Chatsworth Sculpture in the rain

Thinking it was time for the annual sculpture exhibition at Chatsworth, we headed out there last weekend - but we'd got the dates wrong, and not all pieces were on display. Still, we weren't worried as we have annual 'friends' cards and could easily catch the other sculptures later, so we went in the gardens and started walking round - just as the rain came!

We carried doggedly on though - but taking a shorter route and not sidetracking to see every piece close up

Just a plain concrete box? Not quite. The box is hollow and inside, glimpsed through tiny holes, is a mini-forest!















There were a couple of snags with visiting before the exhibition was properly open - firstly, the maps usually provided on entry weren't ready so we weren't sure where all the installations would be, but we wandered round, guessing where things have been in previous years, and sometimes finding 'art', sometimes not.

McDonald's Golden Arches?

Also, without the guide, how do you know WHAT you're looking at. Obviously it makes no difference to whether you LIKE a piece or not, but occasionally modern art can be weird, so it's nice to know what the artist was thinking while making the piece.

Dancing for joy?

Mayan/Aztec god, or Napoleon?

By this point we were totally soaked, and as it was drawing close to closing time we headed for the exit, probably missing some things in our haste ... but we'll be back on a DRY day.

Definitely know this one
 - spaghetti and meatballs!

But guess what? As we left the gardens, the rain stopped, and a few minutes down the road on our way home, the sky turned cloudless blue!