Naked men of metal ..

Day 117 #365DaysWild

We usually bemoan mankind’s clumsy hand on the landscape. 

Our uplands stripped of trees by sheep and deer. Our rivers canalised and tamed. Wetlands drained.

But sometimes our hand is intriguing and original.

Up to the north west of England for a long-awaited visit to see the cast metal figures set into the beach in Crosby, Lancashire.

One hundred naked men of metal. Fixed into the sand. All facing west out into the advancing and retreating sea. Many clothed in barnacles.

As the tide chases in, the men appear to wade fearlessly into the advancing waves. Those higher up the beach are being slowly consumed by sand.

Imagined by the artist Sir Anthony Gormley. Mysterious and timeless. So right.