Blackhill and Consett Park events

Adult gardening programme

Tuesdays, 10.00am to noon in the community garden until 31 October.

New participants are welcome. This is being run in collaboration with our Ways to Wellbeing programme. Find out more about our Ways to Wellbeing community classes.

Old photographs

The foyer in The Lodge has an exhibition area in which Consett and District Heritage Initiative hold ongoing displays featuring old photographs from their archives, covering a wide range of subject matter and places of interest. These can be viewed whenever the building is open.

Lodge open art studio

Wednesdays 1.00pm to 3.00pm. 

Suggested donation of £3.

The open art studio welcomes adults (aged 16 and over) of all abilities and interests who would like to try a range of arts and crafts activities, under the guidance of an experienced professional artist. The sessions are informal and friendly and aim to promote improved wellbeing through creative activity, giving participants the opportunity to learn new skills and socialise together. Materials and refreshments are included.

Places can be pre-booked - Contact us by phone or ask at a member of staff at The Lodge. We also welcome referrals from health practitioners and family members.

Gardening Group

Join us in the Community Garden.

Tuesdays throughout the summer

10.00pm to noon.

Free. Donations welcome.

We are delighted to be resuming the gardening programme for adults in the community garden, which is found behind The Lodge. This programme, which is part of the Community Classes offered by our wellbeing team, with additional funding from The Friends of the Park, is designed to support and improve mental and physical wellbeing through participation in a range of gardening activities. The programme is led by Liz Beech, an experienced outdoor education specialist.

The programme offers the opportunity to learn a variety of organic growing and gardening skills in a weekly series of relaxed and sociable 2-hour group sessions. Refreshments are supplied free of charge.

Participants should wear suitable outdoor clothing and strong shoes or boots. Protective gloves will be available. Please meet in The Lodge at the start of the session to sign in. To pre-book a place in this programme, please phone 03000 262 480 or go to Community classes.

Consett Corona Photo Project - Exhibition

The Bandstand.

Friday 25 and Saturday 26 March.

10.00am to 5.00pm each day.

Consett Corona Photo Project began soon after the first lockdown in late March 2020, with the purpose of documenting the huge community response in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. Local photographers George Ledger, Debbie Todd, Chris Bruce and Steve Webb have photographed hundreds of people in the Consett area carrying out a wide range of essential support and relief activities during the pandemic, often as volunteers. As we approach the second anniversary of the national coronavirus lockdown, this "pop-up" exhibition on the bandstand will contain a selection of the images captured.