This is one of the books on the recommended reading list for the course and was an engaging and interesting read. There are many points to take away from this book and I am sure I will return to it as I progress with my studies.

I found her discussion on space and place particularly thought provoking, and the concept of landscape resulting from human action is one I hadn’t previously considered. She says that ‘Assumptions may …. be made about social uses of designed places (parks, gardens, picnic spots…). Plans are predicated on imagining types of land use, landscape and social environment that might be constructed. Whether industrial, agricultural or domestic, urban, suburban or rural, space is (trans-)formed into place through such interventions.’ This is interesting to me when considering the caravan park which was the subject of my Assignment five,/especially as this is a very specific space which has a unique pre-determined purpose.

Wells herself directly discusses the places we holiday: ‘Current emphasis on rural ‘boutique’ hotels, country cottage holidays, caravan parks and campsites, as well as the expanding network of Center Parcs, testifies to a continuation of a pastoral idyll.’ Like Wells, living in Devon, I see examples of this idealisation frequently, most recently in a company selling coastal air in a bottle for £75 (and labelling it Cornish when it is actually from Devon, Cornwall presumably being more marketable).

Wells steers away from the photographic canon to include lesser known practitioners, including a chapter on Scandinavia, and also includes Land Art as within the photographic remit which I found relevant to my critical essay. Overall, I found this a very worthwhile read that will no doubt continue to be relevant as I move onto Level 3.