Silverdale and Arnside Art and Craft Trail is bigger and better

4:50pm Monday 22nd June 2009

By Adrian Mullen

ART lovers are set to beat a path around Silverdale and Arnside this weekend as an ecletic and exciting mix of artists open their studio doors to the public.

With a stunning backdrop provided by the designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), Silverdale and Arnside Art and Craft Trail has grown from a mere handful of exhibitors to a flourishing 50-strong contingent in five years.

The trail is well up there as one of the premiere arts events of its kind in the North of England, the everchanging estuary scenery the canvas on which it has developed, since artists Annette Kane, Kate Bentley and Penny McLeod opened up their creative homes for the first Silverdale Trail: “We had a simple photocopied map, hastily painted banners made out of curtain lining and handmade signs directing people across fields,” Annette recalled.

“The sun shone and there was a great atmosphere in the village as everyone strolled around clutching their little lilac maps.

In 2006 painter Chris Rigby designed and put together the trail’s distinctive catalogues, the following year after plenty of hard work by web wizard and wood turner Ken Davis a trail website was launched and in 2008 the event spread its creative wings across the Lancashire border into Cumbria and Arnside, under the guidance of printmaker Tracy Levine.

The trail is now a creative tour de force with names such as Donald Dakeyne, Julia Manning, Susan Heywood, Jill Fishwick, Otalia Johnson, Duncan Ibbotson, Angie Mitchell, Val Winterbottom (and her Arnside, Spindrift Gallery), the two respective village art groups and more featured in the inspiring line-up.

From Friday, June 26, to Sunday, June 28, trail members will open their studios, take over local venues and businesses to show their work, methods, and tools. Some will even offer workshops and demonstrations.

And I’m told there’s no better way to start the trail than by dropping into the RSPB bird sanctuary at Leighton Moss to check out a taster exhibition before deciding which route to take.

From paintings, ceramics and photographs to textiles, wood and sugar crafts, glass engraving and decorative metal work, artwork of all types will grace the highways and byways of the picturesque seaside villages.

Group venues include Silverdale Hotel, Cove House and Wolf House Gallery, Silverdale, Silverdale School, Gaskell Hall, Silverdale, Arnside Chapel, and Arnside WI Hall.

And for those who need a helping hand with transport, the team are laying on two vintages buses in Silverdale, so trail-blazers can take the weight of their feet, sit back and enjoy the sights while on their journey of artistic discovery.

Brochure maps are available from the RSPB bird sanctuary at Leighton Moss, village newsagents, libraries, tourist information centres, and post offices.