Art in the forest

Grizedale forest in the south lakes is a very popular and interesting place to visit. Since the 1970s it has been home to a range of different sculptures by various luminaries from Andy Goldsworthy to David Nash. There are now over 90 sculptures throughout the forest, mostly made of natural materials, many of which are interactive - musical, sittable, and hideable spots! It's a great place to visit with children - there's a cafe with fabulous cakes, an amazing adventure playground, and best of all different trails to follow and explore.

We tried the award winning Ridding Trail, which has over 20 sculptures on a short 1 mile circular path. The trail is made of tarmac which makes it easily accessible for pushchairs and wheelchairs. We probably found it a little too short for ourselves, and would probably have prefered to be deeper into the forest, however, the kids did enjoy rushing around the scupltures, and we will probably go again - perhaps on bikes - there are many bike trails throughout the forest and the Forestry Commission say that over a quarter of their visitors are on two wheels these days...it's hard to imagine a route without hills though!!!

For directions to Grizedale and more info see the Forestry Commission website http://www.forestry.gov.uk/grizedalehome

Sculpture photos taken gratefully from www.jimpix.com, www.lakeland-cottage-company.co.uk, www.visitnorthwest.com