One of the first sculptures to be built in Grizedale, 'Running Table' marks the start of artist David Nash's association with the forest. Built in 1978 just west of Satterthwaite, the piece was a straightforward, yet effective wooden structure, which, as Peter Davies puts it in 'The Grizedale Experience', "has an animal quality" to it.

​

In Davies' own book 'A Sense Of Place', Nash describes the feeling of working in nature:

​

"We started in February deliberately so we would be there coming out of winter into spring, the days becoming progressively longer and warmer. The trees came into leaf, first the larch, then the willows and hazels and the oaks last. I was gently drawn into the metabolism, pace and energy of the forest."

​

'Running Table' made a triumphant return to the forest in 2021 when the David Nash exhibition set up shop in the visitor centre for a few months, and speaking as a bit of a sculpture nerd, it was great to see it once again (even if it wasn't the original), all those years after standing alongside it as a small boy with my father at my side. Now I found myself enchanted by the piece all over again, while my two children watched on, clearly embarrassed by their slightly tragic father getting excited by a bit of timber. That's the circle of life for you.

​

Also by this artist:

Fork Ladder 1978

Horned Tripod 1978

Standing Branch 1978

Sweeping Larch Enclosure 1978

Willow Ladder 1978

Wooden Waterway 1978

Willow Ladder II 1979