Autumn has come to Lam Erin’s Cherishville for 2026, and with it a complete change of setting.
Gone is the Baja-like beach and duty roads of the summer iteration with their suggestions of southern California with a mix of New Mexico; instead Cherishville now takes us to somewhere along the coast, possibly further north, a place backed by mountains already topped by snow.
Just where this might be is up to visitors to assume; but for the mountains, it could just as easily be New England – there’s even a sign board with a hint of this – or even somewhere here in damp and dreary England!
Wherever one chooses to place it, Cherishville now sits at the mouth of a wide river running down from the mountains to slice it into two (yes I know the land has been blended with the off-region surround so the water also passes to either side – but use your imagination 🙂 ).
This leaves the setting split between houses with a few small businesses scattered among them facing off against more mercantile / business premises on the far side of the river, a single bridge serving to bring them together.
The majority of the buildings are little more than empty shells – but this doesn’t really matter; it is the ambience of the setting which is important, and in this they sit perfectly, their façades saying more than any interior might.
With the rain falling from a sour, overcast sky, falling leaves taking over the footpaths and the bridge, together with the fading colours on awnings, window frames, wooden walls and doors, this is a place oozing a sense of age and tiredness.
Attempts are being made to mark the time of year – such as the obligatory pumpkins – but on the whole, this is a place increasingly sitting well beyond its prime, something not even the more recently and colourful posters pasted to the walls of some building can hide, particularly even the deserted, semi-collapsed state of some of the houses.
Beyond one side of the town sits a small farm, still very much active going on the sunflowers, corn and pumpkins being cultivated. But even this is unable to shake that general feeling of fatigue that seems to lie heavy on the setting – perhaps courtesy of the local weather.
The farm overlooks the local church, normally the hub of such a community; but here too, things are decidedly careworn.
All of this results in what is actually a very atmospheric setting, one brought to life both by the steadily falling rain and the use of PBR surfaces to create additional wet surfaces, puddles and a general sense that this is a place enduring the sogginess of a persistent downpour.
Lamps hang from the walls of the houses on the north side of the river, doing their best to offer a sense of warmth and invitation to the properties, the little café (one of the few building with an interior setting) does its best to entice anyone who might be hurrying by, eager to escape the rain. Dreary it may be, but there is still life here, and this draws us further into the setting.
Given the approach of October and Halloween, there is also a certain air of spookiness as well – particularly around the church and its graveyard. This is also added to on a more humorous level by the headlines blasting from the newspapers offered at the local kiosk – do drop by there to see for yourself.
For those looking to sit and pass the time together, opportunities for doing so can be found, be they at the café or open on the deck of the riverside warehouse or in the back of a pick-up or cart: just wander and you’ll find a place.
In wandering myself, I couldn’t help be hear the final verse of Ervin Drake’s It Was a Very Good Year echoing around my head. It just seemed to fit with mood of Cherishville and the idea of a place now past its prime – but possibly with the memories of the sweetness of times past locked within its aging walls and tired sidewalks.
But now the days are short
I’m in the autumn of the year.
And now I think of my life as vintage wine
From fine old kegs;
From the brim to the dregs,
It poured sweet and clear,
It was a very good year.
As always with Cherishville, an engaging setting rich with opportunities for photography.
SLurl Details
- Cherishville Autumn (Tuscan Hills, rated Moderate)
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 