@Hannah_Museums

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to have a magical day at the Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre, where Damien and I viewed ‘Spellbound: The Lost Words & The Lost Spells’.

Details for Visiting the Sill

The Sill National Landscape Discovery Centre opened in 2017, It’s located in Northumberland National Park.
Within the Sill you’ll find exhibition gallery’s, a cafe, shop and fully accessible rooftop walk. You can follow the Sill on Facebook. Instagram and X for frequent updates.  

There are a few different options for travelling to the Sill, but Damien and I chose to travel by car as it was easier for us and I’m glad we did as we enjoyed some lovely views of Northumberland on our way. Full details, including alternative transport information can be found on the venues visiting page. 

The Exhibition space is located on the ground floor of the Sill, and is fully accessible. The centre was designed with accessibility in mind, with a webpage dedicated to access information. The visitor centre is free, you just have to pay for your parking. 

Donations are welcome.

My thoughts on the exhibition

Spellbound is a new exhibition which brings together The Lost Words and The Lost Spells collections created by Jackie Morris, and Robert Macfarlane.

The exhibition opened on Saturday 18 January, and you can visit up until 6 April 2025, giving you plenty of time to plan a visit.

Damien and I enjoyed exploring this wonderful exhibition at our own pace as you could spend a bit of time in it. There was plenty of things to look at including, display copies of books for visitors to read in the gallery, with a bench to sit on too.  If you wanted, you could also listen to an audio recording of Robert Macfarlane’s poetry, which I thought complimented the art work very well. I found the display of original notebooks, sketchbooks and natural objects great additions to the space, and liked how they had been placed in artist and writers desks.

If nature and art are your thing, this exhibition would also be perfect for you. Jackie’s artwork is stunning, with high levels of detail given to each piece. My favourite artworks were the pieces that had previously been displayed as part of The Lost Words exhibition as I love Jackie’s method of using gold leaf to make the art look like they were part of an illuminated manuscript – it’s truly so mesmerising that no photos could possibly do them justice, so you’ll need to see them for yourself. 

While we were in the gallery Damien commented on how the conkers reminded him of time with family, collecting conkers when he was younger. That’s the great thing about nature, it’s such an easy way to connect with memories. For me, memories of making daisy chains on the school field in the summer came to mind. I loved that we could share stories in this space together, and that these stories were inspired by the works. 

The exhibition makes a great little date day activity, especially if you pair it with an afternoon tea for two in the cafe and a walk around Northumberland National park like us, (trust me the views are stunning) to make a full day of it.

You could even try a new activity as throughout February, March and April you’ll be able to enjoy a range of craft and interest led events which can be booked on the What’s on page of the Sills website. There’s a great selection of things to try for different audiences. 

We met Jackie Morris!

The opening of Spellbound was made even more special by having Jackie in the gallery. She was painting and chatting to visitors on the morning and was kind enough to sign a copy of one of her books, and paint a picture of two otters for me. While she painted, she shared some of her favourite painting techniques, showed me some of her notebooks, and her sketches, as well as sharing her love for knitting.

It was lovely to see how Jackie interacted with visitors of all ages, some of whom had been fans of her work for some time, and were pleased to be finally meeting her. Jackie also shared with us a recent collaboration between her and Eva John, who has cast in silver spells evoked by Jackie, to create Wild Folk Charms, each piece unique and beautiful.

The Sill’s gift shop is also well stocked with merchandise for this exhibition, that I couldn’t resist buying a card game and book from both the Lost Words and Lost Spells collections.

You can see a little sneak peek of the Lost Words card game in my video below.

Final details

It’s worth noting that following its closure, this exhibition will be available for hire, either separately as the Lost Words, or the Lost Spells, or together as Spellbound. It could make the perfect addition to your museum or gallery, if you find there’s a gap in your programming. If you’re an organisation that is interested in hosting the exhibitions, you can contact exhibitions@nnpa.org.uk for more information. 

This exhibition left me feeling inspired to get out into nature, especially with spring being just around the corner, it made me think of fun activities I could try as the days get a little longer, and the weather a little better. I shared a reel with some ideas on my instagram page, along with a 60 second vlog style reel of our trip. Follow me on Instagram to check those out, as well as other cultural content posts. 

Thank you so much to the Sill, and Northumberland National Park for this opportunity.

NB: Please note for full transparency, that I received expenses for this review, including travel and food. Purchases from the gift shop were self funded. Opinions are either my own or Damiens (where stated).