Ulverston Gallery have a fantastic range of paintings. Some of them are by local artists. The…read moreowner,Tim also does framing, not just of pictures. I saw him struggle to get a football shirt, absolutely perfect, so that it could be given as a present. When he framed one of mine he had a good range to choose from, and it cost very little. He sometimes stocks woodcarvings. I have bought a couple. They are beautiful. The shop is run by Ann, who is there, because Tim is so busy, and will shoot off somewhere else without warning! I always feel free to browse without pressure to buy.

Great shop on three floors: art, cards, gifts, kitchenware, jewellery, clothes.. And a fab little…read moreself service coffee shop on the first floor. Tea, coffee, hot choccie.and some lush cakes. Cosy sofas, great music playing (Bob Dylan as I sit here writing this). Oh and free wifi :)

I have a friend that works at Farfield Mill, so when she suggested I take a (very scenic) walk…read morethere, have a gander at the art and crafts then enjoy some home made cake and a coke at the cafe, on went the pack-a-mac and hiking boots. My friend was right, the walk to Farfield from the nearby town of Sedbergh is delightful. The old converted textile mill is set near the majestic Cumbrian fells, perched next to a picturesque river and now showcases the wares of local artists and craftsmen/women. Their creations are for sale and you can see and buy everything from beautiful glass-blown perfume bottles and watercolour paintings to wooly blankets and books about fashion design. It's really quite something, though not exactly cheap. The top floor of the mill is an exhibition area. This week, live weaving demonstrations could be seen for a small fee, but I'm not too fussed with weaving so gave it a miss. On the bottom floor, you can read about the mill's history and see how it would have looked long ago, walk around the art gallery and then head to the cosy cafe. It boasts a small outdoor seating area overlooking the river - perfect for dog walkers or those who want to soak up those rare northern rays (I'm told they do make an appearance every now and then). I ordered a piece of homemade toffee sponge cake, which was absolutely lush, soooooo moist and moreish. Hats off to whoever baked that, it was the perfect way to refuel for the walk home (around 2 miles). This is a gorgeous spot for lunch, a coffee or a simple nosey at some incredibly inspiring. And if you're into photography, take your camera along - you're bound to get some good snaps on the way there.

My visit to the Mill was the highlight of my stay in the dales. The quality of the resident artist…read morewas fabulous and diverse. Most inspiring especially if you are a creative person. I must have stayed for 2 and a half hours. Everyone was very friendly and the history of the mill was fascinating as well. Well worth the modest entrance fee, and the tea room also a delight. Highly recommended. I shall definitely return and take my friends with me.

I nipped into Dalesway Gallery, situated in the lovely little market town of Ilkley, just to…read morepurchase some birthday cards actually. I work in an office with a great deal of people and as a rule we generally make an effort to buy birthday cards for people's birthdays. I'm usually pretty useless at this sort of thing, and I've little excuse, but I am forever forgetting to give cards. In a surprising moment of preparedness I made the move towards Dalesway in order to stock up. Although cash-wise this was a bad idea (it wouldn't have worked out to bulk buy according to my wallet ... ) it was a great idea art wise to pop in! I hadn't actually noticed that they sold art works as well as cards, I was being that one track minded! Inside there were a number of lovely special arty cards, some funny ones with animals, some beautiful landscape photography ones, some vintage style ones and so on. They also had a number of prints and art works on sale too. There were these huge framed prints in the window, one of a vase of flowers (a proper above-the-fireplace type of picture) and another two of these purple field scenes. As well as those they had some interesting 'fashion' prints of men and women dressed in lovely clothing only none of those images included the person's face. I realise as I write that it sounds macabre, but it wasn't really! Anyway, an interesting bimble worth the visit.