A STUNNING VISUAL ARTWORK which has been a big hit with visitors to Upper Teesdale is nearing the end of its stay, and people are being urged to take their last chance to see and photograph it.

Natural Creation, which was commissioned by the North Pennines AONB Partnership with funding from the National Lottery, was created by artist Rob Mulholland. It will be in place near to Low Force waterfall in Teesdale until 11 October. Made up of a series of highly polished stainless steel sculptures, the piece responds to the geology of this part of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and UNESCO Global Geopark. It aims to bring to life a 320 million year old geological story in the beautiful landscape of Teesdale. Human figures mingle with geometrical shapes which echo the shape of the Whin Sill, sections of which emerge from the landscape to create some of its most distinctive features.

The sculptures have been a very popular feature over the summer months, with people visiting from far afield. Photographers have been particularly keen, sharing their images on social media. Two striking images were featured in the Times and Telegraph newspapers, as well as in the local and regional press.

The National Lottery, through the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), have supported Natural Creation as part of a programme of new work celebrating and building on the North Pennines’ UNESCO Global Geopark designation. Thanks to National Lottery players, the project will receive £376,200 over three years. Natural Creation was also supported by Arts Council England.

Chris Woodley-Stewart, director of the North Pennines AONB Partnership, said: “The response to Natural Creation has been overwhelmingly positive and we are delighted that it has helped to bring people to the North Pennines and connects them with the geology and the landscape.

“We hope that over the next couple of weeks people who haven’t seen it will take the opportunity to visit. Those who have seen it over the summer will also be able to revisit the sculptures now that the seasons have begun to change.”

Artist Rob Mulholland said: “Natural Creation celebrates the creative power and majesty of nature. My installation imagines the geological forces shaping and forming the land over millions of years. My aim is to reflect the dynamic forces at play in nature through the representation of the Whin Sill forcing its way through the ground. The mirrored figures represent our innate connection with our natural environment. They stand passively guarding the elements; a vestige of our past and a mirror to our future.”

The geology of Low Force has a story which goes back over 320 million years, to the Carboniferous Period of Earth history. Millions of years of changing climates and environments created alternating layers of limestone and sandstone rock, sometimes with a layer of shale. 295 million years ago, in the early Permian Period, molten magma welled up in the Earth through cracks and fissures in the layered rocks and spread out in a roughly horizontal layer between the Farne Islands and Teesdale. It never reached the surface (or we’d have had a volcano in the North Pennines) but instead it cooled underground for around 50 years, forming a hard, flat-lying layer that the old miners called the Whin Sill. Over the nearly three hundred million years since then, the rocks above the Whin Sill have been weathered and eroded away by Earth processes. Where the hard, erosion resistant Whin Sill crops out across the course of rivers, it forms the lip of waterfalls like at Low Force and High Force, just upstream.

The installation will be in place on the north bank of the Tees at Low Force until 11 October. Parking is available at the North Pennines AONB Partnership’s Bowlees Visitor Centre, with a five to ten minute walk to the artwork. To share your images of Natural Creation on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, please use the hashtag #lowforceart.

Young artists with an interest in astronomy and space are invited to enter a unique competition as part of the North Pennines Stargazing Festival.

Presenter of the BBC’s The Sky at Night, Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE is headlining the festival with an event at The Witham in Barnard Castle on 20 October. The North Pennines AONB Partnership is offering young people the opportunity to win an exclusive ‘meet and greet’ with Dr Aderin-Pocock. Just 10 young people and their accompanying adults will be invited to a reception event followed by a question and answer session, and will also receive tickets to the event itself, ‘The Science of the Moon and Stars.’

There are two age categories, 6 to 12 years and 13 to 18 years, and entrants should produce a piece of visual art in any medium (no larger than A3) on a space or stargazing theme. For full instructions on how to enter, visit www.NorthPenninesStarFest.org.uk. Entries can be posted or delivered to the North Pennines AONB Partnership office in Stanhope, dropped off at the Partnership’s Bowlees Visitor Centre or can be scanned and sent electronically.  The closing date is midnight on 7 October 2018 and the winner s will be informed by 10 October.

Entries will be judged by: Ann Whitfield, an artist based in Teesdale; Teesdale photographer Martin Rogers; and Simon Wilson, Business Manager at the North Pennines AONB Partnership who is also an artist.

Shane Harris, Responsible Tourism Lead at the North Pennines AONB Partnership, said: “The Stargazing Festival is a fantastic celebration of the dark skies we have here in the North Pennines. The North Pennines is the darkest mainland AONB and we have more Dark Sky Discovery Sites than anywhere else in the UK.

“We’re delighted to have such a high profile headliner as Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, and we are particularly excited to be offering young people the chance to meet and talk to her with this competition. We’re hoping for some really creative entries, exploring space and the stars.”

The festival runs from 20 October until 4 November and stargazers in and around the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and UNESCO Global Geopark have almost 30 star-themed events to choose from. The programme covers the autumn half-term holidays for schools in Durham, Cumbria and Northumberland and will offer family-friendly events to enjoy the dark skies of the North Pennines AONB. There are also lots events aimed at aspiring astronomers as well as visitors with a general interest in the night sky and stargazing.

The 2018 North Pennines Stargazing Festival is once again being organised by the North Pennines AONB Partnership. It is being funded by Durham County Council, Northumberland County Council and Visit County Durham.

For the full event programme, please visit www.NorthPenninesStarFest.org.uk

A stargazing festival to celebrate some of the darkest skies in England launches its programme today with a star-studded line-up.

The North Pennines AONB Partnership has announced that well known TV presenter and scientist Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE will headline the 2018 North Pennines Stargazing Festival with an event at the Witham in Barnard Castle on Saturday 20 October. Looking at the world of space exploration and bringing her perspective on women in science and engineering, the Science of the Moon and the Stars promises to be an unmissable event. As well as fronting The Sky at Night, Dr Aderin-Pocock has appeared in many programmes including Stargazing Live, The Science of Doctor Who and In Orbit: How Satellites Rule Our World.

Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE said: “I’m thrilled to be invited to headline at the 2018 North Pennines Stargazing Festival. It’s a fabulous area – officially the darkest mainland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – and is a brilliant place to experience stargazing in a truly dark place. A lot of my work is about looking at the wonders of space and what it can teach us and the festival is all about broadening the appeal of stargazing, space and science to a range of audiences – aims that are close to my heart.”

The 2018 North Pennines Stargazing Festival will offer a packed programme of fun and informative events from 20 October to 4 November. After the success of the inaugural festival last year, the programme has been extended to cover two weeks, spanning the autumn half-term holidays for the counties of Durham, Northumberland and Cumbria. The festival includes activities for more experienced stargazers alongside events for children and families. There are more Dark Sky Discovery Sites in the North Pennines AONB and UNESCO Global Geopark than anywhere else in the UK and the programme makes the most of the great places to enjoy the night sky right across the area.

Highlights of the festival include an exciting chance to camp out under the stars at Doe Park Caravan Site in Teesdale while learning more about the night sky, with star camp veteran and astronomy expert, Richard Darn. The popular Skywatch events return, once again at Killhope Lead Mining Museum, but adding events at Alston, Nenthead and Stanhope. Last year’s Skywatch at Killhope attracted over 250 people, who experienced the sight of the sky clearing to reveal the Milky Way. Each Skywatch event includes experts in attendance with advanced equipment and friendly advice, to help unlock the secrets of the night sky.

The programme is also full of half-term activities, from bottle rocket workshops and a solar system trail, to a Halloween Spooky Space special. For adults and keen astronomers wishing to take their knowledge to a new level, there are talks and astrophotography workshops, plus a chance to ‘tame your telescope’ with the experts.

If you can’t wait until the festival itself, there is a special preview during the summer holidays, with a special Perseid Meteor Shower event at Killhope Museum on Sunday 12 August where you can lie back in deckchairs and watch up to 60 to 70 shooting stars an hour.

The festival has been organised by the North Pennines AONB Partnership and is supported by Visit County Durham, Northumberland County Council and Durham County Council.
Chris Woodley-Stewart, Director of the North Pennines AONB Partnership, said: “We are very pleased to be bringing the stargazing festival back for a second year. The North Pennines is one of the best places in the country to experience really dark skies, and we hope that local people and visitors will enjoy the events on offer in this fantastic landscape.”

Michelle Gorman, Managing Director at Visit County Durham said: “We’re thrilled, once again to be working with the North Pennines AONB Partnership on the second North Pennines Stargazing Festival. Following on from the huge success of last year’s event, we’re hopeful that the programme of star-studded events and experiences will attract visitors of all ages to the area to appreciate the magnificence of the North Pennines’ dark skies.”

Discover the entire programme at www.NorthPenninesStarFest.org.uk