Terris Novalis

Today was the last day of our mammoth bike ride (backblips) on part of the C2C route. As I said on my commentary on Saturday, it was an easy day compared to the first two, and the scenery/landscape much different. We left the bleak, beautiful moorland behind and dropped down into farmland, small hamlets, woodland and the Consett Sculpture Trail. Consett was once a major centre for the steel industry but when recession hit the area was plunged into the despair which comes with high unemployment. The C2C crosses through the area which is slowly rejuvenating. Along the route Jen and I came across this sculpture by Tony Cragg - Terris Novalis. It is cast in stainless steel and is a 20x life size theodolite. If you look closely you can see that it is supported on animal feet hich were inspired by heraldic designs linked with land and ownership. Apparently the work is sited at a point which 'marks the watershed between the upland/moorland landscape and the extremes of the Industrial Age. Built on the Stanhope and Tyne Railway Line - the earliest commercial railway in Britain - Terris Novalis marks what was once Europe's largest steel works.' Sustrans website.