The Coldstones Cut

On the way back from How Stean Gorge, I passed The Coldstones Cut, which I heard about and was keen to explore. The wind up there on the hill was strong and bitingly cold, so it wasn't altogether a pleasant experience but it is a fascinating structure. Built alongside a working limestone quarry on Greenhow Hill, it is a piece of public art on a monumental scale, which also provides a viewing platform for the quarry and surrounding scenery. It was built in 2010, designed by the artist Andrew Sabin, who took inspiration from the massive quarry itself and from the surrounding area and its industrial heritage of mining. It has echoes of ancient structures like Stonehenge, Neolithic longbarrows or some of our medieval castles. Made of huge blocks of rough stone, it consists of a long 'street' up to a terrace overlooking the quarry, with two steeply curving paths that spiral round ending in matching 'towers', almost like the drum towers of Skipton Castle. 

The views across Nidderdale are splendid:

as is the vista down into the quarry, which is cleverly hidden from view from the outside, burrowing down into the hill like a volcanic crater. 

The large 'bicycle' at the entrance is, I guess, a throwback to the time when the Grand Départ of the Tour de France rode up and down the steep local hills back in 2014. From this viewpoint you can see the large 'golf ball' radomes of Menwith Hill satellite listening station, managed by the RAF and the US National Security Agency. 

The twin towers have displays showing local wildlife and also the main points of interest in the surrounding landscape, though It was getting a bit dark to read them and I was more interested in the rather lovely sunset unfolding on the western horizon.