Penshaw Monument, nr Sunderland.

You cannot fail to be impressed by the sight of the Greek Temple which dominates the skyline above the entrance to the Herrington Country Park, Sunderland. However, this is not Greece and this is no ordinary temple. The monument was built in 1844 in honour of John George Lambton, the first Earl of Durham. The Monument stands 136 metres above sea level and was designed to be a copy of the Theseion, the Temple of Hephaestus, in Athens, although it was built twice the size of the original. It was designed by Newcastle architects, John and Benjamin Green and built by Thomas Pratt of Sunderland. 

On a recent visit I was impressed with the wonderful cloud formations and rushed to the monument in a bid to using it as a suitable foreground for the clouds. I used a wide-angled lens and composed using the stepped path as a lead in line to the picture. By making a panoramic image I was able to use plenty of the sky without loosing the foreground.