HUNDREDS of visitors joined Nell Bank volunteers, staff and artists from Ilkley Arts for its Open Weekend which took place on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 September.

The money raised will be shared between Nell Bank and Ilkley Arts to help support their work.

Dan Goodey, head of centre at Nell Bank said: “Children and families had to follow the five colour trails to find the sculptures made by the artists. The colours of the trails were the colours in the Rainbow Jerseys that are being won this week during the UCI World Road Cycling Championships. The sculptures were all on the theme of rainbows and bikes and were hidden around the grounds for people to find. The event has been a real success and once again we’ve really enjoyed working with our friends at Ilkley Arts to deliver something a little bit different. It was also a lovely opportunity to invite people into the centre to enjoy our activity equipment, take part in ‘bunting painting’ workshops and the centre’s Charity Café was as popular as ever.”

The artists Jo Tinker, Lucia Smith, Azu Fletcher, Louise Hepworth-Wood, Libby Jubb, Howard and Carol Gardiner and Kerry Stoker also hosted a pop-up gallery on the site, transforming a meeting room into a contemporary art space for the weekend.

Sarah Thomas, chair of Ilkley Arts said: “It is always a pleasure to work in partnership with Nell Bank and this year was no exception. The artists love the challenge of the theme and we are already exploring ideas for 2020.”

“We are now talking to Bradford Council about using the bunting painted by the children and the cycle themed sculptures during the UCI cycling weekend,” added Dan.

“We are hopefully that the sculptures will be able to be displayed in Bradford’s City Park and the bunting in the Mayor’s chamber which is the VIP venue during the races. A lovely end to a great weekend.”

Nell Bank is an outdoor education centre just outside of Ilkley and Ilkley Arts is a registered charity based in Ilkley.