The Armitt : Museum, Gallery, Library

15/06/2026

We are pleased to have Co-Curator of 'An A-Z of Beatrix Potter', Dr Penny Bradshaw, back in the museum as she hosts another exhibition tour.

Penny will be exploring some of the ideas and approaches which underpin the exhibition; she will discuss key areas of the alphabetised journey in greater depth and will be on hand to answer questions as well!

This is a great chance to hear from Penny if you haven't managed to catch one of her talks this year; you might even find a signed copy of her book in the shop whilst you're here...

14/06/2026

Over the last four weeks, we have been very glad to welcome Ambleside Church of England Primary and Nursery School on two separate visits to see 'An A-Z of Beatrix Potter'.

In the most recent visit, KS2 traced elements of Potter's life and work themselves, exploring the exhibition through a series of interactive activities hosted by our education team. The students were able to dress up and create dialogues between Beatrix Potter and her famous characters, try their hand at cracking the code used in her famous journal entries and even complete our accompanying activity booklet!

After exploring the exhibition, we invited the students to re-imagine the exhibition. After splitting into groups, the students worked to develop their own 'A-Z' based on what they had learnt from the exhibition. We had some fantastic interpretations, with each letter getting an accompanying design completed by the students.

It's a pleasure as always to welcome young voices into the museum, and we hope that all the students left feeling just as inspired as we did!

If you'd like to bring your school to The Armitt, please get in touch with us on [email protected] or call 015394 31212

13/06/2026

June's - A Short History of Walking the Fells: From the Langdale Axe Factory to the Present Day with Stephe Cove.🥾

- £6.00
- June 30th - 2pm
- Tickets - https://www.trybooking.com/uk/GGBO

Eight thousand years ago, we know that Stone Age man was familiar with the fells and had the skills to pick out the sites that provided stone for making axes. What would they make of today’s fell walkers in brightly coloured clothing who may well have been equipped with the help of Internet shopping?

Early humans used the fells to provide everything they needed for existence. Thousands of years later, it was the commercial potential that drove the exploitation to discover the resources often deep below the surface. For modern folk, it’s the excitement and challenge that brings them in flocks to crowd like daffodils in the valleys, the summits and the shops of Lakeland.

This talk has been organised by Stephe Cove to help raise funds for a new Mountain Rescue Base in Foxfield.

12/06/2026

Happy Birthday, Harriet Martineau 🎉

On the 12th of June 1802, Harriet Martineau was born in Norwich and over an extensive career, she would become a pioneering figure within the town of Ambleside and within her fields of work.

Crowned the ‘Mother of Sociology’, her written works were not only bold for the time but are still studied today. Her impact locally was vast as well, inspiring several key figures in Lake District Arts and Culture. All of this was accomplished despite Martineau’s battle against illness and her fortitude in her struggles with her disabilities.

This year also marks the 150th anniversary of her passing, and we are celebrating Martineau's life and work in our 2026 exhibition 'Modern-day Martineau'. Martineau may be a name you are familiar with, or maybe she slipped under the radar next to her contemporary Cumbrian literary figures, but her life and work is one worth celebrating!

'Modern-day Martineau' runs until the 19th of December 2026, so if you haven't managed to catch the exhibition yet, you still have time.

11/06/2026

The Armitt was pleased to welcome Sheena and Deb from the The David Snowdon Trust today to look around our exhibitions.

The David Snowdon Trust is a very supportive grant-giving charity based in Cumbria and The Armitt was privileged to be awarded funds to contribute towards the creation of the 'An A-Z of Beatrix Potter' display co-curated with Dr Penny Bradshaw of Cumbria Uni English for 2026. Sheena and Deb especially enjoyed seeing the loaned items and were fascinated by the young image of Beatrix Potter in our lightbox.

Thank you for visiting and we appreciate your support in making our exhibition possible for this year.

09/06/2026

Harriet Martineau in Ambleside: A discussion

- July 7th

Stuart Hobday will be joined by Professor Valerie Sanders and author Gaby Weiner. They will present and discuss the life of radical 19th-century writer Harriet Martineau who lived in Ambleside from 1846 until her death in 1876. All three panellists have extensively researched and written about Martineau's life and work and this event will focus of Martineau's life and the writing she produced at The Knoll - the house she lived in.

The talk will make up part of the annual Martineau Society Conference, being held here in Ambleside. It is a great opportunity to learn more about the multi-faceted life and work of Harriet Martineau through The Armitt's 2026 exhibition 'Modern-day Martineau' and via the panel discussion taking place in our library.

Tickets are available now - https://www.trybooking.com/uk/GIEB

07/06/2026

As we finish , we wanted to show some of the exciting ways you can get involved here at The Armitt.

We are always looking for dedicated and passionate volunteers to join our existing team across the following areas:

- Collections and exhibition research
- Event Support
- Digitisation
- Front of House

If any of these pique your interest, drop us an email at [email protected] to find out more about volunteer opportunities!

06/06/2026

The good news keeps coming🎉

‘An A-Z of Beatrix Potter’ has been shortlisted for the Lakeland Book of the Year Award.

It’s been an absolute pleasure working with Penny across the first half of 2026, organising talks and of course producing the book-tie in exhibition right here at The Armitt.

If you want to learn more about Beatrix Potter's life then you can find out more at armitt.com or drop into the museum for a look around this incredible exhibition.
Cumbria Uni English

The Beatrix Potter Society

Lakeland Book of the Year Awards

Announcing the shortlist for 2026!
There is everything here from small press and self published books to big names from mainstream national publishers - all have Cumbria at their heart.

Fiction
The Final Vow, Mike Craven
The River Brings the Sea, Ali Thurm
Helm, Sarah Hall

Guides and Places
Exploring Lake District Dales, Terry Marsh
Walking the King Charles III England Coast Path: North West, Ange Harker
Wainwrights without a Car, Ron Kenyon

Landscape and Tradition
The Parallel Path, Jenn Ashworth
Middleland, Rory Stewart
Wigton and the Solway, Trevor Grahamslaw

Literature and Poetry
An A-Z of Beatrix Potter, Penny Bradshaw
Chasing the Phantom, Zoe Gilbert & Stephen Cooper
All Before Me, Esther Rutter

People and Business
How to Build a Spitfire, David Price
The Postal Paths, Alan Cleaver
Mud, Mayhem and Moneymen, Jean McSorley

Illustration and Presentation
Defined by Stones, Ian Jackson
In Search of the Missing, Juliet Fossey
From Pillar Rock to the Matterhorn, Ashley Abraham

04/06/2026

The Armitt is once again opening its doors for Heritage Open Days. This year, you can explore our temporary exhibitions for free on Friday 18 September, including:

An A-Z of Beatrix Potter
Club Culture Cumbria
Modern-day Martineau

We'll also have a special limited-time mini-exhibition focused on the theme of "Everyday Histories". Come and view some of the fascinating stories about Ambleside and how it's changed into the town we know and love today.

Heritage Open Days 2026: 11-20 September

02/06/2026

It's , and we want to take a moment to thank our amazing volunteer team for all the hard work they put in.

You may have met many of our volunteers working in our front of house, welcoming folks to the museum and ensuring that we can keep our doors open across the year.

Behind the scenes, our volunteer team are also crucial in supporting digitising, auditing and researching our collections and upcoming exhibitions.

Over thousands of volunteer hours, our dedicated team works tirelessly to assist with the smooth running of the museum.

During the summer we will also be running our volunteer-led heritage walking tours around Ambleside. A number of individuals have had a hand in developing this and ensuring that it is a well-researched, informative walk, exploring the industry and history of the area.

The first heritage walk runs tomorrow afternoon at 2:30pm from the museum, so why not pop along and see first hand how lucky we are to have such a talented team of volunteers at The Armitt?!

Volunteers' Week