Central Province (Nuwara Eliya)
The scenery on the 200 km train ride between Kandy and Nanu Oya is utterly captivating. The line runs through lush valleys, past waterfalls, near villages with curated tea plantations, and around cloud-draped mountains. At Nanu Oya, Ashby alighted for Nuwara Eliya. British ex-pats regarded the town as being a 'little England' and a place where they could escape from Colombo's oppressive heat. On 28 September 1914, Ashby wrote to Shaw again, explaining:
I am having quite a good time, though here I have come in for the rains. The country is wonderful – a great contrast to Australia in every possible way, and I have enjoyed both experiences greatly.
During the Nuwara Eliya stopover, Ashby took nine photographs of the area, including image 1, which looks across Lake Gregory to Mt. Pedro (or Pidurutanlagala). Built by the island's Administrator, William Gregory (1872 to 1877), the lake is a reservoir that was used for recreational purposes.
Before taking image 2, Ashby rose well before dawn and hiked into the mountains that rim the Nuwara Eliya township. The photograph is one of five he took whilst climbing Pidurutalagala, Sri Lanka's highest peak.
All photographs by Thomas Ashby, BSR, Thomas Ashby Collection
View of Lake Gregory, Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka, TA-XLVII.034
View from Pidurutalagala, Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka, TA-XLVII.039
Correspondence: Thomas Ashby to Evelyn Shaw, 28 September 1914. BSR Administrative Archive, Box 51.
