White horses on hillsides are a common sight – but now a giant horse made from heather is to be constructed on a hillside in Derbyshire.
The horse will be on a business park, at the site of a former colliery.
Markham Vale Horse is part of a £77m regeneration project near Bolsover.
The heather horse – which will be 228m-wide and 15m-high – will be visible to drivers on the nearby M1.
It is due to be completed by the end of next year.
The outline of the horse will be lit up in the evening using power generated by on-site wind turbines.
“The horse is a symbol of power and energy, and this was an area of energy production [coal],” said a spokesman for Derbyshire County Council.
“There is a tradition of hillside horses in Britain. The heather will create an iconic image and the horse may even bring to mind the pit ponies who worked alongside the miners to keep us all supplied with coal,” he added.
This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (11 October 2012)
