My cousin Glen and I visited Carlisle's new arts venue The Old Fire Station for the first time this week. We met up in McGrew's Bistro which is part of the complex. It was a hodge podge of different tables and chairs, we went for very comfy armchairs. We both chose pate with ciabatta, salad and Cumberland sauce and shared a bowl of chips. The food came quickly and was lovely, a generous portion of delicious pate and the ciabatta lightly toasted, the Cumberland sauce went really well with it. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The cost for the two pates, one bowl of chips, two teas and one coffee was £17 which we felt was reasonable. My only complaint would be that they had the automatic doors permanently open and it wasn't a warm day, so the place was quite cold and I had to keep my jacket on.
We went upstairs to view the Olly Alcock art exhibition, which took a while to find as it was a bit of a rabbit warren and no signs guiding you there until you found the right entrance. It was a small exhibition of acrylic paintings mainly of Cumbrian Lakeland scenes though there were a couple of paintings of a plane and steam train. The quality of the paintings varied, some were a little "flat,"but most were very good with a lot of detail. My favourite was a striking picture of Helvellyn's Striding Edge, which is the left hand painting above. The paintings exuded feelings of calmness and serenity and highlighted the stunning beauty of Cumbria's Lake District.
The exhibition is free and lasts until the 31st of July.
Address: The Old Fire Station,
Warwick Street
Carlisle CA3 8QW
Website: http://oldfirestation.carlisle.city/
We went upstairs to view the Olly Alcock art exhibition, which took a while to find as it was a bit of a rabbit warren and no signs guiding you there until you found the right entrance. It was a small exhibition of acrylic paintings mainly of Cumbrian Lakeland scenes though there were a couple of paintings of a plane and steam train. The quality of the paintings varied, some were a little "flat,"but most were very good with a lot of detail. My favourite was a striking picture of Helvellyn's Striding Edge, which is the left hand painting above. The paintings exuded feelings of calmness and serenity and highlighted the stunning beauty of Cumbria's Lake District.
The exhibition is free and lasts until the 31st of July.
Address: The Old Fire Station,
Warwick Street
Carlisle CA3 8QW
Website: http://oldfirestation.carlisle.city/