Lorna Singleton is one of Britain’s last remaining swillers, a specialist in weaving baskets using coppiced oak and hazel. Using simple hand tools and ancient techniques, she creates baskets based on traditional patterns from South Cumbria as well as patterns found on her travels.

She’s based in Grizedale Forest – and as well as running her own one woman basket making business, she’s spent the last year teaching seven basketmakers the unique skills of spelk basketry on a course called Wood Water Weave.

This autumn, a beautiful exhibition by the same name has opened at Grizedale Forest Gallery, showing off the wonderful products they’ve all made.

For this episode of Behind the Scenery, Tom Speight went to talk to some of the basket makers. But he began by visiting Lorna in her workshop – to find out how she works…

Eden Project Morecambe is something that’s been talked about for some years now – the development of a brownfield sight in the Lancashire town into something like the massively successful Eden Project in Cornwall. And it’s recently been handed another £2.5m by the government, bringing the total funding to £5m, to allow design teams to get going.

But why should it matter to Cumbria ? Specifically, to the Cumbrian arts and culture sector ?

For Episode 27 of Behind the Scenery, Tom Speight went along to The Midland Hotel, itself a beautiful art deco jewel on the Morecambe coastline, where there was a gathering of businesses and organisations with an interest in Eden Project Morecambe. All organised by Carlisle based PR group Intro.

He caught up with a number of people with an interest in the project’s success and began by chatting to Si Bellamy, one of those in charge of the project, to find out about the current state of play – and why it might matter to Cumbrians....

Alison Critchlow is a contemporary British painter based in Bowness on Solway – right on the northern edge of Cumbria.

She paints mainly in oils. She’s recently been shortlisted for the Contemporary British Painting Prize 2024, an annual event which promotes the best of contemporary painting produced in the UK.

Alison is also one of the organisers of the annual Around the Island open studio art trail which takes place in September in north west Cumbria.

Tom Speight went to meet her in her studio – but began on the crunching shores of the Solway…