an assistant head teacher doesn't give us much time together so a long journey was good for catching up on all the gossip.

The M65 and then the scenic Grain Road avoided the M61 and its convoluted meeting with the M62 which we joined further on near Birch Services. I can't remember the last time I succumbed to Burger King but a modest sized burger weighed heavy on us all putting us off eating again for over seven hours.

Parts of the M62 are now designated as Smart Motorway with no hard shoulder. Who thought that one up? If you break down your chances of annihilation are frighteningly real

From our Travelodge not far from the Yorkshire Sculpture Park we explored prior to our visit next day to the sculptures.

The strangely named Pugney's Country Park provided entertainment for energetic Katie flying her kite, and clambering with ease all over the play area equipment which now, at her age is pretty elementary and will soon be passed by.

From Wiki:

Pugneys Country Park is a 250-acre (1.0 km²) park located on the A636 between Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England and Junction 39 of the M1 motorway. It is a Local Nature Reserve.^[1][2]

The area was developed from a former opencast mine and a sand and gravel quarry and was opened to the public in 1985. It is overlooked by Sandal Castle.

Watching Katie having fun and conversing with her was a  pleasure and an individual therapy contained within the whole for this trip. K is  pleasingly articulate having an English teacher Mum, and full of ideas  and spontaneous problem solving, and always eager to help. Later, going round the sculptures Katie was able to make serious contributions to interpretations which is not easy for most adults who dismiss modern art that they make no effort to understand as "rubbish." That was particularly rewarding - I know it's a cliché but how fast they grow up.

A quick  car ride took us to Sandal Castle. Once you have seen one castle... but this one was above average on a much elevated mound with splendid views. It is difficult to imagine people ever being comfortable in those dwellings with cold stone walls and stinking rudimentary sanitation and the constant threat of sieges, cannon balls and trebuchets.

Gloom and drizzle prevailed next morning on our arrival at YSP so we had coffee in the superb architect designed main building before venturing out into the park in slightly improving weather. I had bought Katie some softer lead pencils and a graphite shading stick. These along with a sketch pad she carried around most of the time and frequently deployed.

We soon found ourselves in a small outbuilding with a student artist handing out balls of modelling clay and encouraging us all to have a go at modelling. Katie was in her element so much so that the artist asked if she could video Katie at work. Jill managed a half decent owl, Katie's elephant was good, but although I do have some leaning to creative art I struggled - you will see the photos.

The park is located on a huge sloping valley side landscaped from the 18th century Bretton Hall. Even without the art this would be an impressive visit just to see the eclectic collection of magnificent mature trees spaced around this parkland providing a heightened sense of the magnitude of nature and open space. We were absorbed for hours wandering from one to another.of the exhibits spaced with hundreds of yards in between being sort of incidental but still complimentary to the landscape. Judging from the carpark there were many visitors but because of the scale it was never crowded and  snatches of conversation from passers-by seemed to indicate a more informed audience.

The best two days I have had for some time. I do genuinely believe that walking and being amongst nature is beneficial for many people and my normal activities of walking provides those benefits, but this had the additional contrast of man's manipulation of countryside at its best, if you are prepared to accept that as an art form, combined with thought provoking sculpture. Just several hours in a completely different environment.

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I took too many photos to post on the blog. If you click on the Dropbox link below it will open with a list of thumbnails. Click on the first one which will open all as a slideshow, and even better if you scroll right down and select "full screen" you will see an even better slideshow. I have kept captions to a minimum so just look at the photos to get an overall taste of the venue.

Please let me know if you have any problem viewing the photos. conrob@me.com or comment below.

Click to see Dropbox slideshow