British Isles trip, part 25: Glendalaugh

Link to photo dump.


Glendalaugh is the site of the ruins of a monastery/town founded in the 6th century, and mostly destroyed by the English army in 1398.

If you really want to see what's there, you'll have to use that Wikipedia link above, or Google it. We had less than an hour to explore, and I got so captivated by the cemetery that I saw almost nothing else. The cemetery is not nearly as old as the rest of the ruins. In fact, it's still in use for new burials. The oldest headstones I saw were from the 1700s. But something about the light and textures and shapes in the graveyard fascinated me, so I spent nearly all my time taking pictures of grave markers.

I just have to say: I love that last image. It was OK in color, but as soon as I pushed the "saturation" slider all the way to zero, the whole picture just jumped off the screen at me. I love the proliferation of shapes and angles and textures. I love how sharp the foreground is, with just enough blurring of the background to be realistic, but not so much that it's entirely lost. I love how discoloration pours down the face of the second stone. I love the haunting inscription, "Here Lieth the Body...." It's entirely possible that the picture's beauty is only in the eye of this particular beholder, but I don't care. It's one of my favorites from the whole trip.