June-July Lite Challenge: An Oasis in the Madness

[Straf]

June/July's topic was to map an oasis. I decided to take the idea of an oasis as a bit of fertile land in a desert and thought of it as some sort of reprieve from the harshness of the desert. To escape the madness of daily life I sometimes like to take myself off on walks in the many different environments in the part of the country I live. So it's like a sort of oasis. To me anyway. Oh and this particular area is known as the Brecks, which is sandy ground, so up until the forestation during the 1920s this whole area used to be a desert.

This map was done mostly in GIMP with labeling and the text done in Inkscape (thanks for the help ChickPea!). The WIP can be found here.

Oasis final.jpg

[Mouse]

Wow! I never knew we had a desert in the UK before!

And its also the first time I've heard of a desert being revived like that - and before anyone ever whispered a word about global warming and deforestation!

I love the history behind this map, Straf, and you've done a brilliant job with it. I'd rep it again if I hadn't already repped it at the end of the challenge

[Ilanthar]

I really like the general composition and clean style of this one. Well done, Straf!

[Straf]

Wow! I never knew we had a desert in the UK before!

And its also the first time I've heard of a desert being revived like that - and before anyone ever whispered a word about global warming and deforestation!

I love the history behind this map, Straf, and you've done a brilliant job with it. I'd rep it again if I hadn't already repped it at the end of the challenge

Thanks Mouse. There is a fair bit of history around here. A couple of places I go to have tumuli (ancient burial mounds) some dating back to the Bronze Age. There are a couple that are rumoured to be the burial site of Boudicca, queen of the Iceni tribe (from which the Icknield Way gets its name). Not far away is the biggest network of flint mines in the UK, with one mine open to the public. There's also a wood that's supposed to be the origin of the tale of the Babes in the Wood. It's one of the ancient woods around here that I like to walk in.

I really like the general composition and clean style of this one. Well done, Straf!

Thank you Ilanthar

[Mouse]

Sounds a lot like Dorset

We also have burial mounds all over the place.

I looked up deserts in the UK, but the web isn't great for historical geography, so all I came up with was Dungeness, which is probably the most surreal place I've ever seen in the UK. Maybe the Brecks looked like that at one time?

[Straf]

Dungeness is mad. I visited there maybe 10 years ago. It was just a huge area of shingle with these huts in varying states of disrepair dotted about the place. Then there's the nuclear power stations. It is very surreal.

The Brecks would have resembled a desert 150 years ago but modern farming and the forest have reduced the actual breckland landscape to a few isolated (and highly protected) areas. There are local stories about people dying of exposure being caught on the Brecks at night. Frost has been recorded every day of the year here. It is also among the driest, if not the driest, areas in the country. Although it's lowland, on a fine clear day there are places where you are surrounded by deep, blue sky. It's actually quite breathtaking.

Oh there are pingos here too

[Mouse]

You know.... that sounds like another brilliant mapping project - the natural Brecks of Norfolk - before they disappear altogether

[FrancescaBaerald]

Very well done!!

[Straf]

Thank you Francesca

[ChickPea]

You did a great job with this, Straf. The map is fab and really gives a flavour of the area. I'm very fond of forest walks, cos frankly being out in nature is just good for the soul, and this looks like a walk I'd enjoy tremendously. Well done, and I'm happy I was able to help in a small way.