ShaunW (shandys_preston)
Folly at West Burton (Yorkshire Dales)
I uploaded a similar shot to this before but was never happy with it, so I have had another bash, a bit of photoshop work to bring out the details in the Folly and that's about it.
In the 18th and 19th Centuries Wensleydale was thriving. Scores of lead mines were in full production and a busy railway ran the length of the Dale. The sheep were eating grass and getting fat as if there was no tomorrow (which for them there probably wasn't). In this entrepreneurial climate, and encouraged by the writings of Jules Verne, civic leaders embarked on a project that would ultimately be known as The Great Wensleydale Moonshot Fiasco.
The technology of the time and the limited availability of suitable materials meant that the rocket ship was constructed from local stone. It was 'manned' by goats, these creatures being considered more nimble in zero gravity and more adaptable in diet than sheep. Despite the ready availability of gunpowder from the lead mines the eight hundred ton stone rocket ship could not be persuaded to leave the ground for longer than two seconds. Many brave goats gave their lives in vain before the project was abandoned, and the distinctive stringy smoked donar kebab of the district remains to this day a local delicacy. The rocket ship still stands in lower Wensleydale, a monument to man's folly, in the shadow of the West Burton TV transmitter.
How mad is that???
PS I don't care if the above is true or not, it made me laugh ;-)
Please view large
Folly at West Burton (Yorkshire Dales)
I uploaded a similar shot to this before but was never happy with it, so I have had another bash, a bit of photoshop work to bring out the details in the Folly and that's about it.
In the 18th and 19th Centuries Wensleydale was thriving. Scores of lead mines were in full production and a busy railway ran the length of the Dale. The sheep were eating grass and getting fat as if there was no tomorrow (which for them there probably wasn't). In this entrepreneurial climate, and encouraged by the writings of Jules Verne, civic leaders embarked on a project that would ultimately be known as The Great Wensleydale Moonshot Fiasco.
The technology of the time and the limited availability of suitable materials meant that the rocket ship was constructed from local stone. It was 'manned' by goats, these creatures being considered more nimble in zero gravity and more adaptable in diet than sheep. Despite the ready availability of gunpowder from the lead mines the eight hundred ton stone rocket ship could not be persuaded to leave the ground for longer than two seconds. Many brave goats gave their lives in vain before the project was abandoned, and the distinctive stringy smoked donar kebab of the district remains to this day a local delicacy. The rocket ship still stands in lower Wensleydale, a monument to man's folly, in the shadow of the West Burton TV transmitter.
How mad is that???
PS I don't care if the above is true or not, it made me laugh ;-)
Please view large