North Shropshire
Ellesmere SY12 0PA on the A528 Shrewsbury road.
Free, Parking changers apply.
Ellesmere Sculpture Trail has been developed over the past 12 years or so. Each piece is made using local stone and wood. The trail takes you along the mere, through gardens, along the canal, into the town and up to castle fields. We started our walk at The Mere.
The mere is a glacial mere, but I like the local legend about the mere. Long ago the area had many wells but the best water came from the well owned by Mrs Eillis, and she was happy to share it. That is until a very hot summer arrived bringing with it a drought, every well dried up, all excepted for the one belonging to Mrs Eillis. She built a large high wall around her home and well so no one could get in. Soon after the rains started and the well began to flood over, Mrs Eillis called and called to the people to come and take water, but no one could hear her and she drown, but Eillis Mere was born, later shorten to Eills mere, then Eillesmere. (I may have got the names a little wrong, please correct me if you know more)
The Mere is home to a wide range of wildlife, but only one side can be walked.
The Mere
The Jebb Gardens
The sisters by Nick Eames
Refuge by John Merrill
Labyrinth Sculpturelogic
Formal gardens
Bindweed by Junko Mori and Chris Stokes
(This was once inside a fenced area with bindweed growing on it, but the fence as been removed)
Ellesmere Pillar by Richard Taylor
The Woodlands
Lone Bee by Caroline Lowe
Ellesmere Chronicle by Irene Brown
There are three of these each telling the story and legend of the Mere
Secure by Nick Horrigan
The Ellesmere View across The Mere to the church which can be seen secure inside the form.
Or not, as the trees are now over grown
Sshhh by John Merrill
In the town
Cascade by Steve Hitchin
The canal
Bridge 58 by Jason Hinklin
Ellesmere Boat by Huw Powell and Ruth Gibson
Shoal of Fish by Anton Sobrino and Mercedes Cano
Aqueduct Bench by Huw Powell Roberts and Ruth Gibson
(sadly broken)
Boat Fender by Huw Powell Roberts and Ruth Gibson
Castlefields
Rotation 2 by Trevor Clarke
Dialogue Pal Lakatos
Glacial menhir by Louis Alfonso
Puerto del aqua by Emiliano Sacco
A prisoner by Tom Gilhespy