West Cumbria Rivers Trust launches interactive ‘Watery Walk’ in Distington

Artist Daniel Weatheritt shows Distington Primary School children how the new sculptures work

The walking route follows Stubskill Beck and features five unique oak sculptures created by artist Daniel Weatheritt and funded by the Potato Pot Community Benefit Fund. Commissioned by West Cumbria Rivers Trust, the sculptures form the centrepiece of the new Watery Walk, inviting visitors to explore the stories of local wildlife and the landscape around them.

The sculpture collection, titled Riveting Rivers, takes inspiration from both the natural and industrial heritage of Distington. Each piece combines handcrafted oak with illustrated dome tops depicting local birds, mammals and other elements connected to the area’s heritage. Riveting Rivers reflects this meeting of nature and industry, bringing together the importance of Distington’s rivers with the area’s long industrial history.

The name Riveting Rivers reflects this meeting of nature and industry, bringing together the importance of Distington’s rivers with the area’s long industrial history.

These wonderful new sculptures are designed to be touched and explored, not just admired from afar. Each features a working oak cog wheel which visitors can turn 360 degrees to reveal the different stages of a creature’s life cycle. As the wheel turns, the story unfolds, encouraging visitors to explore the wildlife and natural processes connected to the local environment.

There is also a strong community connection behind the artwork. Artist Daniel Weatheritt spent a day last year working with Year 3 pupils at Distington School, drawing inspiration from their creative ideas to bring the creatures and their life cycles to life.

The result is a collection of works that brings together nature, heritage, craftsmanship and a little bit of engineering, creating something designed to be discovered and enjoyed by people of all ages.

Daniel Weatheritt said:

“The Riveting Rivers sculptures have proved to be my most intricate woodwork creations to date, celebrating the diversity and beauty of the local wildlife populations, with a nod to Distington’s strong industrial past through the structural design of my sculptures.  Interactivity is really important to me when developing my design ideas, and I want people to be able to do more than just look at the work. The creature lifecycle wheels offered the perfect solution for this interactive element. My hope is that they help to broaden people’s understanding of the creatures living in the river ecosystem and appreciate the astonishing complexity found in nature. The pupils at Distington school were a pleasure to work with and really embraced the workshop themes, creating some brilliant interpretations of the five sculpture creatures and their life cycles. A big thank you to West Cumbria Rivers Trust and the project funders for the opportunity to create such a traditional and unusual body of sculptural work.”

Improving the route

Alongside the artwork, West Cumbria Rivers Trust has carried out improvements to the route, supported by funding from the Potato Pot Community Benefit Fund.

With the kind permission of local landowners, the Trust’s apprentices have rebuilt a fence, reinstated a stile, constructed a small boardwalk, improved drainage and installed new waymarkers.

The new route forms part of West Cumbria Rivers Trust’s wider Watery Walks programme, a series of self-guided walks encouraging people to explore the rivers and landscapes of west Cumbria while discovering more about the wildlife, heritage and communities connected to them.

The walks are designed to be explored independently, with downloadable walking instructions and beautifully illustrated maps created by Cumbrian artists and designers. The maps include practical tips, ideas for activities, wildlife facts, insights into river behaviour and information about the Trust’s conservation work. Three of the walks are also accompanied by podcasts, recorded and edited by Cumbrian-based journalist Tom Speight.

Jodie Mills, Director of West Cumbria Rivers Trust said:

“We’re delighted to be bringing a new Watery Walk to Distington and to be able to showcase Daniel’s fantastic sculptures alongside the river and surrounding landscape. Riveting Rivers is a brilliant example of how art can help people connect with a place, bringing together stories of wildlife, industry and the local community in a way that is fun and interactive. We hope the sculptures will encourage people to stop, explore and discover something new about the natural world around them. We’d also like to thank the landowners for allowing us to place these extraordinary pieces on their land for everyone to enjoy.”

The Distington Watery Walk and Riveting Rivers sculptures were officially unveiled on Thursday 10 September.  You can download the Watery Walk for free here.

West Cumbria Rivers Trust would like to thank the landowners for kindly welcoming the new sculptures onto their land, as well as the Potato Pot Community Benefit Fund, administered by GrantScape on behalf of Netro Energy Limited, for their generous support in helping bring the project to life.