As you come westwards on the M56 just as you come off the M6, you see, on your left, a couple of large-ish hills standing on their own with villages on, one of which has a prominent church in the middle. To your right is the Mersey and an estuary with a wind farm on and then Ellesmere Port. I absolutely love the juxtaposition of the rolling rural English scene with the sparse flat industrial landscape. Even the M56 in the middle doesn't spoil it.
I think that I am drawn to Canvey Island for a similar reason - aside from my general interest in the islands along the Medway. Half of the island is a nature reserve and half is a load of oil refineries and gas works. Also, like the area around Ellesmere Port, it is very flat. Back up Merseyside, I think that Anthony Gormley's "Another Place" is all the more beautiful for being next to a wind farm and, I think, another oil refinery. Again, very flat and sparse.
I think that, perhaps, my being drawn to such land- and sea-scapes comes from growing up in Porthcawl which is actually a quite beautiful stretch of coastline. However, many feel it is spoilt by the tacky seaside resort feel of the place with permanent fair and massive caravan site (I am also a fan of tacky seaside resorts, as it goes). On the Western side of town is Rest bay which is a quite beautiful wide beach (location for the cover of "Heaven Up Here" by the Bunnymen) but somewhat spoilt for some people by the proximity of Port Talbot in the near distance. This somewhat enhances it for me - mainly as I don't live there anymore, I expect, and, I am sure, the origin of my affection for these sort of views. They even have an offshore wind farm there now.
I think that I am drawn to Canvey Island for a similar reason - aside from my general interest in the islands along the Medway. Half of the island is a nature reserve and half is a load of oil refineries and gas works. Also, like the area around Ellesmere Port, it is very flat. Back up Merseyside, I think that Anthony Gormley's "Another Place" is all the more beautiful for being next to a wind farm and, I think, another oil refinery. Again, very flat and sparse.
I think that, perhaps, my being drawn to such land- and sea-scapes comes from growing up in Porthcawl which is actually a quite beautiful stretch of coastline. However, many feel it is spoilt by the tacky seaside resort feel of the place with permanent fair and massive caravan site (I am also a fan of tacky seaside resorts, as it goes). On the Western side of town is Rest bay which is a quite beautiful wide beach (location for the cover of "Heaven Up Here" by the Bunnymen) but somewhat spoilt for some people by the proximity of Port Talbot in the near distance. This somewhat enhances it for me - mainly as I don't live there anymore, I expect, and, I am sure, the origin of my affection for these sort of views. They even have an offshore wind farm there now.
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