Grizedale Forest

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Woodsman sculpture from Grizedale visitor centre

Grizedale Forest is a 2447 ha area of woodland in the Lake District to the east of Coniston Water and to the south of Hawkshead containing a number of hills, small tarns and the settlements of Grizedale and Satterthwaite. It is managed by the Forestry Commission and is a popular tourist destination with colour coded waymarked footpaths, mountain biking, an aerial assault course, a 16 bed hostel, and a visitor centre with a children's playground, education centre, café and shop.

A typical waymarker

Scattered throughout the forest are approximately 90 sculptures, often made from naturally occurring materials such as stone and wood. The project to place sculptures in the forest was started by the Grizedale Society in 1977 and won the 1990 Prudential Award for the Arts. Sculptors have included David Nash and Andy Goldsworthy

One quarter of the 200,000 visitors to Grizedale per year cycle. A new 9.7 mile mountain biking trail, the £167,000 North Face Trail, was opened in March 2006.

The highest point within Grizedale Forest is the 314 m high Carron Crag, overlooking a wooden panopticon sculpture.