An artist who climbs on to church roofs and towers to paint bird’s eye views has produced two watercolours of Saffron Walden.

Saffron Walden Reporter: Saffron Walden PaintingsSaffron Walden Paintings (Image: Archant)

For these Saffron vistas, Gilly Marklew climbed up to the top of the roof of St Mary’s Church.

She said: “Steve Hasler, the church warden, escorted me up to the roof, showing no fear of heights as we circumnavigated the church on the first then the second level.

“The views were utterly breathtaking. The nearest experience I have come to this was when I was in a gliding club at art college, and again when I went paragliding in Penang, Singapore.”

Gilly, 56, has also painted aerial views of Cambridge. She climbed up onto the roofs of several churches, including St Andrew the Great, St Clements and Great St Mary’s. She also tackled the Pitt Building in Trumpington Street, which looks like a church.

She said: “Going up the tower of the Pitt building was like a venture into Narnia. We went through a door into a broom cupboard with another tiny door leading to a steep spiralling staircase behind it. It opened up into a large dusty abandoned room which I was told was haunted by a female figure reading, as it used to be library.”

The Saffron Walden paintings are the view over the Market Square including the town hall, Barclays bank, and the library looking in the direction of Thaxted.

The second painting is of the Church Wardens rooms on Church Walk, and Castle Street beyond that, then looking towards the hill leading to Little Chesterford.

They are now on display at The Saffron Gallery in the town’s High Street.