Near the Creetown entrance to Balloch Wood a stone circle, inscribed with haiku poems and iconography, is one of the first features to welcome visitors to the woodland. The seven granite stones simultaneously reflect both the timelessness of the immediate surroundings and its industrial heritage.
The surface of the stones has been used to illustrate human responses to the woodland.
Blasted onto the surface of the stones, haiku poems written by local schoolchildren provide small thoughts to accompany the visitor on their walk around the wood, while iconography acknowledges continuity with other nearby stone circles.
Contemporary and historic perspectives on the area are thus brought together in a manner sympathetic to the surroundings.
The Stones
The stones were sourced from the re-development of Maryport Harbour across the Solway Firth in Cumbria to be recycled into the interpretative circle.
Granite was chosen to reflect its importance both to the geology of the area and also to its industrial heritage. Several granite quarries used to be located in the environs of the woodland, playing a central role in the history of the community.
The poems and iconography was blasted onto the surface of the stones by local company Galloway Granite& Galloway Signs.