From the rich setting of St. Ann's Hydropathic establishment, the view of the present day landscape reveals many cultural memories of Inniscarra Parish and beyond– the growing housing estates of Tower, Blarney and the famous Castle and further south, the water tower on the top of the ridge in Hollyhill, Cork City- all those sites present different meanings for the viewer – for me the commercialisation of heritage in Blarney Castle and the Celtic Tiger housing boom spread below me in Tower.

In the trees behind me lay the ruins of Richard Barter's aspirations of health and science education. The evocative clock tower evident in the late nineteenth century picture in last week's article stands in ruins. The clock faces are gone leaving in a sense time frozen here since the establishment's closure in the 1950s. The extant timbers of the clock tower are held in place by rusted iron posts. Alongside, the ruins of Barter's dreams of education and a ruinous iconic building, originally built to promote and push Richard Barter's ideals.

Several years ago I visited the ruinous Hydro site. I got a tour of the extant building and took pictures but at that time had very little context. So re-tracing my steps and searching for the site with a knowledge now of several processes of how this site came into being was I have to say an exciting journey. I began to think of the memorial of the Good Samaritan stained glass window of Dr. Richard Barter in St. Senan's Church of Ireland and his legacy in terms of his philanthropy and his promotion of science education. So my appreciation for these ruins was positive. However, that sense of mystery of a time long ago prevailed in me– a past I have no knowledge and connection to. Here were nineteenth century ideals in ruins.

As I negotiated the site's landscape, the nettles and thorns cut into my clothes holding me causing me to respect my footing and to navigate safely across the landscape. Stopping I listened - there was a silence in the landscape. I observed the ivy on the walls encasing the extant buildings protecting and destroying what's left of its physical structures and its human memories. Rotting roof timbers lay on the ground. The extant stone holes for timber floor beams lay empty and cobwebbed. I thought about people crossing the timber floors, the tapping of foot traffic, the various rooms and their functions, the way of life in the building.