River Lune Millennium Park
River Lune Millennium Park sign
The River Lune Millennium Park artworks were commissioned as part of Lancaster’s Millennium Project. The park stretches some 15 kilometres along the banks of the Lune from Bull Beck near Caton down to Salt Ayre in Lancaster. The park offers leisure and everyday transport opportunities with linked footpaths and cycleways, public artworks to discover and information 'stations'. The River Lune Millennium Park reintroduces the idea of a 'station' - a place from which a superb view could be gained - from the 18th century picturesque movement.
Eleven artists were commissioned and have made 12 permanent works for the Park. Two photography projects were also part of the artwork programme, which were displayed at the Peter Scott Gallery and Folly.
Artists and artworks
Was by Colin Wilbourn, River Lune Millennium Park, Lancaster
'Flowing Benches' by Georgina Ettridge
location: along the riverside footpath near Halton Weir
As the river ripples and moves, so Georgina Ettridge's oak seating seems to flow in sympathy with the water.
'Sign' by Janet Hodgson
location: Green Ayre
Sign was made specially for Green Ayre and stands on the site of a sign seen in the Museum's earliest view of Lancaster. The images are local landscapes from the 18th and 19th centuries. These advertise Lancaster's confident self-perception as a picturesque, idyllic place even in times of industrial boom and depression. The long tradition of picturing the area, selectively, thrives today. In its form, as an advertising structure, Sign draws attention to itself and questions the role of art outside galleries.
'Upside Down Pines' by Giles Kent
location: between the former Halton Station and Forge Weir
On the edge of the cycleway between the former Halton Station and Forge Weir, this piece poses a dual perception - as a new kind of tree and as upside down trunks with their implied history of falling from above and piercing the ground.
'Gray's Seat' by Jim Partridge and Liz Walmsley
location: off the A683 between Aughton and Caton Moor, near the viaduct
please note: The route to Gray's Seat is steep in part, with steps, and is not suitable for people with mobility problems.
The poet Thomas Gray described this spectacular view in 1769, hence the name 'Gray's Seat'. Many artists have painted here, including JMW Turner.
'Developing a seat for a specific place like this is a combination of filtering and fermenting ideas, about the practicalities of furniture design, about people and how they are likely to use the site and about the site itself. What is the seat for? Obviously it is for sitting on, but also it has the job of making a focal point that defines the end of the walk. It has to work with the scale and shape of the clearing but we didn't want it to make too loud a statement - the focus of people's attention is meant to be out to the view more than on to the seat itself.'
'River Rocks' by Colin Reid
location: Halton Rocks
Colin Reid's glassworks on Halton Rocks nestle on the surface like ice rocks contrasting their light and transparency with the density of the rocks they inhabit. They can be best seen from the footpath by the riverside. A set of steps leads down to the footpath from the cycleway about 400 metres upstream of Halton Station. Follow this footpath a short distance upstream. You may also catch a glimpse from the cycleway, especially in the wintertime. This quiet piece reflects the tranquil natural environment of the upper stretches of the park. But the river is not always so peaceful - at times River Rocks will be submerged or appear to hover on the water's surface.
'When Traffic Cones Take Root' by Mark Renn and Mick Thacker
location: motorway bridge across the Lune at Halton
As dusk falls this piece is transformed from sinuous sculpture to dramatic light show. As the artists say: 'Sites near motorways are often littered with the detritus of our highway systems. The abandoned traffic cone is a poignant icon of our time. But here in the Lune Valley, under the M6, something magical has happened. Six cones have not landed on stony ground, they have taken root and bloomed into something half urban and half rural.'
'Lune' by Alan Ward
location: St George's Quay / Millennium Bridge, Lancaster
Alan Ward's long fascination with lettering has inspired both his works for the park. At the Millennium Bridge the river's name is carved from monumental stone blocks. It can be seen to advantage from the bridge, as it nestles on the salt marsh on the north bank of the Lune. But whether it is visible or not is at the whim of the river it celebrates.
'Thomas Gray' by Alan Ward
location: Gray's Seat (see above)
A new curving wall of overlapping slabs and edges frames the view. Onto it Alan Ward has inscribed part of Gray's famous description of the dramatic view. 'Every feature which constitutes a perfect landscape of the extensive sort is here not only boldly marked, but in its best position.'
'Is' by Colin Wilbourn
location: Crook O'Lune
One of a suite of 3 carved 'pictures' celebrating the history and the art of the river Lune. Like many artists before him Colin Wilbourn has framed the breathtaking view/ Many artists take liberties with the landscape, remodelling features for the sake of composition. Not so here. The view will change in the seasons ahead - the artist has captured it in an instance. The people sitting and standing are portraits of real people - including a self portrait.
'Was' by Colin Wilbourn
location: near the old Halton train station
First of a suite of 3 carved 'pictures' celebrating the artistic history of the river Lune. In the artist's words: 'Each carving responds to a different aspect of the cycleway that now exists along the Lune; its history, the stunning views and its use for recreation and leisure. They also echo the ways that paintings have been used; to record events, to capture landscape, portraiture and as a way of depicting imaginary or magical things. So, the carving at Halton shows the station, not as it is but as it WAS, a steam train is seen arriving in clouds of smoke and steam.'
'Maybe' by Colin Wilbourn
location: behind Caton village where the cycleway crosses Artle Beck
The third of a suite of 3 carved pictures celebrating the history and the art of the river Lune. The carving at Caton shows not what was or is, but what MAYBE; two abandoned bicycles and a strange ladder to the moon - a fantasy? In the artist's words: 'I hope that people will not only enjoy and appreciate the craftsmanship of the work, but they will also be inspired to think about this place, its history, its beauty and its uses as an escape from the pressures of everyday life. I hope they will climb the ladder to the moon - a fantasy!'
'Heron's Head' by Marjan Wouda
location: above the cycleway on the approach to the Crook O'Lune
Marjan Wouda's wrought iron Heron's Head captures the contours of the river at the nearby Crook O'Lune and gives a glimpse at its bird life.