Excerpt:
I stand at the fence gazing skywards at the black towers silhouetted against the morning light. Crows are circling, their metallic calls piercing the fragile air, making the whole scene yet more chilling. I contemplate the fence stretched before me, forming a complete barrier around the Castle. To me it is a curious structure; barely an inch thick it literally separates two areas – the outside from the inside – but what barriers of the mind it suggests. It is the obstruction that stems the creative flow, which must be released before ideas may come to fruition. Beyond this barrier lie the solitary confines of my mind where creative accomplishment awaits discovery and personal revelation can occur. I hope to experience a connection with the place, to see if it can provoke a reaction within me that will stimulate artistic response.
Yes, the fence is there to keep me out, but I have to question what is it keeping shut in? Piles of worthless rubble some may say. Hidden dangers others will insist. But to me what lies on the other side is a world of possibilities. Beyond this hostile structure lies a forgotten domain where time stands indefinitely still and nature reasserts its power over mankind. It is a symbol of a lost era and those people who inhabited it.
To me the warnings of danger daubed on scrap wood appear as finely written invitations to proceed. They make the forbidden territory even more intriguing. Perhaps it isn’t just my own inquisitive nature that compels me to explore such places but a deeper facet of human nature, possibly more apparent in myself than others. Given a mansion full of open doors I will always seek out the one that is locked, concealing something from my eye and forcing my mind to wander as to what lies behind.
I surrender to the growing desire for discovery and take the metaphorical plunge, lifting myself up and over the fence and planting my feet noiselessly on the other side. In that split second a change of state is achieved – I have crossed into the unknown. I am inside and the outside world can be forgotten. I don’t glance back but proceed forwards stealthily, a pioneer, intent on unravelling the secrets of the House which is now within reach. The familiar sense of wonderment and anticipation my mind reserves for such occasions grips me as the great walls loom. I slip through the first window I come to and am alone with the past spread before me, ready to be discovered.
Ruination Scotland 