A close up of a red and blue mosaic sculpture
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Light and Fire: Winter Walking Route

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Light and Fire: Winter Walking Route

Wrap up warm and enjoy a blast of fresh air on a winter wander around the grounds of YSP. Spot sculptures that explore themes of light and fire along the way.

Start your walk at YSP Centre, following our suggested 3km/1.85 mile route, before ending at James Turrell's Deer Shelter Skyspace to take in the sunset. Pick up a map from the Information Desk to help you find your way, or ask one of our friendly staff to point you in the right direction.

The terrain includes gravel and grassy paths with inclines which can get very muddy over the winter months. We recommend dressing for the weather and wearing sturdy footwear. Off-road mobility scooters are available to hire, please call 01924 832631 or email galleryteam@ysp.org.uk to reserve one for your visit, or find out more on our accessibility page.

After exploring the landscape, warm chilly hands with a coffee and cake at The Kitchen Café with stunning views of the Park, or grab a hot drink to go to enjoy while you explore. As the temperature outside starts to drop, enjoy a meal at The Weston, warmed by the light of the fire.

A giant orange hot water bottle with legs.

Erwin Wurm: Big Mutter

Map grid reference: F11

Erwin Wurm's work reimagines everyday objects by giving them human characteristics. In Big Mutter he takes a cosy winter essential - the hot water bottle - and gives it human feet. Standing at the top of the Bothy lawn, the sculpture seems to be looking out and admiring the landscape.

Barbara Hepworth: Square with Two Circles

Map grid reference: G11

Barbara Hepworth was keen for her work to be ‘allowed to breathe’ outdoors. The circular windows in Squares with Two Circles make the landscape and light beyond part of the artwork. Depending on the time of day and year, it casts shadows and reflects sunlight in ever-changing ways.

Marialuisa Tadei, Night and Day, 2009. Courtesy the artist and YSP at Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Marialuisa Tadei: Night and Day

Map grid reference: H11

Marialuisa Tadei is interested in the connections between humanity and the cosmos, nature and the human body. Take a moment to gaze into each side of the two-sided mosaic Night and Day, which uses the colours of dusk and dawn to create a portal into another more ethereal world.

A tall pointed tower, with glass panels. The sun is rising behind it.

Kimsooja: A Needle Woman: Galaxy was a Memory, Earth is a Souvenir

Map grid reference: H9

Kimsooja’s elegant tower creates an impression from all perspectives – particularly when the sun beats down on it. At a distance, it’s a radiant beacon on the landscape, casting a dramatic, pointed shadow. Up close, its surface shimmers like a butterfly’s wing. Closer still, a mirror within transports you both down into the earth and up into the sky.

A metal frame sculpture with a silver ball at the top.

Lucy + Jorge Orta: Gazing Ball

Map grid reference: H8

Gazing Ball was inspired by eighteenth-century follies, which acted as a place for people to pause and take in the views. The Bretton Estate had many follies of its own, although few of them survive to this day. The large mirrored sphere at the top of the work reflects and distorts the lake and surroundings beyond.

A sculpture of a girl's head flanked by trees, overlooking the lake.

Jaume Plensa: Wilsis

Map grid reference: G8

Look out across the lake to view Wilsis. Her eyes are closed and she appears to be deep in thought or dreaming. When seen from this viewpoint, Wilsis appears to be a realistic rendition of a head, yet from the side it is an extremely flattened relief.

David Nash Black Mound 2013 at Yorkshire Sculpture Park

David Nash: Black Mound

Map grid reference: D8

Black Mound was made for the YSP landscape by David Nash in 2013. Fire is an important part of the work, as the oak forms were charred through a carefully controlled burning process to give them their distinctive black colour. Take a moment to look past the work across the lake to see light reflecting off the water.

The view through a square hole in the roof of Skyspace, showing a blue sky with clouds.

James Turrell: Deer Shelter Skyspace

Map grid reference: E9

James Turrell creates a magical, mindful experience out daylight, as Deer Shelter Skyspace harnesses the changing light of the Yorkshire sky. Dawn to sunset, autumn to spring, sunshine to storm – light and shadows constantly shift. This is the perfect place end your winter walk and watch the sunset (at approx. 15.45 from December–January).

Walking route guide:

  1. Head through the Visitor Centre and around the Bothy Garden. Imagine the warmth radiating from Big Mutter by Erwin Wurm.
  2. Continue round the Bothy Garden and through the gap in hedge. Head across the hill and down the hill. Frame the sky through Barbara Hepworth’s Square with Two Circles.
  3. Follow the path down the hill towards the Learning Centre and Café. Once at the café, take the path immediately down the side of the outdoor seating area. Look out for creative bird boxes on your route, head down a zig zag path and pause when you see a colourful octopus.
  4. Head back on the path, under the archway of the trees. Once through the trees, look to your right for the Kimsooja’s strikingly tall sculpture.
  5. Head downhill, joining the path that leads right. Turn left through the gate and left again at the next one. Once on the lakeside path, look out for a metal structure with a super shiny metal ball.
  6. Continue along this lakeside path. Take a pause when you spot a giant head looking out at you from the other side of the lake.
  7. Continue further along this lakeside path. Black Mound is located just before the bridge. Tramper Accessible route: turn left after the boat house, cross the bridge and turn right. Follow this path and through the gate into the Country Park. Continue just past the gate to Dam Head Bridge and follow the upward grassy path to the chapel. (This route can get very muddy and features uphill sections).
  8. Head onto the bridge and across into the Country Park. Follow the path and head up the hill towards Deer Shelter Skyspace (open 10.00–16.00). As you approach a mound with trees, head to the left to locate the entrance.
  9. You’ve completed the Winter Walking Route. Head back to the Visitor Centre and warm up in the café (open 10.00–16.00), browse YSP Shop (open 10.00–17.00) and say ‘hello’ at our Information Desk for more suggestions of where to go and what to see.

More to explore at YSP this winter: