Cultural Highlights
THEATRES & VENUES
Brewery Arts Centre
Highgate, Kendal, LA9 4HE
T: 01539 725133
Voted one of the top 10 places to visit in Britain in 2007, the
Brewery is the buzzing hub for arts and culture in the south Lakes,
with an auditorium for theatre, dance and comedy, three cinema
screens, an exhibition space, plus a suitably bohemian bar and
restaurant. Whenever you visit, there’s bound to be something on
worth catching.
www.breweryarts.co.uk
Theatre by the Lake
Lakeside, Keswick CA12 5DJ
T: 017687 74411
Does just what it says on the tin - concerts, performances and
exhibitions all set in a fabulous spot overlooking a panorama of
mountains on the edge of Derwentwater. Celebrating its 10th
anniversary this year, the theatre is open all year round.
www.theatrebythelake.com
GALLERIES
Abbot Hall Art Gallery
Kendal LA9 5AL
T: 01539 722464
The high-profile exhibitions at Abbot Hall have attracted
national attention since it started its innovative partnership with
the Tate in 2001. In recent years the gallery has hosted major
exhibitions by artists such as Lucian Freud, Bridget Riley, Euan
Uglow and Walter Richard Sickert and it has a gorgeous permanent
collecton of works by Reynold’s rival, George Romney, who undertook
his apprenticeship in Kendal. Housed in a lovely Georgian villa on
the banks of the river Kent.
www.abbothall.org.uk
Castlegate House Gallery
Cockermouth, CA13 9HA
T: 01900 822149
The Cumbrian scenery has long been a source of inspiration to
artists and this has manifested itself for the 21st century in the
area’s concentration of small, independent, contemporary art
galleries. Castlegate House is one of the best, specialising in the
work of Northern English and Scottish artists in a variety of media
from paintings and sculpture, to ceramics, jewellery and glass.
www.castlegatehouse.co.uk
Blackwell
Bowness-on-Windermere, LA23 3JT
T: 015394 46139
Originally built for the Manchester brewery magnate, Sir Edward
Holt, Blackwell is a superb example of a turn-of-the-20th century
Arts and Craft’s house. Now lovingly restored and open to the
public, it’s a living and breathing example of the distinctive
architecture of the period as well as housing a fantastic and
ever-growing collection of Arts and Crafts artefacts.
www.blackwell.org.uk
MUSEUMS
Dove Cottage & The Wordsworth Museum
Grasmere, LA22 9SH
T: 015394 35544
Wordsworth’s picturesque former home on the outskirts of Grasmere
has been lovingly restored and features a whole host of the poet’s
original possessions - from his marital bed to his ice skates. A
stone’s throw from Dove Cottage is the Jerwood Centre, home to the
Wordsworth Trust’s 59,000 manuscripts, books and prints relating to
the English Romantics, plus the 3 Degrees West Gallery which holds
exhibitions of contemporary art inspired by the poet’s work.
www.wordsworth.org.uk
Brantwood
Coniston LA21 8AD
T: 015394 41396
‘There is no wealth but life’ said John Ruskin, and you can
understand why he had such a great perspective on reality when you
visit his wonderfully-sited home overlooking Lake Coniston. The
house and gardens are open to the public and there’s an ongoing
programme of exhibitions and events to enlighten you as to the life
and work of the grand old man of Victorian art and letters.
www.brantwood.org.uk
Hill Top
Near Sawrey, Hawkshead LA22 0LF
T: 01539 436269
Seriously quaint 17th century farmhouse where Beatrix Potter
wrote her stories and where Renée Zellweger got to practise her
English accent again.
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
Tullie House Museum and Gallery
Tullie House, Castle Street, Carlisle, CA3 8TP
T: 01228 618718
A positive cornucopia of things to do in the Northwest’s Visitor
Attraction of the Year 2007, located at the heart of Carlisle’s
historic quarter, next to the Cathedral and Castle. You can
investigate its Roman collection as a gateway for exploring
Hadrian’s Wall Country or enjoy its art exhibitions and interactive
galleries of Cumbrian history and heritage. Or just simply while
away an afternoon in Old Tullie House itself, a beautifully
preserved Grade I-listed Jacobean building with delightful
gardens.
www.tulliehouse.co.uk
Cumberland Pencil Museum
Main St, Keswick CA12 5NG.
T: 017687 73626
We kid you not. A quirky museum devoted to one of the region’s
oldest industries that developed around the naturally occurring
pure graphite that was mined out of the fells around Borrowdale.
More than you’ll ever need to know about the art of pencil
making.
www.pencils.co.uk
HERITAGE
Levens Hall
Sizergh, nr Kendal LA8 8AE
T: 015395 60321
Elizabethan stately home dating from the 14th century but worth
visiting primarily for its renowned topiary garden, the oldest in
Britain and the blueprint for the 17th century formal garden.
The on-site restaurant sells rib-sticking local fayre and it even
brews its own spiced Elizabethan beer.
www.levenshall.co.uk
Holker Hall, Gardens & Lakeland Motor Museum
Cark-in-Cartmel, Grange-over-Sands LA11 7PL
T: 015395 58838
Stately home that’s worth a visit for its 25 acres of justly famous
gardens plus its status as home to the Lakeland Motor Museum,
exhibiting a range of historic cars.
www.holker-hall.co.uk