The Harley Art Trail

About

The free entry trail leads from The Harley Gallery to nearby Creswell Crags, in a leisurely 20 minute walk.

The Harley Gallery is renowned for its contemporary visual art exhibitions – while Creswell Crags is home to Britain’s earliest cave art.

Along the way you will find new sculptures by two local artists, Michelle Reader and Martin Smith.

Two commissioned horse sculptures, made out of recycled materials collected from the Welbeck estate, mark the start of the trail. They have been crafted by artist Michelle Reader, who is based within the Harley Studios on the estate.

“The sculptures represent an encounter between a prehistoric species and a present-day species making the link across time between Welbeck and Creswell Crags. The contemporary animal, a racehorse inspired by the lineage of the ‘bloody-shouldered Arabian’ brought to Welbeck by Edward Harley, comes face to face with its ancestor, a wild horse found locally 40,000 years ago.”
Michelle Reader

From here, visitors can then walk the route dotted with interpretation panels and kinetic tree sculptures created by Martin Smith. The eye-catching trees will reference agricultural machinery, and their reflective, brightly coloured leaves will complement their woodland walk setting.

The interpretation panels offer information on the story of art, landscape, and the historic estate.