Ilam Park: Highlighted Event: Earthly Delights Art Installation
A new and exciting art installation is coming this summer! Celebrating the 200 year anniversary of Ilam Hall, Earthly Delights intertwines the stories of the past and present with an hub of plantlife.
- Booking not needed
- Free event
Discover Earthly Delights, a striking new art installation at Ilam Park, produced in partnership with OUTSIDE ARTS and created by Staffordshire Moorlands artists David Bethell, Mally Mallinson and Stephanie Rushton. Celebrating 200 years of Ilam Hall, the installation invites you to discover exploring themes of growth, loss and renewal. At its heart the installation is a large dome-shaped structure, inspired by the estate’s lost glasshouses and the immersive installation features plants, sculptures and natural materials. In connection to the installation, a free trail of smaller artworks will start from the geodome, and will take visitors across the park to discover Ilam Park’s landscape and stories anew. Pick up your trail sheet for free in the bookshop. Artists working on ‘Earthly Delights’ said: “As artists with strong connections to Staffordshire, we are delighted to have the opportunity to explore the rich and complex history of Ilam Hall and Park. This commission has allowed us to delve into the many layers of the site’s past, considering how successive owners, changing social histories, and its distinctive setting within the landscape have shaped its evolution over time.” Visit from 18 July to 6 September 2026 to discover Earthly Delights on the lawn in front of the historic arches at Ilam Hall this summer.
Times
The basics
- Booking number
Call 01335 350503
- Accessibility
We are proud to offer a circular accessible path (1 mile), a changing place, an accessible path, and step free access to our Coach House Kiosk and Stables Bookshop.
- Meeting point
Meet us at the Welcome Hut to find your way. The installation will sit outside the arches in front of Ilam Hall.
- Suitability for children
All families welcome.
- What to bring and wear
Dress for the weather, that might mean sunhats and sun cream or wellies and umbrellas. Let's embrace the British weather and enjoy it whatever it throws at us.
- Other
Ilam Park is open to everyone and there is no admission charge. There is only a charge for car parking £6 for 4 hours and £8 all day, National Trust members and blue badge holders park for free. The Manifold Tearoom (upstairs) and Coach House Kiosk (downstairs) are open throughout the summer holidays, serving a range of delicious food, drinks and all important ice creams! Please note we do not allow BBQs, fires or cooking of any kind on site. We do welcome picnics but ask that you take all your litter home with you or use the bins provided.
Upcoming events
Dovedale Big Litter Pick
Join us for a few hours at Dovedale and get your steps in, picking litter along the valley so the National Nature Reserve remains a great place for nature and people alike.
Ilam Park: Highlighted Event: Summer of Play
Summer of play is back! Join in the festival feeling and explore the many exciting play opportunities for all ages, from tiny tots, to not so grown ups all for free!
Ilam Park: Festival of Archaeology Weekend Dig
Discover our hidden history buried in the ground at Ilam Park this Festival of Archaeology!
Ilam Park: Summer Theatre: As You Like It by the Handlebards
Pedalling from venue to venue with all of their set, props and costumes on the back of their bikes, the HandleBards will be performing a fantastically funny bicycle-powered production of Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’.