Roads to Joy

In 1883, James Faed the Younger presented a large painting titled ‘The Town Park’ to the Royal Burgh of New Galloway. This painting is stored with great care in the main hall, behind protective panels at the front of the large room. I’ve never seen it, but thanks to ArtUK we can consider it in a digital format.

By contrast, the view, looking out over Loch Ken from the bench at the top of the lovely temperate woodland at the end of New Galloway, just beyond the Golf Club, shows the same scene before the leaves had come out, this year. We were chatting with dear friends in Northumberland, yesterday, about the painting, and when we saw the digital image, we realised that it was of our favourite view around these parts. We often head up to the bench to watch as red kites soar above our heads, and puffy white clouds scud across the horizon in front of us.

The castle in the middle of Faed’s painting, Kenmure, has fallen, as far as I’m aware, into a total state of ruination, but then we’ve not had the privilege of touring around its grounds. The castle seems to be obscured, from most viewpoints, by the trees that have grown up around it.

Our exploration of the castle may have to wait for another day, if we’re even allowed to visit. The salient part of this blog entry today is how things change, and how they stay the same!

The temperate woodland is scarcely a ‘town park’ (perhaps even in mid-Victorian times, the artist indulged in a tongue-in-cheek irony) and yet, it’s valued hugely by the community. The walks are maintained by a group of volunteers, and the bench is a way-station for aged folks on their intrepid way to the enchanted loch. Last year we sat on another lovely bench, looking over the little loch, and hoped that we could bring our family members on a similar perambulation and a quiet moment of reflection, of enchantment.

Perhaps we’ll be able, one day, to find an exquisite painting of the little loch, which might capture more of the enchantment, the magic of the place, than a photograph quite can.

Whether or not that ever happens, we have the treasure of the experience, the aspiration to show it to family and friends, and the joy of knowing that these lovely sights, these visual epiphanies, are just here, on our doorstep.