An analemmatic

sundial is laid out on the ground. The photo right shows how a person stands in the centre and casts a shadow which tells the time by the hour points around the edge of the circle. You stand in a different position each month.

Analemmatic dials can be paved, or sited on grass or playgrounds. If for educational purposes, the whole design and build process can be developed as a collaborative project.

The analemmatic dial created by David at Penshurst Place, Kent (photo, left) is set in a red brick pavement, to complement nearby buildings and walls. The dial is sited in an adventure playground and incorporates heraldic symbols of the De L'Isle family. International locations are marked with plaques on the outer edges to reflect the interests of the many overseas visitors to this stately home. The date scale and hour markers are carved in hardwearing York stone to contrast with the brick, and to withstand the effects of many feet.

The York stone date scale of another of David's dials - installed in 2001 at Wisborough Green in Sussex - is seen under construction in close-up in the photo, right. Here the design features the logo of the Wisborough Green Horticultural Society, which presented the dial to the village to mark the millennium. There are also direction markers to neighbouring villages, and London.

Seats have been constructed at the perimeter of this dial which is sited on the village green.

Gravel fills the centre of the dial to the right, hour points are random Ham stone slabs, and the date scale is slate.