A couple of weeks ago we went to a Roy Lichtenstein exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh. It’s part of the Reflections series and the exhibition is free. The Water of Leith runs right behind the gallery so we walked along there to Stockbridge which is one of the best areas in Edinburgh for bookshops. If you look closely at the water in the photo below showing part of the Water of Leith at that part of Edinburgh known as Dean Village you’ll see that a lot of the stones have been piled on top of each other and somehow stuck together. I believe that this was done by some random bod in the belief that it enhanced the area in some kind of arty way. I prefer rocks and stones to be piled up by nature and left that way, but each to their own I suppose.
There were some lovely reflections in the water. I always find it hard to believe that the city is so close to such a great walk which feels like you’re surrounded by countryside, not a city.
On the way back home we dropped into IKEA – as you do – and it struck me not for the first time that it must be one of the best settings for an IKEA in the world.
What do you think, is your local IKEA close to such scenic hills? Maybe they like to locate them close to decent scenery – or they have a penchant for blotting the landscape!
The Glasgow IKEA restaurant has a great view of what I think are The Campsies, but unfortunately I don’t have a photo of that.
Looks like a beautiful walk! I went to a nature park in Maine where the rocks were piled into little cairns like that in a stream. I thought they were cool in that setting, but I can see that it’s a bit unnecessary in the photographed location you show here.
The IKEA I’ve been to in my area is not in a scenic location, I’m afraid.
Christy,
I could understand wee man-made cairns in a park setting but I think natural settings are best left wild.
In some ways that’s quite cheering that your IKEA isn’t in a scenic location, nothing spoiled.
No IKEA stores in NZ yet; there is a Water of Leith here, in Dunedin, (“the new Edinburgh”) and if you look at google images they look rather similar and very attractive.
Valerie,
I’m amazed that NZ is an IKEA free zone – you’re not missing much although they are handy for some things. I had a look at Dunedin’s Water of Leith on google images and you’re right, very similar. In fact it looks even more like Glasgow’s River Kelvin walkway as it has the University of Glasgow close by with a similar tower.
Katrina,
These photos are so very lovely–I’d enjoy visiting this part of Edinburgh, and you say there are bookshops nearby? Again, photos that I can gaze on and sink into.
I agree with you about the artificiality of the piled rocks in this brook or stream. In a city or town, one longs for a piece of nature au natural. In the Adirondacks I’ve seen cairns to mark the way on a particularly snarly part of a hiking or climbing trail, or to mark a go-around, such as following flooding of the trail or a windstorm that’s knocked down many trees. They’re helpful in this case. But don’t overdo it, I say!
The only IKEA stores in New York State are in Brooklyn and on Long Island, both at least 5 hours away. I have been interested in the desks they offer that can, for lack of a better phrase, “go up and down” to accommodate sitting or standing.
By the way, I think it’s very smart of you to copyright your images. Did Jack help you with that? Great idkea!
J.
Judith,
I just put my photos on Flickr and leave it up to them to do whatever, I think it’s part of their service!
Judith,
Yes there are secondhand bookshops and charity shops nearby, as well as lots of wee independent shops and Edinburgh Botanic Gardens, sadly the area is very expensive for property, otherwise we’d think about living there. There have been complaints about the cairns at the summit of a lot of mountains here, they do spoil the natural beauty I think.
I have a friend who used to travel to England to visit the IKEA at Newcastle before they opened stores in Scotland. A 40 minute drive to one is enough for us though, I suppose you could always get one of their desks online, but it’s better to have a look in the flesh – so to speak.
Beautiful photos!
My local IKEA is nestled in the crook of of a freeway interchange and across the street from the horror that is the Mall of America.
Stefanie,
In some ways that’s quite heartening – that they have all the ugly buildings grouped together!