The Kitchen
We offer a relaxed, cosy setting where you can enjoy both home-grown and local produce that celebrates the seasons, with fresh, authentic ingredients sourced directly on-site.
Our Kitchen Gardeners work hand-in-hand with our chefs to create menus bursting with simple British garden food. We also have an array of delicious homemade cakes, a wide selection of teas and coffees and exquisite wines, local beers and ciders.
We look forward to welcoming you.
A taste of what’s on offer
Our menus are inspired by ingredients from our very own kitchen garden and other locally sourced, fresh produce. These change frequently, depending on what’s in season and what’s available.
As well as our freshly prepared dishes, we also offer a range of delicious homemade cakes, a wide selection of teas and coffees and exquisite wines, local beers and ciders.
Afternoon Tea
Enjoy delightfully fluffy and flavourful pastries, generously filled sandwiches, and creamy cakes all served on the masterfully crafted afternoon tea stand, handmade by Simon Gudgeon.
Fill up after a long walk around our botanic gardens, be sure to pre-order your afternoon tea before visiting Sculpture by the Lakes. Available to pre-order with 48 hours notice. Or purchase a voucher to gift to someone special.
Picnic in the Park
If you are hiring one of our exclusive hire venues why not make your day even more relaxing with a home-made picnic from our Kitchen – delicious food and there’s no washing up to do afterwards!
The Kitchen Garden
Expanding on the existing family vegetable plot at Sculpture by the Lakes, the quarter-acre Kitchen Garden was created in the autumn of 2017 with the purpose of growing all-year-round seasonal fruits, vegetables and herbs for The Makers Yard Kitchen. There are ten main vegetable beds, plus the three salad beds and the Keder Greenhouse where we grow salads throughout the winter and tomatoes, peppers and chillies through the summer months. There are also various beds around the side and back of the Keder and Potting Shed which are planted with a variety of fruit trees and shrubs, along with a herb garden, brassica cage, propagation greenhouse and several cold frames.
Looking after the land
The kitchen garden uses the No Dig approach to vegetable gardening, which means the beds are left un-dug allowing the beneficial micro-organisms to live in the soil undisturbed. Not only does the No Dig method save time, but it helps support the natural biodiversity of the soil allowing it to be conditioned without disturbing these all-important living organisms.
The Kitchen Garden supplies as much produce to The Makers Yard Kitchen as it can and very much determines what is on the menu. Working closely with the chef, the dishes are created using fresh ingredients inspired by the harvest and offer delicious food throughout the year.
We uphold organic principles of vegetable gardening but due to our small size and limited resources available, we are not able to be certified organic.
The Store
Hundreds of wonderful hand-crafted items await you in the The Makers Yard Store. With eye-catching displays of work from more than 80 artists and makers from across Dorset, it’s a feast for the senses that brings the best of the county’s creative talents together in one space.
This array of art and craftsmanship offers variety, originality and quality across a wide range of mediums and techniques, from glasswork to pottery, painting to textiles, wood carving to weaving, leatherwork to jewellery making. The Store is the perfect place to shop local and pick up something special for yourself, or a unique gift for a loved one.
Please be aware the Makers Yard Store only accepts card payments.
What’s in store…
Expect to see handmade jewellery, handbound notebooks, prints and paintings, colourful mugs, ceramics, homeware, luxury bath treats, textiles, leather hats, ironmonger-crafted tools, and much more.
There is something to delight everyone in our treasure trove of incredible artworks and artisan creations.
Please be aware the Makers Yard Store only accepts card payments.Â
Make a day of it
Why not combine your visit with a relaxing walk around The Sculpture Park.
Enjoy meandering walks around our stunning lakes, woodland and gardens, whilst discovering sculpture nestled within the landscape along the way.
Our partners
Here are just a few of our fantastic stockist you can find in The Store
The Rhubarb Candle Co
Rachel Reilly Jewellery
Anna Stiles Ceramics
Gold Leaf Gardening Glover
Niwaki Tools
Robin Moorcroft Jewellery & Cards
Caroline Barns Ceramic Coasters & Cards
Bee Bombs
Great British Bee co.
Jane Tricker
Marnhull Leathercraft
Merino Skin Products
Nikki Squires Textiles
Bee Wraps
Liberty Fields
Dorset Sea Salt
Jessamy Keily Cards & Prints
Liz Tyler Jewellery
A Cut Above Wooden Chopping Boards
Weasel Craft Ironwork
The Pantry
The Makers Yard Pantry sources the majority of its fantastic food and drink from local artisan and independent producers from across Dorset.
We stock a wide range of cheeses, charcuterie and award-winning breads plus delicious sandwiches and salads to build your own perfect picnic that can be eaten whilst wandering around the Sculpture Park. We also have a wide range of take away hot and cold drinks and scrumptious snacks such as and fresh pastries from Winfrith Bakery.
Please note the Makers Yard Pantry only accepts card payments.Â
What’s in store…
At The Makers Yard Pantry we strive to provide the highest-quality artisan foods, from handmade chocolates, to speciality coffees, to high-quality ingredients.
Along with our delicious take away coffee we are very proud of our fantastic wine selection so there is something for all tastes. We look forward to welcoming you for just a coffee or to help you choose that perfect gourmet gift.
We’re always looking to work with local makers and creators. If you’d like us to be a stockist of your product, please get in touch.
Please note the Makers Yard Pantry only accepts card payments.Â
Picnic in the Park
If you are hiring one of our exclusive hire venues why not make your day even more relaxing with a home-made picnic from our Kitchen – delicious food and there’s no washing up to do afterwards!
The Gallery
We represent an outstanding collection of international artists exhibiting sculpture, paintings and handmade prints in one of the largest exhibition spaces in Dorset. All works are carefully chosen so we can offer the best possible pieces by exceptional artists.
We change our exhibition every four to six weeks, so there is always something new to experience within the gallery. To support our exhibition programme we organise regular talks, workshops, and artist demonstrations.
The Gallery is positioned within The Makers Yard near the entrance to The Sculpture Park. Entry to The Gallery is free.
Current Exhibition
FORM – The Sculpture Show
April 2nd – June 1st 2024
Our award-winning sculpture show opens on April 2, 2024 with works by more than 35 leading contemporary sculptors on exhibition throughout our 26-acres of lakes, rivers, gardens, and woodlands as well as in the Gallery and The Retreat. Monumental works will be dsplayed in the park with more intimate pieces exhibited in the courtyard and gallery.
We are very excited to show for the first time a monumental new work by Nicola Godden, a 5 metre ‘Icarus’ that you’ll be able to walk underneath.   We are also delighted to be showing four new pieces by Simon Gudgeon including his first ‘sound’ sculpture.  FORM continues to grow and evolve, and we are pleased to be able to introduce some extraordinary pieces by new artists.
Get in touch
Opening hours
Tuesday – Saturday | 10am – 5pm
Sculpture by the Lakes, Pallington Lakes, Dorchester DT2 8QU