RUNNING alongside C-Art's countywide open studios event and the must-see Cumbrian Artist of the Year exhibition at Rheged, is C-Art in Extraordinary Places.

A sizeable slice of the huge visual arts festival, the C-Art trail weaves its creative way to places such as Grasmere's Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth Trust (which host Wordsworth Country: Lakes, Mountains and Waterfalls); Carlisle Cathedral; Dalemain Mansion and Historic Gardens; Egremont's Florence Arts Centre; and several National Trust properties such as Acorn Bank, near Penrith, Bark House at Ashness Bridge, Allan Bank home of William Wordsworth, at Grasmere, and Fell Foot Park, where Sarah Tew presents both small scale works in the Discovery Cottage and larger outdoor installations to highlight unpredictable natural elements.

Also up there among the 'extraordinary places' sits one of the region's most fascinating buildings with an equally fascinating collections of traditional arts and crafts - Sprint Mill.

Edward and Romola Acland's 19th Century fulling mill, near Burneside, will be open each day during C-Art fortnight. Nine artists and craftspeople will be taking part, three for the first time.

Annie Coxey and Hamish McLain will be exhibiting paintings, and Victoria Eden ceramics. Also exhibiting will be artist, woodworker and mill owner, Edward, his talented photographer daughter Florence Acland, collage maker Graham Watson, coppice worker and oak swill basketmaker Lorna Singleton, willow grower and basketmaker Susan Pettman and green woodworker Steve Tomlin.

For 45 years the mill has been the focus of extraordinary collections of tools, art, artefacts and bits and pieces which link the past to the future: "I get a sense of wonder and contentment from the mill and its contents," explains Edward.

"The old is made new with the Sprintmilling arts collective displaying their wares all over the place, inside and out, and extraordinary phenomenon like the spanner phone and a sonata for diesel engine and cross-cut saws.

"I love to share it with other people. We've had people come for an hour and stay all day. The collections in the mill are constantly changing and being rearranged, and this process will continue during C-Art."

This is the mill's third opening under the C-Art banner. The last time was 2014, when nigh on 1,300 people popped in, twice as many as the first year. Edward is hoping that even more will venture to the mill this year, to take part in workshops, watch demonstrations, have tea and cake, buy the makers’ work and, of course, spend time exploring the place, its gardens, footpaths and the River Sprint. An added treat will be a performance on Saturday (September 17), by the harp and guitar trio North Atlantic Project.

The mill is also a C-Art 'hub' for south Cumbria, where visitors can find out about other C-Art venues and obtain catalogues.

Meanwhile, Edward is keen to stress that Sprint Mill is still accessible from the A591 via Burneside. Access from the A6 is still blocked while Sprint Bridge is under repair after being damaged during last winter's storms.

Sprint Mill is open daily, 11am-4.30pm from September 10-25.

www.sprintmilling.wordpress.com

For full details of C-artists and galleries visit www.c-art.org.uk.