TWT 30 Days Wild_countdown_26We actually achieved one of my #30DaysWild list yesterday!

Lincoln Castle is currently privileged to be host to Poppies:Wave by artist Paul Cummins and designer Tom Piper.  The sweeping arch of red poppy heads, presented by 14-18 NOW, marks the centenary of the First World War.

The sculpture Wave, along with Weeping Window, was initially conceived as the key dramatic sculptural elements in the installation Blood Swept lands and Seas of Red at the Tower of London in the autumn of 2014.

Once the conflict of WW1 was over, often only poppies would grow on the battlefields.  The blood red flower came to symbolise the sacrifice of all those who died and the rebirth of the land.  As we often do, we turn to the natural world for remembrance and healing.

The cascade, a whole yet made up of identifiable individual stems, is very powerful and further enhanced by the few real poppies finding their own home on a wall overlooking the sculpture.

Entry into the castle and to see the Wave is free but we were lucky to have won a family ticket in a Christmas raffle and were able to enjoy even more areas of the visitor attraction.  Unfortunately the Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forest were away from their vault due to humidity but we certainly enjoyed the Medieval wall walk.

The views were spectacular and Luke was especially proud of himself for managing all the steps – “I did it!” he told me, and his dad, and the castle guide and a fellow visitor and…

Sadly he didn’t quite manage one of the steps in the main castle area later on – many thanks to the mum who came to my aid with some very useful wipes!

An ice cream later plus the chance to have a go at stone carving and he was all smiles again.

Hoping that we would be able to visit the installation (which runs until September 4th) has also made me look out for poppies during our journeys in the last few weeks and I certainly haven’t been disappointed.

Lest we forget.

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