With my three-year association in designing David Harber’s award-winning sculpture gardens for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, I’ve long been a fan of an exquisitely crafted piece creating a focal point in garden design. It was therefore with great delight that I’m supporting Oxfordshire’s Sculpture in the Vineyard for 2015.
Across three weekends in May and June (23rd - 25th May, 27th - 31st May and 3rd – 7th June) Bothy Vineyard in Frilford Heath, near Abingdon, plays host to the county’s largest sculpture exhibition.
Visitors can expect to be amazed: 200 outdoor sculptures made from different materials and produced by 35 artists, based both locally and nation-wide, will be showcased across 7 acres of grounds in this gorgeously sited vineyard. Tiptoe through the vines and wander through the orchards and wildlife areas as you gaze upon magnificent sculptures: 15ft stainless steel yachts, Egyptian goddesses, life-sized horses and many smaller specimens will be on display.
You can also see a further 50 indoor sculptures in the working winery, displayed in between the fermentation tanks, barrels and press.
The exhibition is being organised in aid of the Nasio Trust, an Abingdon-based charity which runs two purpose-built day care centres in western Kenya, supporting several hundred children from the age of 3 upwards. The organisation runs a worthwhile youth initiative scheme in Oxfordshire too, engaging young people in positive challenges and teamwork.
Do hope you can come along to this stunning exhibition – it’s well worth a visit!