Irwell Sculpture Trail

Irwell Sculpture Trail
The Lookout is a sculpture site on the trail
Length	30 mi (48 km)
Location	Northern England, United Kingdom
Trailheads	Salford Quays
Use	Walking
Hiking details
Season	All year

The Irwell Sculpture Trail is the largest public art scheme in England, commissioning regional, national and international artists. The Trail includes 28 art pieces and follows a well established 30-mile (48 km) footpath stretching from Salford Quays through Bury into Rossendale and up to the Pennines above Bacup.

Viewed from above this earthwork is loosely in the shape of a bud and leaf unfurling into a double spiral mound taking the viewer up to a curved brick seating area.

A series of leaf images and patterns are set into the brick path to help people discover the park. The sculpture is an attempt to move between the formal Victorian design of the park seen in the remnants of the formal bedding and local buildings, and the geometric patterns of natural forms discovered on closer inspection i.e. the double helix of the centre of a daisy. The design incorporates many requests arising out of a consultation process e.g. seating, colour and improvement of derelict areas.

Arena (completed 2002) is a public sculpture designed by New York artist Rita McBride. It is made of white Ferro cement and stands over 15 feet (4.6 m) high overlooking Littleton Road playing fields and the River Irwell. It is Salford's first major commission for the Irwell Sculpture Trail.

Arresting Time: Jill Randall has been a resident artist at Magnesium Elektron Limited just off Lumns Lane for over a year during which time she wasw influenced by the industrial process she has experienced. Suspended from the riverbank, the alloy sculpture reflects the mechanisms of the factory behind.

The Lookout was built by Tim Norris and Craig Ormerod in 2003, into the bank of the lake (Clifton Marina) at Clifton Country Park, to allow people access to the water and a quiet place to contemplate and rest. 53°32′08″N 2°20′49″W / 53.53567°N 2.346921°W / 53.53567; -2.346921 (Lookout)