The Guernsey Museum at Candie is a great place for a visit with kids thanks to the Discovery Room, a dedicated space for children with lots to explore, and it has now opened its doors for 2023. Every January the Time Warp area, within the Discovery Room, has a new theme for the year, and we were lucky enough to be given a sneak peek before it opened, and it’s safe to say, kids are going to love it.
Who fancies a picnic with Renoir?
The theme for this year’s Time Warp is ‘A Picnic with Renoir’. The area has been transformed into a beautiful scene at Moulin Huet with a little cottage and a beautiful backdrop. The first thing my girls rushed too were the easels and drawing supplies and quickly set to working drawing. Jo Dowding (who is one of the team who created the Picnic with Renoir area), told them they could dress up to look like real artists if they liked, and they jumped at the chance. With artists coats and berets they got back to work on their drawings, though Lottie was somewhat distracted by the electric pencil sharpener, I’ve never her so keen to sharpen pencils!
Time to make the picnic
Drawings complete, Tilly and Lottie then explored the little cottage. It is packed full of play food, wooden crockery, utensils, play sink, wood burning stove and there are cupboards and shelves to explore. Being in the cottage called for a change of outfit and they both switched to chefs. My girls are both 9 years old and even though they no longer play with this type of play food at home, they loved preparing sandwiches and serving ice creams to each other. A particular favourite was the old-fashioned metal whisk that they were fascinating by.
Inspiration behind 'A Picnic with Renoir'
In September 1883 the French artist Renoir arrived in Guernsey and stayed for a little over a month. He loved spending time at Moulin Huet and painted about 15 views of the area, including ‘Brouillard à Guernesey’ (Fog in Guernsey), which included the small cottage overlooking the bay. This cottage still stands today and is being renovated by the owners. In the 1800s, a Guernsey woman lived there, and she rented out crockery, cutlery and hot water for picnics.
It is not known if Renoir ever visited the cottage, but we know Victor Hugo spent time there in 1859 and 1870. Hugo’s son wrote about the first visit: ‘Eighteen of us have just been to a picnic at Moulin Huet. The fare was prepared by a French pastry-cook; cold leg of lamb, cold beef… pigeon pie and six bottles of iced champagne’.
At the time of Renoir’s visit, the cottage had 2 rooms inside with a fireplace in the middle heating both rooms. The Guernsey woman lived there with an Irishman, and they grew potatoes in the terraces above (the reason there are toy potatoes in the cottage). There was a storeroom at the end of the cottage where they would have stored potatoes and equipment.
The Guernsey Museum team have put hours into recreating the tiny cottage, with Andre Sangen (museum technical manager) building it from mdf (including the Belfast sink that looks just like the real thing, I couldn’t believe it was made from wood!), and Vicky Grey (museum events manager) using her artistic talents to create the rock effect on the side of the cottage along with lots of other arty extras. The Guernsey Museum team would also like to thank the Le Page family, who own the cottage, for their help with research.
Can we come again?
We had great fun having a look at the new Time Warp area and despite my girls’ request to let them stay in the museum overnight (those that have seen the film Night at the Museum will know what gave them that idea!) they were sad to leave, but we’ll definitely be returning again soon. There is so much to explore for children of all ages with lots of dressing up clothes, all this along with the rest of the Discovery Room, including the Cabinets of Curiosity, kids will be spoilt for choice what to look at first!
Guernsey Museum at Candie is open daily from 10am to 4pm with Café Victoria open 6 days a week (closed on Mondays). Admission is £7 for adults and £2 for children under 18 and students, and under 7-year olds are free. Or opt for a Discovery Card for £22 and receive free entry for a year.
Address: Candie Gardens, Candie Road, St Peter Port, Guernsey , GY1 1UG
Opening Hours: Daily 10am to 4pm
Bus Routes: 41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 81
More Info: CLICK HERE
