and got to go inside

I love ruins and abandoned places, particularly modern ones. I was thrilled by Simon Inglis' description of the Houston Astrodome in his book "Sightlines",  regularly track the decay of a once lovely house  as we drive past,  and mourn the demolition of Lanrick Castle whose burnt out facade used to be glimpsed from the A84.   Last summer I managed a sneak look at an iconic twentieth century ruin,  St Peter's Seminary at Cardross.

For a long time when, we drove through the area I would scour the countryside for a hint of  its whereabouts. Then two things came to my aid. First, the news that the NVA organisation was planning an event there, and the SatNav installed in our new car.

Armed with this extra information  I persuaded MrS to try and find it.

Our first attempt was thwarted by fairly serious "Keep Out" signs at the road end. Undaunted we headed back into the town and approached from a different angle.

This time we were successful and found the remains deep in the woods.

Now MrS is fairly law abiding and I am a bit of a wimp really (and was wearing unsuitable footwear) so we took notice of all the  "danger unsafe building" signs and just peered in through the security fence.

It was still quite thrilling. And sad. This huge modern masterpiece decaying among the trees.

This week we got to return for Hinterland.

last light as we waited to enter

queuing

light to guide our path

first glimpse

It was beautiful. Haunting. Music and light. And darkness.

looking back

I can't do it justice here; and  it ends tomorrow and is sold out, so you can only visit the website. But it's not the ending for St Peter's, NVA have plans for future development.

  So this great building can rise again.

Marina x