Lyme Regis Sculpture Trail

Since 2015 Langmoor and Lister Gardens has been the setting for a public outdoor installation of contemporary sculptures. While exploring the gardens, in amongst the woodland, lawns and flower borders, you will come across several interesting pieces of art. The sculptures are selected each year from established and upcoming artists from across Dorset and are chosen to represent a cross-section of the visual arts encompassing different materials and styles.

Funded by the Town Council and managed by The Arts Development Company, the Lyme Regis Sculpture Trail is intended to enhance the natural beauty of the gardens and wider landscape through providing a creative experience for visitors. Current artwork includes:

The Juggler

This playful sculpture was inspired by the acrobats performing in Covent Garden, London. Artist Claire Trenchard’s work concentrates on capturing the strength, power and movement of animals. It is the essence of the animal that interests her.

Tree Pods

These willow sculptures by Victoria Westaway reflect the Jurassic geology of Lyme’s stretch of coastline. Hundreds of withies from the Somerset Levels have been twisted, looped and tied to create these protective shields, encouraging us to cradle and respect our green environment.

Spare Part Bird

Spare Part Bird can be found perched on the roof of the gazebo in the Langmoor Gardens, where many of the birds sit. The sculpture by Greta Berlin was made from recycled materials found on East Beach in Lyme.

Rock Woman

This sculpture by Claire Nuttall faces the yellow cliffs you see in the distance. She is carved out of the sandstone and references what women did there in the rope and net industry in the past.

Time

In the north east of the gardens you will find Greta Berlin’s sculpture ‘Time’, described as a meditation on time, our mortality, and our place in the world. The woman will rust away over time, but the creature on her head, which represents deep time, will not. But while she is here, she is indomitable and challenges all that faces her.

Open Form

These intriguing structures by Isla Chaney are contemplative and deliberately ambiguous. Isla is concerned with the internal architecture of things and focusing on the patterns, growth and transformation inherent to all natural phenomena. 

The trail now features an eye-catching dinosaur sculpture designed by Felix Ford, and a beautiful octopus tentacle designed by Rosie Vincent, both A-Level art students from The Woodroffe School. The striking Dinosaur, crafted in zinc-coated galvanised steel by local blacksmith and ironworker Simon Connett, and the intricately detailed Octopus, carved from Portland stone, add a fresh and imaginative edge to the existing trail, which showcases works from both professional artists and emerging talent.