Poet and artist Alec Finlay and letter carver Pip Hall have both visited Cairnhead, and have produced diverse interpretive work related to the natural history and the human history of the place.

Cairnhead Community Forest Trust was set up because Forestry Commission Scotland wanted to encourage the public to use and benefit from the forest here. Andy Goldsworthy, who has lived locally for over twenty years, had been searching for the right home for a series of arches on hilltops. A unique partnership was the result, and in 2002 work and planning began involving the local community and a broad array of both local and national organisations. The outcome is a powerful and sensitive meeting of art and nature, amply satisfying one of the project’s own aims – to create a sense of place – and offering the visitor to this beautiful and unspoilt part of Britain a world-class experience.   www.stridingarches.com

Currently the event of crossing the border into Scotland by road is unremarkable and travellers are often unaware that they have passed from one country into another.

The Gretna Landmark project will celebrate the particular nature of the Border and create a theatrical and meaningful experience for the 10 million people who enter Scotland every year at Gretna.

The Gretna Landmark project is delighted to be working with two of the world’s most well respected artists working in the landscape, Charles Jencks and Andy Goldsworthy.  Both artists have their home in Dumfries and Galloway.

Leading architectural theorist, designer and land artist, Charles Jencks said,

“To be asked to get involved in something that goes to the heart of who are you – the questions of identity – is the most complex question an artist can be asked. It’s a great and worthy challenge.”

Internationally renowned artist Andy Goldsworthy has been commissioned to develop a complementary sculpture installation that will explore a twelve mile boundary line between Scotland and England. 

“It has always astounded me how a line drawn on a map can have such a profound effect on the people who live either side of that line, so that differences can become intensified”, said Andy Goldsworthy.

Both projects will work in synergy and close association with a growing team of innovative designers and engineers.  It is anticipated that the project will create a world class cultural destination and a worthy contemporary icon for Scotland, exploring national identity and borders.  Visit www.gretnalandmark.com