If you’re looking for a day out WWT Welney has just launched some fantastic new trails featuring artworks by artist Quentin Blake.
Three seasonal trails highlighting the best of the UK’s wetland nature are now running until February 2024 as part of a partnership between renowned illustrator Sir Quentin Blake and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust.
Throughout the partnership, Drawn to Water: Quentin Blake at WWT, WWT Welney will run three seasonal trails with guides using selected little seen before illustrations of watery nature from Quentin Blake to help inspire visitors to view the wonder of wetland nature in a different way.
Each of the trails, Spring/Summer, Autumn, and Winter, will highlight the amazing nature that arrives each season, showcasing new life, sparkling water and visiting birds, helping everyone experience nature in new, unexpected ways through Quentin Blake’s work. These trails will run alongside a range of art and illustration activities to inspire all ages and abilities, helping everyone experience nature in new, unexpected ways. Experience spring/summer seasonal treasures from swallows joining you in the hides to wildflowers coming out in bloom, all highlighted by the Quentin Blake trail.
Commenting on the partnership Quentin Blake said: “I am delighted to be sharing my pictures with WWT sites and their visitors through the Drawn to Water experience. This project appealed to me because I have a lifelong fascination of drawing wetland wildlife, especially birds.
“I can't quite explain why but it may be because like us, they are on two legs and have expressive gestures. The drawings you will see are from my own personal archive, and many have rarely been seen in public before.
"Through Drawn to Water I hope that seeing my artwork in places where these creatures are thriving will allow new audiences to enjoy wetland wildlife as much as I do, perhaps prompting a few people to pick up a pen, pencil or even a quill and do their own drawing.”
Emma Brand at WWT Welney said: “The design of this trail is so that people can have a very personal connection to the highlights of each season. Whether it be through sight, sound or the feeling of being in these handpicked locations, our wetlands will provide inspiration for art or a chance to slow yourself down and connect with the flow of the natural world.”
Read more here: www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/welney/whats-on/drawn-to-water-quentin-blake-at-wwt-2