England,Sculpture in the Landscape,UK Country Parks,Walking,Yorkshire & The Humber

Wild Uplands at Penistone Hill Country Park, Haworth, West Yorkshire

posted on : 24/09/2025 posted by : Tilly Jaye Horseman 4 Comments

Wild Uplands is a temporary public art and sculpture trail situated in Penistone Hill Country Park above Haworth in West Yorkshire. There are 4 large scale installations to be discovered across the country park which were created in response to the natural landscape in which they sit. Remaining in situ until 12th October, the sculptures owe their creation to nearby Bradford being the UK City of Culture for 2025. Thus, Wild Uplands at Penistone Hill Country Park is an exciting addition to this upland recreational area and a must if you visit Haworth this year.

Upland view of moorland hills and a zig-zagging valley, with grasses, a line of trees and fields in the foreground, leading to a town nestled in the distant valley, the landscape getting hazier the further away it is. — View towards Keighley from Penistone Hill

Table of Contents

Penistone Hill Country Park

The country park covers an area that used to consist of three old quarries called Penistone, Dimples & West End. As a result, the landscape is rough, uneven, rocky and sandy with dips and hollows, some of which have formed small ponds. There are some areas where piles of stone have been left, hinting at its previous use, but largely the area has been clawed back by nature and is a glorious mix of grasses, heather, bracken, fern and a lot of Rosebay Willowherb.

A small white dog on a lead walks into a moorland landscape with a rough sandy path leading into the distance. There are quarried rocks on the left side and a few low trees, heather and bracken to the right. — Path along the north western side of Penistone Hill

Penistone Hill Country Park is a great place to go for a walk and is very popular with dog walkers, as there is no livestock on the hill and it has easy access from Haworth village and numerous free parking spots around the edges of the country park.

A large stone slab baring the name 'Penistone Hill Country Park' sits in a moorland grassy setting.

The Wild Uplands Sculptures

The four sculptures that currently sit on Penistone Hill are all very different.

‘Tower’ by Steve Messam

I was particularly drawn to the huge 10-metre-tall tower made of different sized blocks, with an archway cut through and covered in sheep’s wool. Its monumental size and position on the very top of the hill with views in all directions adds to its impact.

View of a monumental sculpture constructed from blocks covered in sheep's fleece, with an archway cut out of the middle. The sculpture is high up on an expanse of moorland with a rough path leading to it.

In this work, the artist Steve Messam is referencing the building blocks that came from the quarries on Penistone Hill and their relationship to the building of Bradford. The raw sheep fleece used on the tower came from local sheep breeds and sourced from local farms, the inspiration for which came from the role of sheep in shaping the surrounding landscape and the importance of wool to Bradford’s industrial history.

Close up view of a monumental sculpture constructed from blocks covered in sheep's fleece, with an archway cut out of the middle. The sculpture is high up on an expanse of moorland and is so big you can walk through the middle of it.

A small white dog smells the sheep's fleece that clads a huge sculpture made from large blocks. You can only see part of the sculpture as it is so big. — Bailey was loving the smell of the sheep fleece

‘Muamba Posy’ by Vanessa da Silva

This installation has an enviable position on Penistone Hill, on the eastern side overlooking the fabulous view up the valley towards Keighley and the hills and moors beyond. It’ll be the first sculpture you encounter if you walk up from Haworth.

I initially saw a combination of reproductive organs and plant life when I first saw Muamba Posy, so I was glad to read the accompanying information panel for more insight and to see that my brain was at least partially on the right track.

Three sculptures made from colourful metal bars, curved and shaped to resemble flowers and reproductive organs, sit in a moorland landscape with far reaching views of hills and valleys beyond.

The three sculptures that form this installation draw inspiration from the long distant past when Penistone Hill was a tropical paradise, evoking the oversized plants and wildlife that once thrived here. They also take inspiration from the heather, bilberries, tomentils and damselflies that inhabit the landscape today. “The metallic shades of the sculptures are a nod to the metal-loving plants that thrive in the area’s mineral-rich soil, an often overlooked but important part of life on the hill.”

’99 Butterflies’ by Meherunnisa Asad Studio Lél

This installation was a surprise to come across as you round the crest of the hill that rises behind the previous sculpture (Muamba Posy) to look down on the small pool of water that permanently exists on Penistone Hill Country Park. The butterflies which look like they are created from marble slabs are scattered around the hollow in the ground surrounding the water pool, one of the many results of previous quarrying.

Looking down on a pool of water in a moorland hollow surrounded by heather and bracken. In the foreground are many different sized stone butterfly sculptures, sitting tight against the ground.

As they are low to the ground and in the hollow, this is the one Wild Uplands sculpture that is not visible from a distance. The artwork is intended to explore the experience of displacement, with each of the stone butterflies being a symbol of resilience and renewal.

Close up of pink coloured stone butterfly sculptures in a grassy hollow with a slither of water of a pond in the background.

‘The Children of Smokeless Fire’ by Monira Al Qadiri

This installation is situated on the northern slopes of Penistone Hill Country Park, with a glorious view looking west to Lower Laithe reservoir and the valley beyond.

The series of cut-out figures that make up this installation is a work of mystery and magic which takes its inspiration from the both the local Cottingley Fairies, which were created by two young girls in 1917 who lived in the Cottingley suburb of Bradford; and Djinns, which are supernatural beings from pre-Islamic Arabian and Islamic mythology, believed to be made from smokeless fire with free will. They are capable of both good and evil, and are able to take various forms, including human or animal.

A series of Djinn cut out figure sculptures sit in a moorland landscape, with a reservoir in the distance and hills rising beyond.

By placing the Djinn cutouts into the nature of Penistone Hill Country Park, the artwork is intended to spark the same sense of wonder that the Cottingley Fairies did 100+ years ago.

I had not heard of the Cottingley Fairies, but was intrigued after reading up on them. The two girls created a series of photos with their artistically created fairy paper cutouts as a means of trying to prove the existence of fairies. I found it such an endearing story and was impressed to see that they came to the attention of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who used them in an article he was commissioned to write about fairies. Click here to read more about it.

Earth & Sky

As part of the Wild Uplands project, there is an additional audio experience called Earth & Sky which you can download an app for to listen to as you walk round Penistone Hill Country Park. Earth & Sky uses state of the art geo-location technology so what you hear depends on the steps you take.

I cannot comment on this as my phone was not playing ball with me that day, so could not access this when I tried. It sounds like a great addition to the experience though.

A small white dog stands on a sandy path under a tree arch, leading around a hilly slope in a moorland setting, grasses, heather and pink wild flowers on each side.

Visitor Information for Penistone Hill Country Park

It only takes 10-15 mins to walk up onto Penistone Hill from the centre of Haworth where there are also numerous parking options.

There are several free car park areas all the way around the roads surrounding Penistone Hill. I parked in one on Cemetery Road.

There are no other facilities at Penistone Hill – the nearest public toilets can be found in Haworth’s Central Park and there are many eating options in the village too. I can highly recommend the food at The Old Sun Inn, at the northern end of Haworth Village. Handily, this pub also has its own car park too.

The centre of Haworth village in West Yorkshire, showing the top of the cobbled hill, the Black Bull pub with picturesque telephone box in front. — Haworth Village

You should definitely explore Brontë country while you’re here. As well as the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, you can walk up to Brontë Waterfall and bridge which is a 2.5 mile walk from the centre of Haworth, (I did this while I was here) and then on to Top Withens, 1.25 miles beyond.

Top Withens is a ruined farmhouse with a lone tree high up on the moor which is associated with Emily Bronte’s novel Wuthering Heights. It is believed to have provided inspiration for the creation of the Earnshaw family home in the novel. Sadly, I did not have enough daylight hours to make it to Top Withins on this occasion, but I will next time I visit.

View looking down on a stone slab bridge over a narrow shallow rocky beck. A hilly slope clad in bracken rises steeply beyond and a signpost points two ways along rough sandy paths. — Brontë Bridge

Wild Uplands is on until 12^th October 2025, so there’s still a few weeks left to go see these artworks.

Get in Touch!

Have you visited Penistone Hills Country Park before? Did you go during Wild Uplands and if so, what did you think? Drop me a line in the comments below and let me know what you think. I’d love to hear from you.

If you’ve enjoyed reading this, please subscribe to my blog via email over on my profile page to receive notifications of when new posts go live. You can also sign up to receive my newsletter, or follow me through Bloglovin’. Then head on over to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter to keep up with all my travel related news. Hope to see you there.

Wild Uplands at Penistone Hill Country Park, Haworth, West Yorkshire

Penistone Hill Country Park