I go to the museum if it rains when I am up and the special exhibitions are usually a treat. The winter ones are often quite low key and locally based. I think they are sometimes put together by volunteers, but still interesting.
But the show they have on at the moment (Dec - Apr 2012) is lovely. It is about a Lake District artist who disappeared into obscurity, but they have unearthed a lot of his work and put on this show.
It's fascinating! The pictures show you what the Lake District looked like in the 1700s and the story of the family that commissioned the pictures reads like a soap opera - rich young, beautiful heiresses, greedy older trustees, elopements and intrigue.
I visited on Tuesday and Dove Cottage was closed for an event, but that meant I got a cheap ticket, so I really can't complain.
