Own Art On The Road | East of England

#OwnArtOnTheRoad is heading to the East of England. This means we’ll be meandering through Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. We have an amazing selection of Own Art galleries we can stop off along the way and we’re so excited to virtually see the sights!

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Firstly, let’s start our adventure at Focal Point Gallery in Essex, where their learning programme aims to engage people of all ages in current debates around contemporary art. We can see what original artwork we can buy on the Own Art scheme before heading off to Colchester Zoo, where BBC’s Zoo Mum’s was recently filmed!

Let’s continue South on our virtual road trip and explore some of what Suffolk has to offer. We can pass by Gallery East and Thompson’s Gallery to check out their collections before we dip our toes and try out some kayaking along the River Alde.

We’re so lucky to have so many Own Art galleries surrounding the beautiful Norfolk and Suffolk Broads, one of the UK’s most popular national parks, such as The Southwold Gallery, Mandell’s Gallery and Riverside Art & Glass. This is a beautiful opportunity to take in the beautiful landscape, diverse wildlife and important cultural heritage – and why not stop off at one of the galleries to check out some equally wonderful local artworks, all available on the Own Art scheme.

We can continue this virtual road trip towards the Norfolk coastline and we can drop into a few of our galleries along the way: The Gallery Holt and the Flint Gallery. Thanks to Pinkfoot Gallery, we have the perfect coffee stop and retail therapy recommendation, Artemis Coffeeshop & The Barn at Artemis. Pastonacre is just across the road from the gallery, so we can pick up some delicious sourdough before making our way to the Cley Marshes. The coastline is perfect for a spot of birdwatching, so we can walk the trail by foot to get some beautiful photos!

Now we can start to make our way South towards Bury St Edmunds, where we can tuck into the sourdough we just bought and take a break at Abbey Gardens, an incredibly scenic spot to have lunch. We can drop in at Wildwood Gallery and Hunter Gallery on the way.

A 40-minute car journey away is the beautiful Ely Cathedral, founded as a monastery in 673 by St. Etheldreda, a Saxon Princess from East Anglia. This is the perfect destination for lovers of architecture! So bring your camera and let’s explore its rich history.

It’s time to make a move! Let’s get back in the car and head down to Cambridge, home to the fourth oldest university in the world: the University of Cambridge. It is also home to some wonderful art and craft galleries, such as Cambridge Contemporary Art and Cambridge Contemporary Craft, specialising in handmade prints, paintings, sculptures and crafts.

Whilst we’re in the area, we’d like to also introduce ArtChinaUK, an online gallery with their base in Cambridge that has recently joined the Own Art scheme. Their aim is to introduce established and emerging Chinese artists to a UK audience.

“People can discover stories of China now through our artists and their artworks by reading our blogs, our presence is mainly online but we also participate in exhibitions and art fairs across the UK with a strong focus on the London art scene. Please click here for our present online exhibition with the London Original Art Fair.”

“Our online purchase offers ‘buy and collect’ option too, the Cheery Hinton Park is only a few steps away from our base. Also, people can easily spend a day in the city centre, such as punting on the River Cam, visiting colleges and 10 college museums etc.”

Our final stop-off will be a direct route to Hertfordshire, where we have two galleries on the Own Art scheme. First, let’s take a look in Norton Way Gallery, where we can take a look at the contemporary artwork on display. We can end this part of our #OwnArtOnTheRoad virtual road trip in the Medieval market town of Hitchin, famous for its lavender fields and also home to our final stop off, Arkley Fine Art. Browse their eclectic display of multi-award-winning artists from around the world and let Own Art help you spread the cost with 0% interest.

See you at our next destination!

Our next stop will be North-West England, so get in touch to give us your travel tips!