SMM+S

DerekR · Forum Member Joined: 24 Jan 2009 Posts: 50

O/S map ref: NY516863

The Border Stane - Newcastleton (part of the 7 Stanes biking trails)

The 7stanes are seven mountain biking centres spanning the south of Scotland, from the heart of the Scottish Borders to Dumfries and Galloway. 'Stane' is the Scots word for stone, and at each of the 7stanes locations, you'll find a stone sculpture reflecting a local myth or legend.

The stanes are found out on the trails in the forests, in prominent locations near cycling and walking paths. They’re accessible on foot or by horse as well as by bike, and range in size from one to three metres high and from two to six tons in weight.

The "spiel" from the Forestry Commission is that the Newcastleton stane "stands right on the border between Scotland and England. The hole in the middle allows people stand on either side of the border and shake hands through the stane."

Ohh no it doesn't. The border is a quarter of a mile a way. Confused

The sculpture resembles the tail fin of an aircraft and faces north - south. On the north side, representing Scotland, Auld Lang Syne is inscribed and on the south side, representing England, the words of Jerusalem.

DerekR · Forum Member Joined: 24 Jan 2009 Posts: 50

DerekR · Forum Member Joined: 24 Jan 2009 Posts: 50

DerekR · Forum Member Joined: 24 Jan 2009 Posts: 50

DerekR · Forum Member Joined: 24 Jan 2009 Posts: 50

DerekR · Forum Member Joined: 24 Jan 2009 Posts: 50

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/achs-5rneev

The lead artist on the Seven Stanes Arts Project was Gordon Young. Born in Carlisle, Gordon attended the local college before going on to Coventry Polytechnic and the Royal College of Art in London.

He previously worked at theYorkshire Sculpture Park and Welsh Sculpture Trust before becoming a full time artist in 1984 and has many awards to his name, the most recent including the Blackpool Civic Trust Award in 2007 and Royal Society for Arts, Art for Architectural Award in 2001.

Gordon was supported in the current project by Russell Coleman, Ronnie Heeps and Mark Powers. The huge eye-catching works of art took six months to create at the premises of Galloway Granite at Sorbie, with which Gordon has had a close association for over 20 years. The stone for the sculptures comes from a variety of locations across the UK.