Eden Benchmarks

A series of sculptures found along the River Eden

To celebrate the new millennium in 2000, the East Cumbria Countryside Project commissioned a unique series of 10 stone sculptures—each one a site-specific seat designed to reflect the character of the River Eden and its surrounding landscape.

Known as the Eden Benchmarks, these artworks are scattered along the river’s course, from its source in the hills to its mouth at the Solway Firth.

Each piece was created by a different artist and invites visitors to pause, reflect, and connect with the natural world.

A close-up of a semi-circular stone sculpture that is split in two with wavy lines that look as though a meandering river runs through it. In the background can see the fells and valleys of the Upper Eden in Cumbria.

Rod Ireland Photography

A large stone sculpture sits on a plinth. It is over and is in two halves. It has been cut so that it looks like a meandering river is flowing from top to bottom of the sculpture.

Rod Ireland Photography

Water Cut By Mary Bourne in Mallerstang

The first in a series of sculptures made from Salterwath Limestone, Water Cut represents the power of the River Eden going through Cumbria, but also our own journeys as humans through the rural landscape and through life.

It’s located a few miles from the source of the river, on the east side of the Mallerstang Valley. Depending on where you stand, the space carved in between the pillars creates a meandering river in the sky or frames the real river in the valley below.

Stone sculpture of three large spheres with river beyond.

Rod Ireland Photography

Red River By Victoria Brailsford at Temple Sowerby

Red River represents the contours and shape of the landscape. The spheres represent gigantic pebbles in a fast-moving stream, reflecting the river and the energy contained within it.

Made of sandstone, the sculpture recalls the origins of this stone - the shifting sand dunes of Triassic Cumbria.

Other Eden Benchmarks

Passage By Laura White in Stenkrith Park near Kirkby Stephen. This subtle piece is reminiscent of the river’s passage through the gorge under Stenkrith Bridge, with shapes carved into the stone reflecting those found in riverbed rocks.

The Primrose Stone By Joss Smith at Bongate near Appleby. This sculpture was shaped out of a nine-ton block of St Bees Sandstone, represents the ‘inscape’ of the first rose of spring.

South Rising By Vivien Mousdell on Ladies Walk at Edenhall. The South Rising sculpture represents the timeless movement of the river and recurring movements of migrating fish and birds every year. With sweeping curves and a surface that is reminiscent of sunlight reflecting on the water, the horizontal stone alludes to the river flowing north, while the vertical piece inclines south towards the river’s distant source.

Cypher Piece By Frances Pelly at Lazonby. A ‘cypher’ is another word for a code, and in this piece the artist invites the viewer to decode the references to human history carved into two stones that have been arranged to represent the river landscape.

Vista By Graeme Mitcheson in Coombs Wood near Armathwaite. Vista is all about walking in the countryside and being at one with nature. Here, a hiker has left behind personal belongings such as clothing and maps while they go for a swim. A tiny face depicted on the cap is a reference to a series of faces carved on the cliffs below in 1885 by William Mounsey, who famously walked the length of Eden.

Flight of Fancy By Tim Shutter at Wetheral. This piece aims to give the feeling of an outdoor cathedral. It plays with an ecclesiastical sense of lifting the spirit with angel wings, church-style masonry and very convincingly carved prayer cushions.

Toward the Sea By Hideo Furuta in Bitts Park at Carlisle. Placed in parallel with the river flowing beside it, this is a series of four sculptures that reflect the power of the river in changing a stone’s appearance by showing different stages of erosion.

Global Warming By Anthony Turner at Rockcliffe. Where the Eden flows out to sea, a mysterious sculpture looks out towards the world beyond Cumbria’s shores. Is it a huge sea creature washed up onto the shore, or is it something else?

Find out more about the Eden Benchmarks