Top 20 galleries and exhibitions in the Lake District
The Lake District offers visitors some of the best galleries and exhibitions in the UK, and whether you enjoy local art, Cumbrian pottery and sculptures or wildlife photography, you will find plenty of exhibitions to suit you.Here are 20 of the most interesting and entertaining galleries and exhibitions being held in the Lake District, 2010.
1.The Gallery at Yew Tree Barn, Low Newton, Newton-in-Cartmel, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, LA11 6JP. Tel: 015395 31498. This gallery is housed in a huge barn and offers visitors plenty of things to see and do inside and outside, including architectural antiques, The Gallery for Arts and Crafts, a café serving local food, and the Artisan Studios.
2.Paul Bainbridge and Friends at Lowes Court Gallery and Egremont TIC, 12, Main Street, Egremont, Cumbria CA22 2DW. Tel: 01946 820693. This unique exhibition features landscape paintings by John Armstrong and portraits by Geoff Stalker.
3.Puzzling Place, 9b Museum Square, Keswick, Cumbria, CA12 5DZ. Tel: 017687 75102. One of our favourite exhibitions, Puzzling Place is an optical illusion exhibition which will baffle even the smartest visitors. Watch balls roll uphill in the anti-gravity room, see objects grow and shrink in the Ames room and prepare to be amazed by the various interactive optical illusion exhibits, including artwork and sculptures.
4.Swim Circle at Brewery Arts Centre, Highgate, Kendal, Cumbria, LA9 4HE. Tel: 01539 725133. An incredible circular swim through the Lakeland fens is at the centre of this artwork exhibition by Richard Light and Paul Clark.
5.Flower Power: The Wildflower Grasslands of Cumbria at Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Castle Street, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA3 8TP. Tel: 01228 618718. Meadows of brightly coloured wild flowers and butterflies which were once familiar sights in Lakeland and Cumbria.
6.Lawn Paper at Blackwell, The Arts and Craft House, Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria LA23 3JT. Lawn Paper is an environmental etching for the lawns around Blackwell. An incredible range of patterns are based on wallpaper designs, to be created in grass by shading and trimming. A unique exhibition.
7.Levens Hall and Gardens Through a Pinhole Camera, Levens, Kendal, Cumbria, LA8 OPD. Tel: 015395 60321. This is an exhibition of photographs by 3 local photographers using old-style pinhole cameras to capture unusual images of Levens Hall and its incredible topiary gardens. This unique exhibition is well worth a visit.
8.Sketchers Gallery at Cumberland Pencil Museum, Southey Works, Keswick, Cumbria CA12 5NG. Tel: 017687 73626. This is a monthly programme exhibited by professional pencil, watercolour, pastel and mixed media artists. All these unique works are for sale and are framed or on canvas.
9.The Loneliness of Lowry at Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Abbot Hall, Kendal, Cumbria, LA9 5AL. Tel: 01539 722464. L.S Lowry was most famous for his depictions of industry in the north of England, but this exhibition shows a different side to the artist. Lowry cited his inherent loneliness as the main influence of his work, and this exhibition shows the other side of the great man.
10.Wellington Pit Centenary at the Beacon, West Strand, Whitehaven, Cumbria, CA28 7LY. Tel: 01946 592302. This exhibition commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Wellington Pit Disaster of 1910.
11.Whitehaven´s Maritime Past Exhibition, The Beacon, West Strand, Whitehaven, Cumbria CA28 7LY. Tel: 01946 592302. A unique display of paintings from the Merseyside Maritime Museum.
12.High Head Sculpture Valley, High Head Farm, Ivegill, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA4 OPJ. Tel: 016974 73552. This art gallery is a constantly changing exhibition of traditional and contemporary art, including sculptures, paintings, photography and ceramics.
13.William Morris: A Sense of Place, Blackwell, The Arts and Craft House, Bowness-on-Windermere, Windermere, Cumbria, LA23 3JT. Tel: 015394 46139. Taking place at one of Britain´s finest and most important houses, A Sense of Place Exhibition covers William Morris´s domestic life, his design work and his writing, and also illustrates his feelings about the countryside, the city and conservation work.
14.Thornthwaite Galleries, Thornthwaite Village, Keswick, Cumbria, CA12 5SA. Tel: 017687 78248. Situated in one of the most scenic parts of the Lake District, the Thornthwaite Galleries include an art and craft gallery with teashop, and the work of over 130 local artist is displayed.
15.Gincase Art and Craft Barn at Gincase Tearoom, Craft Barn Gallery, Mawbray Hayrigg, Silloth,Wigton, Cumbria, CA7 4LL. Tel: 016973 32020. This spacious art and craft barn is a real find. Full of hand-crafted Cumbrian items of the highest quality, this exhibition offers something for all ages.
16.Skylark Studio, 9 South Street, Cockermouth, Cumbria, CA13 9QP. Tel: 01900 823521. A small artist-run gallery selling original sketchings and pastels, plus a good selection of crafts and fashion jewellery made in the UK. Commissions for pastel painting accepted and etchings can be bought online.
17.Victorian Costume: 1837 to 1901 Display at Museum of Lakeland Life and Industry, Abbot Hall, Kendal, Cumbria, LA9 5AL. Tel: 01539 722464. This fascinating exhibitions shows the changing range of fashions and adornments from 1837 to 1901, and all through the reign of Queen Victoria. Bodices, bonnets and leg of mutton sleeves all feature prominently.
18.The Heaton Cooper Studio, The Studio, Grasmere, Ambleside, Cumbria, LA22 9SX. Tel: 015394 35280. The Heaton cooper family have exhibited art in the Lake District for the past four generations. The studio in Grasmere was founded by William Heaton Cooper in 1939, and fascinating displays of local art are still exhibited here.
19.Robert Fletcher Wildlife Artist, Laburnum Cottage, Satterthwaite, Ulverston, Cumbria, LA12 8LR. Tel: 01229 860234. Robert Fletcher Wildlife Studio and Gallery is a unique working studio which is dedicated to the exhibitions of the artist´s work. Enjoy displays of Grizedale Forest scenes, and bird and animal paintings.
20.Wildlife Photographer of the Year, The Beacon, West Strand, Whitehaven, Cumbria, CA28 7LY. Tel: 01946 592302. This famous exhibition comes to West Cumbria on tour from the Natural History Museum, and shows an amazing
