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Follow me and interact with me on my Camper-Van-Camino next week.
I'm heading out up into Northumberland and then back to North Wales on an epic journey next week - taking in many ancient sites. You can follow me (you'll need to become a follower) on Polarsteps. More here:
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Enchanting 17th-century timber-framed porch at Turton Tower, Lancashire.
'There are certain places, conjunctions of line and contour, where thoughts settle and cohere.'
Richard Skelton - Beyond the Fell Wall
The Castellated Gaze
I’m walking along the streets of Richmond in the North Riding of Yorkshire. On my way up to Richmond Castle, I weave through the town square, fishing for buildings to sketch. I spot a charming vignette of a bay window and door, but the space next to the indoor market entrance is too busy, so I continue upwards to the castle to settle my thoughts.
The climb to the castle heights takes me from the market's hustle and bustle to the whistle of the wind through the ramparts. With every metre gained in height, the clamour below gradually evaporates.
One of the key qualities of a place with genius loci is the opportunity to take in the town’s context from above—and Richmond Castle, with its encircling paths, offers that gift. For me, viewing the town from a height is like 'taking the waters' in a spa town. Richmond Castle, with its sweeping views, is where the town’s story comes to life in a way that can be absorbed from one vantage point.
When I reach the top of the castle keep, a sense of calm settles over me as I experience the overview effect at townscape level. Taking in the view feels like an infusion of dopamine. The constituent parts of this medicinal brew include the organic flow of the streets, the fractal patterns, and the cosmos of textures and colours. Yet perhaps the most powerful element is the sense that the town before me is a living organism—one that holds not only the vibrancy of the present but has also absorbed the chaos and upheaval of centuries of continuous change.
All we truly own is what we have in this given moment, and in this moment, peering over the castle walls, I feel like a king. From this vantage point, I see that its complexity is less about chaos and more about continuity—a testament to the resilience of place, to the layers of human activity that have settled here, creating a legacy that still breathes. It’s humbling to witness this intricate network of connection and endurance woven into every corner of the town.
Complexity here is a binding force, stitching together fragments of time and memory, making the town feel both ancient and alive. This continuity of presence, this delicate layering, draws me in and grounds me, allowing me to feel not just like an observer but as part of something much larger.
Each building, street, and stone represents a choice, an adjustment, a response to the needs of a particular moment in history. It’s this interplay—of adaptation, resilience, and subtle transformation—that gives Richmond its depth. Observing this layered complexity reminds me that places like this aren’t merely static landscapes but are akin to mycorrhizal networks woven beneath the rooftops by countless hands over time.
From this vantage point, its streets weave their magic on me. They convey notions of survival and continuity and whisper fragmented words that I feel I’ve read somewhere before. Later, when I return to the van, I trace these words to a book by Neil Theise where the splintered script is glossed into sentences and made whole. They are telling, revealing why places like Richmond are so meaningful:
‘Complexity tempts us into taking notice. Complexity spurs us into taking part. Complexity humbles us, showing how we are but infinitesimal parts of a stupefyingly vast whole. Complexity exalts us - any small gesture or utterance we can make having the potential to shift the whole world from one cloud of possibility to another.
Complexity prods me to consider how I can participate in the world around me…Every moment has the random potential to surprise us with new possibilities. However dire the moment, lifesaving adaptation might just be around the corner, and might even arise from something you, yourself have helped bring forth.’
It is from the complexity of this place—so old and yet so fresh, so still and yet so alive—that today’s digest has emerged. And such things make me consider how important places like Richmond are, places that ‘make our thinking possible, and leave our thinking changed.’*
And it is this place, this Richmond by the Swale, that led me to a book where glossed words were gilded and absorbed the heaviness of the world around me, opening up the notion of endless possibilities. It is a notion I will always carry with me, no matter what the setback, nor how many times I doubt myself.
I’ll always be grateful for that.
*Hugh Conway Morris, The Architecture of the Poetic Universe.
As I share these moments of connection with places like Richmond, I’m reminded that it’s your support which enables me to continue exploring and capturing the spirit of place.
Every step, every sketch, and every word forms part of this journey—a continuously unfolding story of resilience and discovery.
By supporting my work, whether by subscribing, sharing, or joining as a member, you’re helping to preserve and celebrate these places that shape us all.
Together, we’re weaving a legacy that honours the intricate layers of our world and helps us understand our part in it.
Thank you for being part of this journey.
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Richmond: The Overstory
Pevsner says:
'Richmond is one of the visually most enjoyable small towns of the North of England. This is due to the Swaledale scenery around, which one is never far from, to the great bold accents of the high, broad and mighty keep and the slender, lacy tower of the Greyfriars, and to the way the town rises steeply from the river to the market place and then in a less compact, more tarraced way yet higher.'
Here are the delightful views of Richmond taken from the castle and also from the heights of the path around it. Pure scroll - no words - but look out for the imposing Culloden Tower - a place where you can stay awhile - owned by the Landmark Trust. Also look out for the bridge across the River Swale and the people that populate the banks of the river - what are they upto? And finally, see if you can spot the ancient petrified beach in the Swale.
Atelier - My Art Shop
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Visit My Art ShopBefore I hit Richmond I was wallowing over in the fields of Hampshire. How about this for a spot for breakfast?
Andy Marshall
Angie BrownBBC Scotland, Edinburgh and East Reporter
Matt Growcoot
The pattern of vernacular buildings and the pattern of our streets leads me on to thinking about how they replicate nature in Phenotype. And in another of those glorious towns - as I walk through the streets of Lynn, it feels as though a switch in my brain has been turned on.
COMPERANDUM FOR MISERICORDS HAS NEW ADDITIONS:
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COMPERANDUM FOR THE PELICAN SYMBOL HAS NEW ADDITIONS:
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Member Powered Photography
The latest slot that was made available recently for free photography has been taken up!
I'll be revealing all soon - but the location is in Cambridgeshire and I'm so looking forward to sharing it with you.
Andy Marshall
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Photographs and words by Andy Marshall (unless otherwise stated). Most photographs are taken with Iphone 14 Pro and DJI Mini 3 Pro.
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