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CAFÉ TALKS
April 21st, 2026
10:00am for 10:15am
Café in the Courtyard

THE PAINTINGS OF LOWTHER with Rory Johnson
All the paintings you see hanging in the café today have been passed under the careful eye of picture conservator, Rory Johnson.
Trained in Fine Art Conservation at Northumbria University, Rory is one of the most distinguished painting conservators in the north with an impressive portfolio of clients including The National Trust, Newcastle University & Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums. This talk will give gripping insights into what it takes to bring a painting back from the brink and will also feature anecdotes about each individual painting – most notably the Hopkins & Havell hunting scene, which was painted by two different artists.
To book your free place, please click here 
CAFÉ TALKS
September 22nd, 2026
10:00am for 10:15am
Sculpture Gallery
In 2019, Jim Lowther began to turn his passion for bees into a business. The Lake District Honey Co. is now an established brand, Jim’s bees foraging on the fells, heather and blossom across the Lowther Estate. Head Beekeeper Josh Frazer, who manages the company, will draw on a decade of his commercial beekeeping experience to share insights into life inside the hive and the craft of producing premium honey. Josh will be joined by his apprentice Ellie Craig, who offers a fresh perspective on learning the art of beekeeping.

CAFÉ TALKS
May 19th, 2026
10:00am for 10:15am
Sculpture Gallery

PENRITH TO KENDAL LANDSCAPE RECOVERY with Lee Schofield

Lee Schofield is the author of Wild Fell: Fighting for Nature on a Lake District Hill Farm, published by Penguin/Transworld. Wild Fell is his account of a decade working for the RSPB at Haweswater in the Lake District National Park, where he oversaw pioneering conservation work across an upland mosaic of woodland, bog, mountain and meadow covering 30km2.

Today Lee is working for Lowther on one of the largest Landscape Recovery Projects in England, the Penrith to Kendal arc. The aim of the project, to create a 150km2 corridor of wildlife-rich land from Penrith to Kendal, will be the subject of this talk.

Booking available soon.

CAFÉ TALKS
June 16th, 2026
10:00am for 10:15am
Sculpture Gallery

ENGLAND’S LAST GOLDEN EAGLE with Bill Kenmir

Bill Kenmir is the Conservation Manager at Cumbria Connect – a collaboration of farmers, landowners and conservationists, of which the Lowther Estate is one – and one of the largest nature recovery programmes in the UK.

Bill will talk about the last Gold Eagle in England which nested in the Haweswater Valley. He will recount his time guarding the nest from egg collectors and, through his personal memories and reflections, explore what the loss of an iconic bird tells us about the changing landscape. Landscape-scale nature restoration is essential, he will argue, if species like the Golden Eagle are to return. A fascinating insight into the natural world around us.