31 July 2011 by Tristan Gooley
This photo, from my recent and gallette-packed French summer holiday, shows the distinctive orange lichens that have daubed a southern-facing wall of Suscinio Castle in Brittany.
Being a coastal region, Brittany is a natural home for these orange Xanthoria lichens, which can be both a blessing and curse when it comes to using them to understand direction. This is because conditions need to be close to perfect for lichens to thrive, but if they are too good then a lichen will manage well on more than one side, and occasionally on all sides.
This nuance creates a challenge for those new to the subject of natural navigation, including those who took part in the upcoming BBC2 series, ‘All Roads Lead Home’. Sue Perkins, in particular, was understandably frustrated that the lichens would not always obey a perfect rule in terms of the aspect they preferred. In the very short time…
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Tags: All Roads Lead Home, BBC, brittany, lichens, natural navigation, south-facing, Sue Perkins, Suscinio Castle, xanthoria |
13 August 2009 by Tristan Gooley
Apologies all blog readers. Firstly the last post wasn’t really fair. The picture quality isn’t good enough to be able to tell that the grasses have been blown in the direction that the picture is being taken or that the distant horizon is bright. The photo was taken a few weeks ago in Wensleydale looking ENE towards the dawn light.
Secondly, I’ve been out of touch longer than hoped for as I’ve been travelling in some nearby, but strangely wild places recently with limited options for internet access, including deepest darkest Brittany and a hut on some rocks in the Channel Islands called Les Ecrehou . Back soon and normal service will resume hopefully!
Tags: brittany, dawn light, direction, horizon, les ecrehou, wensleydale |
This photo, from my recent and gallette-packed French summer holiday, shows the distinctive orange lichens that have daubed a southern-facing wall of Suscinio Castle in Brittany.
