I have always been drawn to gates and openings. I am sure that I am not alone in feeling the thrill of the landscape’s invite: the approach, the anticipation of a new adventure, and perhaps people to meet and stories to share.
I have never been to Skeldon House Lodge on the outskirts of Dalrymple, East Ayrshire. However I came across this old image of it in the Canmore archive and it caught my eye. The gates, the railings, the lamp, the sign, and a bicycle left outside the lodge: all these symbols invited stories in my mind.
The poet Tomas Tranströmer has described two truths meeting at such a gateway:
