Well at least the Eastern Europeans, travellers and new invaders are taking over fairly peacefully, not rapin' and pillagin' through the North of England, and not imposing their Charters and silly laws upon us (oh! what am I saying?)

I appreciate times move on, i look with interest at the Roman and Viking influence's all around us but i'm not sure I'd be as impressed with a Romanian Gypsy Camp or an East European settlement at say Thixendale or Wharram Percy whilst walking the Woldsman. After all what would be the difference ??

Actually john I said with people who aren't there for the wolds , meaning the need for more signs paths litter car parks and such things needed for popular spots. Some things are inspiring because we haven't medalled or put our mark on them and I feel if u want to go into the countryside for recreation you should adapt to the area and dress correctly and learn to map read etc and not expect the countryside to changed us, not every corner of our land anyway. Besides john you shouldn't ask the question if u won't like the possible answers ;-). I wouldn't expect the wolds to be kept as my own play ground , but I do like that sometimes parts of it feel so !

Well you might be right Dave - it's just my opinion. The groundscape will look a whole lot different in 5 years or so when bedded in. I dunno, I'm just a materials scientist (retired even), but have you visited the Yorkshire Sculpture Park or Chatsworth House when they have the Sculptures on display in Autumn. There are lots of duds to my taste but then every so often you think, yes that's good, appropriate, or even inspired, yes that fits in.

Yesterday we did the Larkin trail recce through Hull (Mike Collins, EY walk for March) and one avenue, which Paul Tremere knew well, had tree sculptures: carvings on chopped down trees - well, in the middle of Hull, how good is that?!

The other thing, bit of a tangent, Simon B pointed out that he preferred solitude, and wishes the Wolds stays little walked - Countryfile possibly brought in lots of people to "gawp" at the Wolds (the least known of our National Trails) but don't we do the same by publicising the walks, events, and trails in our publications?

So, in order to preserve the natural beauty of the countryside, some of you would obliterate the White Horse at Kilburn and the Cene Abbas Giant. Would you distroy Stoodley Pike, Leith Hill Tower, Wainman's Pinicle and The Needle's Eye ?
I dare not ask about the proposed "White Horse of Kent" near Ebbsfleet or seek opinion on whether Banksy is an artist or a vandal.

I'm seriously beginning to worry about you these days John, i thought your comments over the last few months were tongue in cheek to stir the Forum into life but not so sure. Surely Yorkshire has plenty of ugly brown field sites that need 'Art' to spruce the place up without destroying our ever diminishing green and pleasant countryside.

Wow ! You get universe expanding from a arranged pile of mud ? I get landscape gardener wanabe artist who can't paint or draw has a mad weekend with a digger and "expresses" himself

Personally, I think it is a valuable addition to the landscape, the swirly groundscape that is.

I picture loin clothed folks of xx thousand BC saying "why do we want these rocks in the Salisbury area", Stonehenge? why for fffks'sake?

And Hockney's blue trees and Emin's bed and that pickled shark or whatever - what crap - can we not have a painting of a haystack, or Scarborough Castle or the Madonna, with the big boobies. It's change and entropy, times arrow, the universe expanding...........

i agree its no better than vanilsm, in my opinion its an unacceptable bleb. who commissioned this ? if we want see art we go to a gallery and if we want to get away from it all we go to some where like the wolds or the like.theres enough resistance to wind turbines why not this intrusion. i walk and run on the wolds a fair amount and do hope these sculptures dont fill the wolds with people who are there for the art and not the scenery, a totally selfish hope i know but i like the solitude on my wanderings.

Its suppose to be an area of natural beauty is'nt it ? In my eyes its vandalism, maybe i'll change my mind in time but i liked it the way it was last year when i waked the Wolds Way

Terrific walk today on the Wolds with East Yorks Group; very topical, as the route from Fridaythorpe took in the ground sculpture shown on Countryfile last week, ie the JCB excavated maze-like feature, meant to represent glaciers flowing, inter-reacting and swirling to create the landscape of the Wolds, all those many years ago.

The mixed reactions from the walkers were interesting, ranging from approval and appreciation to "desecration" of the countryside. The Wolds Way national trail has 10 installed or intended artefacts on its 79 mile route, comprising "groundscapes", intricately worked benches, figures etc. A bit like an elongated Yorkshire Sculpture Park, if you've visited that.

What do you think - do these additions add anything to our countryside or are they cynical attempts to increase tourism and bring in punters to frequent the tea rooms and pubs? I have to say I have never encountered so many walkers in this area on a mid-January Sunday.