Community & Local Events

Lunesdale Arts Studio Trail 2026

4/5/6/ and 11/12/13 September 2026

(Friday, Saturday, and Sunday)

11.00 to 5.00pm

Once again artists in the Lune valley will be opening their studios for the Lunesdale Arts Studio Trail at the beginning of September.  Lunesdale Arts Open Studios, one of the UK’s longest running Studio Trails, was established in 1997 by Tatham based artists Hannah and David Davies to celebrate local creativity, community, and the timeless connection between art, place, and people. It offers a chance to visit the working studios and at the same time explore a landscape that once inspired Wordsworth, Ruskin and Turner.

This year’s trail will include 10 studios and 15 artists. On display will be paintings, prints, drawings, collage, ceramics, video, jewellery – something for every taste. To get a flavour of the work you can visit the website: https://www.lunesdalearts.co.uk/

To get things started this year, there will be a pre-trail show at the historic St Mary’s Church, Kirkby Lonsdale on bank holiday weekend, 29th, 30th,31st August, open from 10.00 to 5.00pm.  This exhibition will feature several artists from the trail. Within the arcades of the medieval nave, a rich display of contemporary art will give a taste of what you can expect to find on the trail. You will be able to pick up a brochure with information and directions to all the studios.

DOWNLOAD THE TRAIL GUIDE

Lunesdale Arts Trail

Special Closing Event For ‘A Measure of Care’ Exhibition

Join artists Ian Nesbitt and Ruth Levene with guest Graham Hulme to reflect on some of the key elements drawn from their film A Measure of Care which charts expressions of love, care and grief across three moments in time.

Centred round a ledger written in the 1800s the artists returned it to the house it was first written. They worked with local farmers, birders, residents, ornithologists, conservationists and historians asking them to reflect on the words. The author, John Weld was a Victorian landowner, antiquarian and amateur painter and lived in Leagram Hall in the Forest of Bowland. In the Ledger, he introduces ‘a list of birds observed or taken in the neighbourhood of Leagram within a radius of 4 to 5 miles from the hall’. A detailed set of observations relating to 112 bird species over a fifty-year period from 1836.

Centred round a ledger written in the 1800s the artists returned it to the house it was first written. They worked with local farmers, birders, residents, ornithologists, conservationists and historians asking them to reflect on the words. The author, John Weld was a Victorian landowner, antiquarian and amateur painter and lived in Leagram Hall in the Forest of Bowland. In the Ledger, he introduces ‘a list of birds observed or taken in the neighbourhood of Leagram within a radius of 4 to 5 miles from the hall’. A detailed set of observations relating to 112 bird species over a fifty-year period from 1836 until his death.

For further information visit: Exploring The John Weld Collection - The Harris

Date & Time: Sunday, 20 September at 2pm - 3pm

Free ticket link: https://theharris.org.uk/product/closing-event-measure-of-care/

The following are events coming up in the local area.  Organised by local communities, tourism businesses or other organisations

Also look out for Slaidburn Silver Band performances taking place throughout the year during 2026: slaidburnsilverband.org

Children in a hay meadow at Meadow Day