Wild Landscape
16th February 2014
Ascent of Dale Head
Are there any wild places left in the UK? Maybe wildness can be found in Scotland and some of the islands, but what about mainland England? The landscape we see today is greatly changed from 100 years ago. There is unlikely any place man has not been and then changed; tamed to his will. The land has become a ‘tidy garden’. Does this then mean the land is no longer wild?
In Robert Macfarlane’s book, The Wild Places, he explores the etymology of the word ‘wild’ and argues the roots of the word are from both Old High German and Old Norse (wildi and willr respectively) and their meaning infer disorder. These words, along with their meaning, have then been absorbed into modern English as ‘a descriptive meaning of willful, or uncontrollable.’ Macfarlane then goes on to argue that wild therefore means ‘self-willed’.
This definition resonates when ascending the steep slopes of Dale Head when covered in hard snow. Here the land is dominant, it’s will cannot be denied or ignored as I nervously kick steps into the compacted snow. The slope falls away, stretching further with each step, as if looking through the wrong end of a telescope. The intrinsic nature of this landscape is unrestricted and unlimited and I have no ability or desire to bring any order to it. I can only hope to pass through this wild place, unnoticed and overlooked, whilst, just for a moment, recognising the will of the mountain.
Newlands Fells
Are there any wild places left in the UK? Maybe wildness can be found in Scotland and some of the islands, but what about mainland England? The landscape we see today is greatly changed from 100 years ago. There is unlikely any place man has not been and then changed; tamed to his will. The land has become a ‘tidy garden’. Does this then mean the land is no longer wild?
In Robert Macfarlane’s book, The Wild Places, he explores the etymology of the word ‘wild’ and argues the roots of the word are from both Old High German and Old Norse (wildi and willr respectively) and their meaning infer disorder. These words, along with their meaning, have then been absorbed into modern English as ‘a descriptive meaning of willful, or uncontrollable.’ Macfarlane then goes on to argue that wild therefore means ‘self-willed’.
This definition resonates when ascending the steep slopes of Dale Head when covered in hard snow. Here the land is dominant, it’s will cannot be denied or ignored as I nervously kick steps into the compacted snow. The slope falls away, stretching further with each step, as if looking through the wrong end of a telescope. The intrinsic nature of this landscape is unrestricted and unlimited and I have no ability or desire to bring any order to it. I can only hope to pass through this wild place, unnoticed and overlooked, whilst, just for a moment, recognising the will of the mountain.
Newlands Fells