Upfront Arts Venue
Upfront is a rural arts venue near Penrith combining the new Upfront Puppet Museum, dedicated puppet theatre, changing art exhibitions, vegetarian café, live music, events and distinctive holiday accommodation.
About Upfront Arts Venue
Upfront Arts Venue is a distinctive independent arts destination at Unthank near Hutton-in-the-Forest, around ten minutes from Penrith. Established in 1997, it occupies converted historic farm buildings alongside a purpose-built puppet theatre.The venue now includes Upfront Puppet Museum, which officially opened in August 2026 and gives a permanent home to puppets from around the world and collections linked to British puppetry history. A lift provides access to the museum.Upfront is also home to a dedicated puppet theatre with regular productions, an art gallery with changing exhibitions, a licensed vegetarian restaurant and coffee shop, gift shop, live-music programme and event space. Self-catering holiday accommodation is available on site.The main venue normally opens Wednesday to Sunday from 10am to 4.30pm and closes on Mondays and Tuesdays.
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Performance times and event access vary, so check the current programme before travelling specifically for a show.Accessibility includes level access to the main downstairs areas, an accessible entrance, accessible toilet, baby-changing facilities, wheelchair spaces in the theatre and a lift serving the building. Parking is available directly outside the main entrance.Upfront works particularly well as a wet-weather stop or a slower cultural half-day around Penrith and the Eden Valley because visitors can combine the museum, exhibition and café in one location.
Our local note
A genuinely unusual Eden Valley arts stop. The new puppet museum adds another reason to visit, while the theatre, changing gallery exhibitions and vegetarian café make Upfront much more than a single-purpose venue.
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