"celebrating the landscapes of the British Isles through photography"
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (England Wales & N Ireland)
England, Wales and Northern Ireland has 46 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, covering 18% of the countryside, over a fifth of the English coast, and including 12,000 miles of footpaths and bridleways.
"Scallop" - Aldeburgh - Suffolk
Benjamin Britten - one of the twentieth-century's most important composers - spent much of his life in Aldeburgh and nearby Snape. The inspiration he drew from the area is most notable in the famous 'Four Sea Interludes' from his opera Peter Grimes. The violinist Yehudi Menuhin once commented, "If wind and water could write music, it would sound like Ben's."
In November 2003, a striking tribute to Britten and his music was unveiled on the beach just north of Aldeburgh. Scallop - a four-metre high steel sculpture - was conceived by Suffolk-born artist Maggi Hambling, and made by Aldeburgh craftsmen Sam and Dennis Pegg.
The phrase "I hear those voices that will not be drowned" (from Peter Grimes) is pierced through the steel, to be read against the sky. Images of wings rising in flight, swimming fish and the ripple of waves are all suggested by the work, whose scallop forms also recall ancient symbols of pilgrimage, Venus and the sea.
Area of Outstanding Natural BeautyHeritage Coastsculpturebeachseacloudscoastalcoastlineseascape
