Today – 21 October 2009 – the car and I successfully managed to navigate the 290km (180mi) up the M1 motorway from London to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. I discovered this gem in the English countryside a couple of years ago, when I made my first trip to see the Andy Goldsworthy exhibition. I have returned four times since that initial visit, as I found the experience so enjoyable.

 

There is something about the landscape at the sculpture park that immediately lifts my spirits; it truly is a magical place to be and if the 200ha (500 acres) of historic parkland wasn’t enough to get enthused about, then there is the sculpture! There are open-air displays featuring over 60 works by some of the world’s most important artists. The landscape includes sculptures by artists such as Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Andy Goldsworthy, Elisabeth Frink and Antony Gormley.

 

When I arrived this afternoon, it was fairly grey, misty and overcast, but it didn’t matter – as soon as I was out in the parkland walking amongst the sheep and Henry Moore sculptures I felt happy. I could physically feel my mood change, the stress of driving, and the “low” that seemed to have been around me for a few days just lifted, and I couldn’t help but smile to myself and be thankful for the opportunity to have times like this to enjoy the silence, with only my thoughts for company.

 

Tomorrow morning I’ll be driving to Sheffield to deliver a “Positive Voice” talk at a girls’ school. Once I’m finished there I am driving to Cheshire via Chatsworth House  so that I can see the Beyond Limits exhibition. I am really excited, as the exhibition includes a life-size maquette of the world-renowned Angel of the North by Antony Gormley. It is one piece I am desperate to see, as the closest I’ve got to the actual statue near Gateshead has been catching fleeting glimpses while whizzing past on the train from London to Edinburgh.