The Corpse Way, a photo from North Yorkshire, England

Photographer's Note

I guess you are doing a double take at the grim title I have chosen; let me explain.This is the river Swale in the Yorkshire Dales' Swaledale.In the middle ages the poor folk of Swaledale had to carry their dead for many miles to be buried at the nearest consecrated ground at St Andrews,Grinton.An elderly lady I met during our stay explained that along the route large slabs of stone were placed on which to rest the coffins so that the coffin bearers could take a break.There's a path that follows the river where these can be found. She reckons visitors mistakenly think that the stones have been placed there to be sat on.After she told me about these coffin resting stones I recalled seeing two large stones placed one on top of another along a track we had walked by the river.(On the day we came across a Sainsbury's grocery delivery van that had lost its way, following its satnav directions , and become stuck on the rocky path. The driver was in a bit of a fix as he couldn't get a mobile phone signal in the dale).I have uploaded a photo of St Andrew's church as a workshop. Here is a link to the local parish church's website. It is interesting itself as it has an account of a recent unusual christening, but also scroll down and read the left hand column headed "Final Journeys".

Royaldevon, tyro, annjackman, Kielia, holmertz, saxo042, COSTANTINO, Hansaphotos has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

brianmcc (5536) 2012-09-17 12:32

hi bev, the greens in this picture are fantastic, a picture of the english countryside. the walls and little farm buildings are wonderful and very characteristic. the river and trees provide a great diagonal running along the image and drawing the viewer deeper into the picture.
regards,
brian

dta (51418) 2012-09-17 13:01

Hello Beverley ,
A wonderful rural landscape . I like all those shades of greenery , and the graphism of the stoned walls .
Splendid .

Royaldevon (17791) 2012-09-17 13:09

Hello Bev,

It is a grim title but I'm more knowledgeable for having read it. It is a co-incidence that consecrated ground should be mentioned with reference to North Yorkshire. It is not a word you hear all that often but when we were at Aysgarth a couple of days ago, the church had a sign stating 'Please don't drop litter. This is consecrated ground.'
The colour and amount of grass will surprise many people from other regions of the world but it bears testament to all the rain that we have experienced, this year. England is certainly a 'green and pleasant land'!
Your photograph shows a system of walls and divisions that could easily link back to the feudal, strip farming system. You have shown good details of the differences between the cultivated and uncultivated areas. The diagonal river and associated trees is a good separation line for composition.

My warm regards,
Bev :-)

tyro (13073) 2012-09-17 15:42

Hello Bev,

WOW! Now this is so interesting - the things I learn on this website from well researched notes such as yours here - it's amazing!

I suppose that these stones could be considered a sort of bier and a bit like a lychgate which we occasionally see at the entrance to a graveyard, where coffin-bearers would rest themselves and the coffin under a little roof.

But what a fascinating story - and a fine link you have given us to the Parish Church website too.

And, of course, a lovely photograph. Such gorgeous bright shades of green, no doubt on account of the wet summer we have all had, but fields laid out like a wonderful patchwork with little buildings scattered about sitting on its seams. The river (which looks quite full too) is placed perfectly and I suspect you were wise to crop out the sky too - I can imagine it was probably overly bright and uninteresting.

Lovely vibrant colours, perfect exposure and excellent details and sharpness.

Fabulous!

Kind Regards,

John.

emilbo (20844) 2012-09-17 15:59

Allô Bev!
Quelle belle scène de campagne avec une belle végétation bien dispersée ici et là. Le carrelage des champs crée un bel effet. Les habitations ajoutent de l'intérêt à la photo et les verts sont fantastiques.
Toutes mes félicitations,
Emilius

annjackman (13195) 2012-09-17 22:03

Hello Bev,
The vibrant green is beautiful and typical of the area after so much rain. The drystone walls make a lovely patchwork dotted with farm buildings and sheep - what a perfect part of England! The river makes a nice line through the undulating landscape. A super rural landscape and a very interesting note indeed.
Kind Regards, Ann

Kielia (20445) 2012-09-18 8:13

Hi Bev,
you have written an interesting note to accompany a wonderful impression of an interesting landscape. The lush greens and the nice light make the image very attractive. The link is very useful indeed. My compliments!
Warm regards
Harriet

karacabeylis (1285) 2012-09-18 9:34

delicate shades and tints on green and a perfect angle to show an idyllic scene. well-done.

wolf38 (28180) 2012-09-18 9:43

Hi Bev. Another landscape with lots of greenery and low walls between fields Very nice light and good composition. The view from above on the fields is well chosen. Rgds, Wolfgang.

holmertz (26932) 2012-09-19 13:37

Hello Bev,
Your pictures have become very green lately and that's pleasant enough. This is a lovely view of what I consider a very English landscape. Its beauty is enhanced by the perfect sharpness and good exposure. There's an interesting story to go with this photo. I suppose the corpse way is a dead end street :-)
Kind regards,
Gert

mesutilgim (67960) 2012-09-20 14:10

Hello Bev,
Very nice landscape, with perfect pov and layout.
Good pictorial geometry and nice bright colors. Interesting notes makes it a perfect TE job.
TFS and bets regards
MESUT ILGIM

saxo042 (31800) 2012-09-22 5:58

Hi Bev
All these drystone walls are obviously a very important part of the British landscape. They certainly provide many strong and fine patterns everywhere. A beautiful view and also a very interesting note.
Kind regards
Gunnar

COSTANTINO (42746) 2012-11-03 11:51

Hello
what a beautiful green landscape
I like the river dividing this
field ino two parties
natural fresh colors very
wellcomposed
your notes are very useful
regards
Costantino

Hansaphotos (5429) 2012-11-30 15:35

Hello Bev

A nice capture very well accompanied by the informative note and the well selected title. A fine light illuminates the fields and brings out nice shades of green. The river and the uncultivated field in the bg adds a nice contrast. Very nice work! TFS. Have a nice WE.

Best regards, Erling