Think of Cumbria and what springs to mind? A rural retreat complete with hearty hikes and snug pubs?

If these are the images scudding across your mind’s eye, you’d not be wrong. Yet there are more things to do in Cumbria than its outdoor image might suggest. Tourism actually began here back in the 1700s, when clergyman Thomas West published a Guide to the Lakes. It banished forever the idea that Cumbria was wild and inhospitable. It’s thanks to West that when we think of the Lake District, we think of a chocolate-box landscape. Yet the ideal of the ‘picturesque’ is both a blessing and a curse: good for tourism, yet occasionally overshadowing the contemporary art that is made, performed and shown here year-round.

Cumbria is full of artists, and galleries for them to exhibit in. One of our favourite spaces for contemporary work is Cross Lane Projects, which hosts exhibitions from spring through to autumn, while working alongside the Mark Tanner Sculpture Award and Kendal Mountain Festival — a highlight of the district’s cultural calendar, and one that boasts an adjacent Book Festival).

Another key hosting venue for that Festival is Brewery Arts, which serves as a live music venue, a gallery space, a cinema, creative learning hub, and restaurant and bar. It’s a lot for one venue to shoulder, but it does so incredibly well. No less ambitious, Grizedale Arts brings together artists and thinkers at its site at Lawson Park Farm and develops projects, skills and ideas that respond to the complexities of the Lake District. The historic Blackwell, meanwhile, embodies the exact opposite of rarefied stately-home-stuffiness, showcasing an eclectic range of contemporary artists, designers and makers.

As you’d expect, much of the art you’ll find here responds to the landscape in which it sits. Kendal’s Grade I listed Abbot Hall is a particular beauty, and regularly hosts exhibitions by landscape painters. While over at Ambleside’s Armitt Museum, you can gain fascinating insights into the life and artistic work of Beatrix Potter, a name synonymous with the Lake District.

Another name synonymous with the Lakes is Wordsworth, and nestled in the beautiful historic hamlet in Grasmere, overlooking the lake, you’ll find his home at Dove Cottage AKA Wordsworth Grasmere. It serves as a reminder of what a gem this place is, and for how long it has acted as a source of inspiration for local artists and visitors alike.