what to do on a rainy day in Cumbria??...well lots of choice...stay at home and count the dust bunnies or perhaps clean the kitchen floor...mm or jump in the car and trundle to beautiful Caldbeck...for a little lunch with a dear friend and visit the lovely local shops including the wonderful Hestascene gallery...which just happens to stock my wares...where the talented Julie and Karen have a warm welcome for all visitors...and in case you're wondering 'hesta seen' means 'have you seen'...
I love the drive to this special place as you leave the main road beahind and head for wilder freer places...the journey is part of the magic...
Caldbeck
village is in the northern Cumbrian fells, remote and beautiful...a special place with
delicious tearooms and little shops and the most wonderful views...you
drive through the landscape with cows and sheep roaming free... saw a
mummy cow feeding her calf just feet away from the car...
I persuaded Julie to have her picture tooken...so nice to see real people on blogs don't you think...Julie is a wonderful feltmaker with a very arty background and it's great that she and Karen have the vision and passion to run this inspiring gallery...so public and artists alike can enjoy the lovely work by Brisitch makers...and all artists need somewhere to show their wares...mm is that an emmieandemma teacosy in the background??
some of Julie's beautiful felted and stitched cushions and scarves...
a graduate of the University of Cumbria whose work epitomises the contemporary art and craft which Julie and Karen like to showcase
ceramics and textiles mix so well...I love ceramics with texture like a fabric...
and is that some Charlotte Macey textiles I spy...I love her quirky stitched and printed designs
not only finished and polished pieces to buy but you can also see Julie's work in progress...
and downstairs is the place to be for craft workshops...inspiring creativity in all who come here...I have enjoyed 2 or 3 including nuno feltmaking with Julie and wire jewellery making with Jan Huntley Peace... here's one of her lovely neckpieces...
and then a choice to walk by road or river for a few minutes along to lunch at Priest's Mill...past the tranquil church where huntsman John Peel 'in his coat so grey' lies buried...
past beautiful old houses and pretty gardens...
past temptation at the plant lady's emporium...The Potting Shed...full of lovely things you didn't know you needed!
as
I wander I remember bringing my young daughter and her friend here to
swim and play at the end of term one summer...the Cald Beck river was calm and
smooth then...this day so much rain has fallen so it is swollen and
rushing in a very dramatic fashion...
and nearby is the restored water wheel which would once have
powered the cornmill, later a sawmill...
and down at the bottom lies another treasure...The Wool Clip...home of Woolfest...of which you have heard much hereabouts! but I will save that visit for another day...as lunch beckons...so inside the mill for a delicious lunch and catching up with my friend...
and then...who knows...home I guess across the wild fell road...nowhere better to live than Cumbria, especially on a rainy day when the clouds are low and the fells are moody...
see you again soon..hope you're enjoying a lovely August and making the most of summer whatever the weather...xx
