This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/magazine/8144682.stm
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| An unsung view | An unsung view |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The summer holidays approach and this year many will be staying in the UK and appreciating a bit of domestic natural beauty. But just what constitutes a great British view, and are there some that are being overlooked? We are asking you to nominate the underappreciated vistas that we ought to be casting our eyes over. | |
| We all seem to want a view. | We all seem to want a view. |
| NOMINATE AN UNSUNG VIEW E-mail: yourpics@bbc.co.uk, subject UNSUNG VIEWSMMS from UK: 61124Int MMS: +44 7725 100100Include your name and details of the view Terms and conditions | NOMINATE AN UNSUNG VIEW E-mail: yourpics@bbc.co.uk, subject UNSUNG VIEWSMMS from UK: 61124Int MMS: +44 7725 100100Include your name and details of the view Terms and conditions |
| A holiday spent in a room overlooking an electricity substation, or a lorry park, or the hotel kitchen bins, is not going to be a happy one. | A holiday spent in a room overlooking an electricity substation, or a lorry park, or the hotel kitchen bins, is not going to be a happy one. |
| It's hard to forget the complaint to Basil Fawlty from a guest upset by the view, and his memorable response: | It's hard to forget the complaint to Basil Fawlty from a guest upset by the view, and his memorable response: |
| "Well, might I ask what you expected to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? The hanging gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically..." | "Well, might I ask what you expected to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? The hanging gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically..." |
| TAKE A VIEW COMPETITION Enter urban, rural and conceptual landscapesAnyone can enterSpecial class for under-16sCamera phone category Take a View Landscape Photographer of the Year | TAKE A VIEW COMPETITION Enter urban, rural and conceptual landscapesAnyone can enterSpecial class for under-16sCamera phone category Take a View Landscape Photographer of the Year |
| The point is that this expectation of a view colours all our holiday experiences, with the ropiest hotel room rescued by a stunning view. | The point is that this expectation of a view colours all our holiday experiences, with the ropiest hotel room rescued by a stunning view. |
| Even the Romans got it, building their holiday homes to take in the splendid vistas of the Bay of Naples. | Even the Romans got it, building their holiday homes to take in the splendid vistas of the Bay of Naples. |
| Britain has a wealth of picture post card views. Its celebrants in paint are well-known. Are there more bankable stars of British art than Turner and Constable? Where would Dedham Vale, in Suffolk, - "Constable country" - be without the latter? And how many of us have ventured out on park or moor or meadow at the weekend hoping to see a cloudscape pierced by Turner-esque bursts of light? Wordsworth celebrated a great view in verse. His Daffodils "stretch'd in never-ending line, along the margin of a bay". | Britain has a wealth of picture post card views. Its celebrants in paint are well-known. Are there more bankable stars of British art than Turner and Constable? Where would Dedham Vale, in Suffolk, - "Constable country" - be without the latter? And how many of us have ventured out on park or moor or meadow at the weekend hoping to see a cloudscape pierced by Turner-esque bursts of light? Wordsworth celebrated a great view in verse. His Daffodils "stretch'd in never-ending line, along the margin of a bay". |
| Image of Chicklade, Wiltshire, England, by Charlie Waite.Enlarge Image | Image of Chicklade, Wiltshire, England, by Charlie Waite.Enlarge Image |
| For many of us, a classic view involves a high perspective, whether from a mountain or a man-made structure. | For many of us, a classic view involves a high perspective, whether from a mountain or a man-made structure. |
| One such high place that will be thronged with tourists this summer can be found on the steps of the classical-style Minack Theatre, cut out of a Cornish cliff face. Sit there on a bright, sunny August day, and it's hard to believe you are still in Blighty. The deep blue of the sea and the fishermen perched on the rocky spur at the bottom of the cliffs provide a dreamy backdrop that feels as though it belongs on a Greek island. | One such high place that will be thronged with tourists this summer can be found on the steps of the classical-style Minack Theatre, cut out of a Cornish cliff face. Sit there on a bright, sunny August day, and it's hard to believe you are still in Blighty. The deep blue of the sea and the fishermen perched on the rocky spur at the bottom of the cliffs provide a dreamy backdrop that feels as though it belongs on a Greek island. |
| Another great high point can be found in the West. In Bristol, take a look down the wooded Avon Gorge, spanned by the magnificent Clifton suspension bridge. It is, in parts, possible to see a view little changed - if you exclude the completion of the bridge itself - since Brunel's day. | Another great high point can be found in the West. In Bristol, take a look down the wooded Avon Gorge, spanned by the magnificent Clifton suspension bridge. It is, in parts, possible to see a view little changed - if you exclude the completion of the bridge itself - since Brunel's day. |
| This image by Andrew Midgley, a Highly Commended in last year's Take a View competition, shows the flat beaches of Holkham, Norfolk | This image by Andrew Midgley, a Highly Commended in last year's Take a View competition, shows the flat beaches of Holkham, Norfolk |
| But you can also get classic views at sea level. Take a train journey out of Cornwall, and see the red cliffs at Teignmouth as the railway line picks a precarious path between rocks and sea. Or stand on one of the glorious beaches of the Gower Peninsula. Or on the beautifully bleak salt marshes on the flat coastline at Holkham in Norfolk. | But you can also get classic views at sea level. Take a train journey out of Cornwall, and see the red cliffs at Teignmouth as the railway line picks a precarious path between rocks and sea. Or stand on one of the glorious beaches of the Gower Peninsula. Or on the beautifully bleak salt marshes on the flat coastline at Holkham in Norfolk. |
| Tourism is marketed using these views. We seek them out as holidaymakers and we also consume images of them. We want epic eye-filling sights and colours of profound vividity. | Tourism is marketed using these views. We seek them out as holidaymakers and we also consume images of them. We want epic eye-filling sights and colours of profound vividity. |
| Image of the Maunsell Forts, Thames Estuary, by Howard Kingsnorth, category runner-up in 2008's Take a View competitionEnlarge Image | Image of the Maunsell Forts, Thames Estuary, by Howard Kingsnorth, category runner-up in 2008's Take a View competitionEnlarge Image |
| Landscape photographer Charlie Waite seeks out these sights for a living and frequently has to bat away accusations of Photoshop trickery. | Landscape photographer Charlie Waite seeks out these sights for a living and frequently has to bat away accusations of Photoshop trickery. |
| "Come out in the evening into Dorset or the Wiltshire Downs and look at the quality of that light at 8pm on a Sunday evening. Those colours are real. | "Come out in the evening into Dorset or the Wiltshire Downs and look at the quality of that light at 8pm on a Sunday evening. Those colours are real. |
| "See the way the wind is affecting the waves of ripening corn, think how amazing the shadows are that the clouds are creating on the landscape." | "See the way the wind is affecting the waves of ripening corn, think how amazing the shadows are that the clouds are creating on the landscape." |
| Not only is he looking for a perfect view, but he is also waiting for the perfect composition and the perfect moment "when that sunlight rips through the sky and delivers a great splash of light on a particular part of the landscape". | Not only is he looking for a perfect view, but he is also waiting for the perfect composition and the perfect moment "when that sunlight rips through the sky and delivers a great splash of light on a particular part of the landscape". |
| Waite finds glorious material in Dorset and Wiltshire, near his home, and holds a special regard for Swaledale, in Yorkshire, and Glen Coe, in the Highlands. | Waite finds glorious material in Dorset and Wiltshire, near his home, and holds a special regard for Swaledale, in Yorkshire, and Glen Coe, in the Highlands. |
| "The north of England has got the meatier, butcher landscapes. The south has got some lovely rivers. Norfolk has African type skies because it's so flat." | "The north of England has got the meatier, butcher landscapes. The south has got some lovely rivers. Norfolk has African type skies because it's so flat." |
| The Minack theatre in Cornwall has a backdrop of blue sea and a rocky outcropEnlarge Image | The Minack theatre in Cornwall has a backdrop of blue sea and a rocky outcropEnlarge Image |
| While everyone appreciates a view of a natural wonder, there are also much loved city views - Edinburgh from Arthur's Seat and London at night from Waterloo Bridge. Or vantage points like Liverpool Cathedral or York Minster on a clear day. | While everyone appreciates a view of a natural wonder, there are also much loved city views - Edinburgh from Arthur's Seat and London at night from Waterloo Bridge. Or vantage points like Liverpool Cathedral or York Minster on a clear day. |
| These are views much-loved by purveyors of postcards. And the landscape images we cherish tend to be those we've had access to ourselves. | These are views much-loved by purveyors of postcards. And the landscape images we cherish tend to be those we've had access to ourselves. |
| "It tends to be most popular places that people can actually go to themselves," says Charles Salmon, co-owner of J Salmon, which claims to be Britain's oldest postcard publisher. | "It tends to be most popular places that people can actually go to themselves," says Charles Salmon, co-owner of J Salmon, which claims to be Britain's oldest postcard publisher. |
| "Ashness Bridge that shows Derwent Water in the background - that is a very popular view. There is a very well-known view of Windermere looking down the lake. | "Ashness Bridge that shows Derwent Water in the background - that is a very popular view. There is a very well-known view of Windermere looking down the lake. |
| Is this the greatest view in Northern Ireland? | |
| "Also it tends to be really spectacular cliff top views [that people like] [such as] Bedruthan Steps near Newquay." | "Also it tends to be really spectacular cliff top views [that people like] [such as] Bedruthan Steps near Newquay." |
| The company's best-sellers include a view of Snowdon from Capel Curig and a shot of the cliffs at Porthcurno in Cornwall. | The company's best-sellers include a view of Snowdon from Capel Curig and a shot of the cliffs at Porthcurno in Cornwall. |
| Or course, it doesn't have to be a much-trodden picture postcard view that we seek out. There is nothing better than something that feels private to us, either because of its isolation or our feeling that our appreciation of it is rare. | Or course, it doesn't have to be a much-trodden picture postcard view that we seek out. There is nothing better than something that feels private to us, either because of its isolation or our feeling that our appreciation of it is rare. |
| How many of us have secretly thought that a vista was enhanced, and not ruined, by a clutch of cooling towers or a giant wind turbine? | How many of us have secretly thought that a vista was enhanced, and not ruined, by a clutch of cooling towers or a giant wind turbine? |
| Or do you secretly prefer a vista of big yellow cranes? | Or do you secretly prefer a vista of big yellow cranes? |
| To some, Port Talbot Steelworks, in Glamorgan, at night, lit up like an industrial version of Mordor, is a match for more traditional views. Or in the sporting sphere, a view across south London's Oval on to the backdrop of the famous old gasometers. | |
| If you went to Northern Ireland would you be thinking of the landscape around the Giant's Causeway? Or would you prefer the view down the majestic tree-lined approach to Stormont, or that across those iconic symbols of industry, the Samson and Goliath cranes at Harland and Wolff. | If you went to Northern Ireland would you be thinking of the landscape around the Giant's Causeway? Or would you prefer the view down the majestic tree-lined approach to Stormont, or that across those iconic symbols of industry, the Samson and Goliath cranes at Harland and Wolff. |
| While more conventional views can be so sacred that - like St Paul's Cathedral - they are protected by law, others are little regarded except by the few who truly cherish them. | While more conventional views can be so sacred that - like St Paul's Cathedral - they are protected by law, others are little regarded except by the few who truly cherish them. |
| Perhaps we ought to be doing more to cherish the unsung views. A holiday detour or two might be a start. | Perhaps we ought to be doing more to cherish the unsung views. A holiday detour or two might be a start. |
| Nominate the great unsung views of the UK. Tell us, using the form below, or better still, send us a picture. E-mail: yourpics@bbc.co.uk, subject UNSUNG VIEWS. Please include your name and a brief explanation of where the picture was taken. | Nominate the great unsung views of the UK. Tell us, using the form below, or better still, send us a picture. E-mail: yourpics@bbc.co.uk, subject UNSUNG VIEWS. Please include your name and a brief explanation of where the picture was taken. |
| The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions | The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions |