Our first National Wonders trip of 2019 has bought us to Keswick in the stunning Lake District. While this might make you think of poets, great lakes and mountain climbing, did you know that Keswick is also the birthplace of the first ever pencil? Neither did we, but the Derwent Pencil museum is a celebration of all things graphite based and actually makes a fun and affordable family day out.
There’s plenty to see for the pencil aficionado and what's not to love about this most useful everyday item? Never one to shy away from the different or quirkier side of a location, we sent Ben in to explore the museum and have a chat to some of their staff:
There are pencils of all shapes and sizes, including one of the biggest in the world (almost 8 metres!), the Queen's official diamond Jubilee pencil and even tiny pencil sculptures!
You can even geek out on some pencil facts and impress your friends… Did you know that a good sized tree can make around 300,000 pencils?!
If you want to take pencils more seriously then the museum does run regular art workshops and there is even the Derwent fine art store on-site too.
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