THE landlords of a historic Lake District pub have gone all arty.

The Hare & Hounds, in Bowland Bridge, now boasts a ‘’Corner Gallery’’ in the restaurant to showcase the work of local artists.

The team decided that they wanted give regulars and guests a bit of a talking point, with the added bonus of offering local artists the opportunity to exhibit and sell their work at the same time.

Ben Ashworth, executive chef at the Hare & Hounds, invited Backbarrow animal portrait artist Mandy Allan to be the pub’s first ‘’Corner Gallery’’ exhibiting guest artist.

Mandy a well-known local artist, works mainly in soft pastels and charcoal, and takes her inspiration from her surroundings and rare breeds farm animals; particularly those found in the Lake District countryside.

Mandy on occasion also creates more unusual pieces… one particularly memorable piece was ‘Parker’ a life sized Herdwick sculpture she covered in mirror tiles for the Calvert Trust 2016 charity sculpture trail, which raised an incredible £20,000 at auction.

Ben Ashworth, landlord at the Hare & Hounds, said: ‘‘When we took over the Hare & Hounds in October last year Geoff my business partner and l had a conversation about opening up a section of the restaurant as a gallery space for local artists. That’s when the idea of the ‘‘Corner Gallery’’ was born. We’d like to exhibit more art, so anyone interested in having the opportunity to showcase their work please get in touch on." Visit hareandhoundsbowlandbridge.co.uk.