Robin's Hut

A couple of years ago, we visited Kielder Water and had a wander to see some of the artwork on the south shore including the lovely Freya's Cabin by Studio Weave. Accessing the artwork on the north shore is another matter however, as there is limited parking there and you'll likely have a long walk if you want to see places like Robin's Hut. The nearest car park to Robin's Hut is at Hawkhope, which is around a 14km round trip, however, if you're into cycling this will probably be no problem.

Robin's Hut and Freya's Cabin are complementary artworks which have been built on opposing sides of the water and are connected by a romantic fable. While Freya's Hut is definitely fancier, both huts act as a shelter and a place to sit for weary walkers. Studio Weave are two London based architects who created both artworks in 2009. The team are fascinated by how structures and ideas can be woven into the landscape and create pieces that explore the narrative of spaces.

The architects have written an entire tale about Freya and Robin which can be found in full on the Visit Kielder website. This section here gives you a flavour of what it's all about:

“Robin lived in a simple wooden hut on the edge of the forest on the north bank. Freya, who loved flowers (and Robin!), lived on the south bank. Freya fell for Robin and showed her affection by making him the gift of an intricate cabin in the image of the woodlands he so loved. Meanwhile, over the water, Robin was building a boat, which Freya thought he was building in order to row over to her and the cabin. But the cabin was on the south bank, so robin couldn't see Freya or the cabin because of the sun in his eyes. He was actually heading off on an adventure.”.

“Once Freya realised that Robin was rowing in the opposite direction she was so upset she cried tears of gold. As she lovingly wrapped the cabin in her gold tears, Robin saw something glinting in the distance, so he rowed across the water towards it. He was moved by the cabin and invited Freya on his adventure with him. They didn't leave very long ago, so they are still away adventuring, but if you can find it, you can see Robin's wooden hut and the golden cabin that Freya made for him, facing each other across the lake, awaiting their return.”.

Both shelters are part of the Kielder Art Trail which is an extensive collection of over twenty contemporary sculptures integrated into the landscape. We've written up a few so far, with more to come and you can find them here: Kielder Art Trail. It might take a few visits to see them all, but it's a good excuse to visit again one day.

Above is Freya's Cabin on the south shore of Kielder Water.