Visiting Crawick Multiverse

The Travel Pages visits the Crawick Multiverse on the edge of the town of Sanquhar in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, and discovers a unique land art project.

 The Crawick Multiverse opened in June 2015 a mile from the Royal Burgh of Sanquhar in south-west Scotland. The town has a thriving arts centre, A’ the Airts, and the oldest working post office in the world, which opened in 1712. It isn’t, however, the kind of place you’d expect to find a multi-million pound outdoor art project created by an American landscape designer.

Crawick Multiverse History

The Multiverse was commissioned by Richard Scott, the 10th Duke of Buccleuch and the second-largest landowner in Scotland with 217,000 acres to his name. The Multiverse sits on 55 of these acres, and is the largest work in Britain by the American landscape architect Charles Jencks. His other works include The Garden of Cosmic Speculation, about 20 miles (32 kms) south of Sanquhar in what was the artist’s home near Dumfries.

The Multiverse sits on what was a vast open cast coal mine, and is a fine example of how, with vision and not a little money (the Multiverse cost £1 million, paid for by the Duke), you can transform what was an industrial wasteland and an eyesore into a fascinatingly beautiful and unique creation that is both work of art and visitor attraction.

Visiting Crawick Multiverse

It’s hard to know what to expect from the Multiverse when you visit. We knew next-to-nothing about it beforehand, but were told we must go and see it while we were there. Arriving at the car park, we set off up a pot-holed gravel path, beginning to wonder if we were in for a disappointment.

Gradually, though, the project reveals itself, and like all works of art it is hard to describe it in words. It’s a series of creations made by combining the contours of the land with stones, rocks, and boulders. One of the first to reveal itself is an unusual amphitheatre which can hold 5,000 people and is clearly a remarkable setting for the events that have been held there: music concerts, dance performances, festivals, open-air exercise classes, and even stargazing.

Andromeda and the Milky Way

Close by are two rounded pounds of earth, Andromeda and the Milky Way. We climbed the path that winds round and round the Milky Way, which is reminiscent of Glastonbury Tor, though instead of a tower at the top there are giant boulders, making us think of Stonehenge. From the top there are views over the site and of the surrounding hills of one of our favourite corners of Scotland.

Belvedere and The Void

There are even better views from the top of another mound, Belvedere, this one more rugged and topped by a stone hand with a finger pointing upwards aligned to the North Star. The Void, by contrast, is a hole in the ground, a kind-of inverted mound, filled with water and with a path spiralling around down the sides until it reaches a stone island.

Multiverse

There are several other formations, including the Multiverse itself. This is a modern stone circle which snakes around and up a smaller mound to a megalith on top, bringing to mind both the film 2001: A Space Odyssey and Stonehenge again. Multiverse is a unique experience and reason alone to visit Sanquhar.

More Information

Crawick Multiverse is a mile north of the centre of Sanquhar off the A76. For further information, opening times and prices, visit the Crawick Multiverse website.

Where to Stay in Sanquhar

The Travel Pages stayed at the excellent Nithsdale Hotel, a two-minute drive from the Crawick Multiverse.