Dark And Uncharted Terrain
Imagine this.
Walking along a gravel covered path, narrow, winding, thick vegetation on all sides. Moving ever downwards, no sense of where you are, just the sound of water coming from somewhere deep in the valley below. Looking up, a canopy of tall, impressive trees partly block the sky, creating shade and an almost tropical micro-climate, becoming more humid the further you descend.
As you turn a corner you notice a small, yellow arrow, close to the ground and made of metal, and you decide to follow. Continuing, you see another and then more, taking you deeper into the valley and closer to the noises that are slowly becoming clearer.
And then suddenly, out of the undergrowth, you see it.
A skull.
The shock forces you back a step and, as you look again, you briefly glimpse bones and think, could there also be a body? Horrified, you ease your way forward and suddenly realise that yes, it really is the stuff of nightmares because there, right in front of you, in the dense woodland near the foot of the valley, is a complete skeleton.
Smiling at you.
Whilst riding a bike.
You turn away, not sure what has happened and suddenly, not more than a few steps further along the track, a figure looms out of the dark vegetation. A large dark woman. Squatting. You realise what she is doing, and run.
But it's too late. Turn a corner and there is another woman. Tall, at least ten feet if not more, thin and completely naked. And then, yet more. Massively obese, hiding in the bushes but difficult to miss, on a slight incline and looking down at you, oppressive and intimidating.
You move quickly, following the path further down, not looking sideways as further weird and distorted figures appear in your peripheral vision. Breathing heavily, hot and sticky and, quite frankly, way out of your comfort zone, you notice another yellow arrow and almost run in the direction it’s pointing.
Something catches your eye and, almost too out of sorts to look, you realise, with relief, that it’s the light shining on a stream, running over rocks almost beneath your feet. Steeping carefully over the stones you glance up and there, finally, you see it. You wipe the sweat from your forehead and force yourself to breath a little slower to calm your racing heart.
You have made it.
You smile a little, feeling some satisfaction and a sense of achievement, and why not?
You have successfully negotiated the treacherous passage. Way down into the valley and almost exactly at the point where the deceptively well hidden reception of the Sculpture Park is located. A challenge normally undertaken only by brave, experienced souls trekking through the dark and uncharted terrain of the largely unexplored western tip of Surrey.
The journey was long and tough. You knew it would be.
But oh, what treasures await!
The Sculpture Park is located just outside of Farnham and is open every day. It contains over 1,000 pieces of work from more than 300 internationally renowned artists and is an open-air gallery set in a 10 acre arboretum with water gardens and wildlife.
And it’s bloody good.
