The Gallery is currently closed for the installation of our upcoming exhibition, Forty Fells.
Forty Fells
Conversations about change in the Lake District mountains
23 Oct to 24 Jan 2027
Free Entry
Take a journey through the high places of Cumbria in this stunning large-format photography exhibition, exploring the untold stories – ancient and modern – of Forty Fells, from Scafell Pike to Pillar, Cat Bells to Blencathra, Helvellyn to Haystacks.
The exhibition features photography by International Photography Awards winner Tom McNally, whose striking images celebrate the beauty, drama and ever-changing character of the Lake District.
Delve into a storied landscape of farmers, fell-runners and foresters; Wainwright-baggers, deer stalkers and influencers; climbers, conservationists and carol singers.
Documentary profiles include tales of the country’s last slate miners, the Langdale axe factory, the Bob Graham Round, life at England’s loneliest house, the remarkable Borrowdale rainforest, Fix the Fells and the Buttermere Shepherds Meet and many more.
Rarely-seen records and artefacts – from Wainwright’s original longlist of ‘the 214’ to the game-changing ‘Thomas’ Mountain Rescue stretcher – tell their own unique stories, while our visitor wall invites you to share favourite fell memories.
Forty Fells is a visual record of the Cumbrian uplands at a time of profound change, that asks what our uplands might look like in four, forty and four hundred years’ time.
Launched to tie in with the Exhibition, the ‘Forty Fells’ book, published by Lakeland Book of the Year winner David Felton and photographer Tom McNally is available to purchase alongside framed and unframed photographs from the book.
Continue the Conversation:
Talks exploring topics from the exhibition
Upcoming & Past Exhibitions
Libby Edmondson’s Pop-Up Print Shop
Now open near our Gallery, visit our pop-up print shop dedicated to the vibrant work of Libby Edmondson with over 20 prints to choose from as well as a range of her Hare and Cheetah Sculptures.
All the artwork is available to take away on the day of your visit. You simply fill in the order form and take it the Gallery Desk where the team will be delighted to help.
Open daily 10am-5pm
Community Gallery
A Thousand Words: A Vittorio Sella Photography Exhibition
11 Sept – 18 Oct | Free to see
In 1899, on the slopes of Kangchenjunga (Nepal Himalaya), pioneering Italian mountaineer and photographer Vittorio Sella took the first image of a distant Chomolungma: Mount Everest. 126 years later, a small team from the UK set off with a large format analogue camera to find that forgotten spot and recreate that iconic image.
This exhibition celebrates Sella’s work and his enduring legacy as one of the godfathers of mountain landscape imagery.
Alongside Sella’s photographs there are both modern large-format and digital images taken by the team – Matt Sharman and Matt Hardy – that set out to attempt to recreate that iconic first picture of the highest mountain on Earth.
Vittorio Sella’s lifelong mission was to combine all his passions – mountaineering, chemistry, invention, photography – and return from the high mountains with evidence of their power and beauty and to share his wonder with the world.
While this Exhibition is at Rheged, we will be doing some screenings of the documentary feature film which accompanies it. Look out for ‘A Thousand Words’ on the cinema section of the Rheged website.
Cosmic Cumbria Exhibition
23 Oct – 8 Feb | Free to See
Eden Valley and Penrith Astronomy Group have created an exhibition of Astrophotography for Rheged, to coincide and celebrate Cumbria’s Dark Skies Festival. This interactive exhibition will take you on a cosmic journey from Earth through our Solar System to the outer reaches of the Milky Way and beyond to other Galaxies Far Far Away! Bring a fully charged mobile so you can interact with our friendly alien Zak. He will guide you through the exhibition, and you can ask him questions along the way. The Exhibition includes photography from Penrith & District Camera Club, Cockermouth Astronomical Society, Eddington Astronomical Society (Kendal) and Furness & South Lakeland Astronomical Society. This exhibition has been made possible with the support of Cumbrian Stone, Lakes and Dales Co-op and the former Penrith Lottery.
Celebrate the launch of the exhibition with…
Cosmic Cumbria – Exhibition Opening Celebration, Film, Talk and Q&A
23 Oct | 7pm | Adults £12 Concessions £10
Featuring Astrophotography Exhibition launch, Film Premier of Cumbria Night Skies and talk by Professor Roger William Lewis Jones, Principal Investigator of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (UK) project.
Ask an Astronomer
Sat 31 Oct 2026 | 10am-4pm | Free
Are you interested in Astronomy? Members of Eden Vallery & Penrith Astronomy Group will be at Rheged for the day with a range of telescopes and related equipment used by amateur Astronomers. Expect a warm welcome, practical advice, demonstrations, and information on forthcoming events.
Creative Classes
