Gumnut at the entrance to the Fairy Woods
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Gumnut at the entrance to the Fairy Woods by Richard Sutcliffe as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Gumnut at the entrance to the Fairy Woods
Image: © Richard Sutcliffe Taken: 25 Feb 2022
‘Gumnut’ is by Boddy Buchanan, 2018. According to a sign nearby: ‘Gumnut’ was inspired by the adventures of political activist Thomas Muir who lived in this area in the late 18th Century. Formed of cast concrete, the sculpture mimics the shape of a eucalyptus seedpod, or as Australians call them, gumnuts. Convicted of sedition for advocating political reform, Muir was transported to Australia. As a prisoner, and product of the Scottish Enlightenment, Muir took notes on, amongst other things, local flora and fauna – an aspect of his history that is understandably less well known. Suburban East Dunbartonshire is now filled with ornamental eucalyptus trees; ‘Gumnut’ celebrates the fact that Thomas Muir was possibly the first person from this area ever to see one. Note the golf ball stuck in the mud beside it.
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
55.955286
Longitude
-4.164267