This walk leads from The Courtyard at Welbeck to Creswell Crags.
The new Cave Art to Contemporary Art Walking Trail explores the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire countryside, taking visitors from The Harley Gallery to the neighbouring attraction, Creswell Crags. Entry is free to both venues. There may be a fee for additional onsite attractions.
Distance: 1.5 miles (2.4km)(round trip)
Time: 40 minute (round trip)
Difficulty: Easy
OS Map: Explorer 270, Sherwood Forest.
Dog-friendly: Dogs are welcome on the public rights of way across Welbeck, but to help us protect our wildlife, livestock, and crops, please keep them on the lead and under close control.
Directions
Visitor parking in the main car park, located next to The Courtyard at Welbeck. (GPS 53.261234,-1.179231)
The car park is open Monday - Saturday, 8am - 5pm. Sunday, 8am - 4pm. Closed Easter Sunday and over the Christmas period. Free parking. Please note the car park is locked at close of business. (Times may vary).
1. Start this walk in The Courtyard at Welbeck at the two-horse sculptures by Harley Studio Artist Michelle Reader. From here, walk through the gate at the end of The Harley Gallery and carefully cross the road at the back of the gallery, turn left and head along the path.
2. Follow the path dotted with five metal trees and five interpretation panels by Artist Martin Smith. Please note this walk takes visitors across the A60.
3. At the end of the art trail, pass through the gate into Creswell Crags car park. A footpath runs along the left-hand side of the car park to the visitor centre. From here, you can explore the visitor centre or follow the signs to the gorge.
4. Once you have visited Creswell Crags, you can return the same way you arrived or extend your walk and discover the Creswell Caves walking route.
Looking for a detailed map? See this walking route on OS Maps
Alternatively, download our illustrative walking route map here.
Cave Art to Contemporary Art Walking Trail – exploring the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Countryside is part-funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.
The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development:
Europe investing in rural areas.
Click here to find out more about the Harley Art Trail.
The Harley Gallery & Museum
Situated in The Courtyard at Welbeck, the award-winning Harley Gallery shows contemporary exhibitions by leading artists.
The Harley Museum displays works of art from Welbeck’s significant historic Portland Collection, which has been amassed over 400 years by the Dukes of Portland and their families. It showcases treasures ranging from full-length oil paintings by great masters to one of the largest privately-owned collections of miniatures. The collection also includes books, letters, silverware, ceramics and furniture.
The Courtyard is also home to the gallery shop, which specialises in contemporary craft from leading names and emerging makers, the award-winning Welbeck Farm Shop and the Harley Café.
Creswell Crags
Creswell Crags in North Nottinghamshire is a limestone gorge honeycombed with caves and smaller fissures. Stone tools and remains of animals found in the caves by archaeologists provide evidence for a fascinating story of life during the last Ice Age between 50,000 and 10,000 years ago. Further evidence came to light in 2003 with the discovery of Britain’s only known Ice Age rock art.
It is also home to the biggest concentration of ‘witches’ marks’ found in British caves. "Apotropaic" marks were scribed into the cave surface as they were thought to keep evil spirits coming from the underworld. Hundreds of these protective marks, believed to be from the 17th and 18th Centuries, were discovered in 2018.
George Stubbs and Creswell Crags
"Creswell Crags on the border of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire is the setting in several pictures by George Stubbs produced in the 1760s. The limestone gorge is shown from different viewpoints and varying accuracy to frame a series of equestrian subjects, both observed and imagined. Situated on the Welbeck estate of one of Stubbs' patrons, the 3rd Duke of Portland, Creswell Crags in Stubbs' art forms a striking landscape for the display of rural pursuits, aristocratic authority and becomes a field for exploring themes of aesthetic theory, natural history and human antiquity." Stephen Daniels, Professor of Cultural Geography, Nottingham University. An extract from 'Horses and Landscapes: George Stubbs.
Works by George Stubbs are periodically on show in the Harley Museum. Discover more about their current displays here.
Stay with us
We have a selection of holiday cottages here on the Welbeck estate that will make your visit extra special. Stay in the heart of the Welbeck Village in The Winnings, or select a stay in a nearby village at Holbeck Farm Barns or Stable Cottage in Belph.
