On Easter Sunday morning (5th April), we walked to Caesar’s Camp from the Rowhills area near Aldershot. The rain on Good Friday and the, dull, chilly Easter Saturday gave way to a spell of brighter, warmer, more springlike weather. The sun broke through at times, though it still fairly cloudy and misty. Gorse was flowering on the heathland and slopes of the Caesar's Camp hillside. We sat on the benches at the top of the hill near the pine
tree - though sorry to see both benches were in in memoriam to young men: one
1980-2002, the other 1986-2004. This was a hill fort at one time, though I
don’t know whether Emperor Caesar camped here himself. We could see eastwards
along the line of the North Downs as far as Guildford and just made out the
Cathedral. To the north was Farnborough Airfield. On a clear day, the view
extends as far as the Chiltern Hills and London, with the arch of Wembley
Stadium, evolving towers in central London and Canary Wharf towers further
east.
I particularly wanted another look at the view in the middle
distance as it was relevant to two of the prize winning paintings in the FAS
show - see previous entry about exhibtions visited this Easter. Firstly, Jackie Rennie’s large
square canvas depicting the view from Caesar’s Camp focusing on the middle
distance, with everything further back fading towards the horizon. Purple
flowers on slope in foreground, irises perhaps.
Near the entrance to
the gallery, Alan Ryder’s Gone But Not
Forgotten. This was a large vertical oil painting on canvas of the Cargate
Water Tower off Lower Church Lane, Aldershot rendered in pale grey against a
blue background. Though not pretty, the tower was a fairly distinctive local landmark
around Aldershot until its demolition in late 2008 /
early 2009. It was visible from the Weybourne Road looking north towards
Aldershot; the A31 Hogs Back road; and eastwards from Caesar’s Camp. It was
built out of steel and prone to rust, though that wasn’t obvious from a
distance. It comprised round hut at the top with a broad conical roof. There
were four narrow legs and a narrow spiral stairwell in the centre. It was still
there in summer 2008 when I watched the Farnborough Airshow from Caesar’s Camp
– Uncle Ivan lives in the water tower? Is
he a fish? Come to think of it,
I had registered it not being there after our move in 2009, just not
consciously. It was only now, after seeing the painting,that I thought to look.
Similarly, with my mind on something else, I didn’t initially register the big
tree felled near my parents’ garden last month.
The Chief Chartered Engineer
also reflected on the changing scene around Farnborough airfield, for better or
worse. The old Pyestock site was flattened completely around the turn of this century, with a new layout of roads in the area. What was once the main site of
RAE Farnborough has virtually all gone now. One thing it brought home was just
how outdated our current copy of OS Explorer map 145 now is.
We walked on, before heading back to endulge in Easter
Sunday lunch.
