IT’S the Lake District – but not as you’ve seen it before. Because England’s most famous landscape, beloved of artists for centuries, is being recreated not in oils or watercolours, but in LEGO® bricks.

A giant scale model of the hills and lakes, built using more than 200,000 bricks, is on display at Derby’s Museum of Making – and it’s still growing because artist Jon Tordoff can’t see the end in sight yet.

He’ll be at the museum this Friday and Saturday, February 23 and 24, adding yet more bricks to the artwork, which currently represents 47 square miles of the Lake District, including a host of landmark sites.

The 12.3 square metre model already includes Crummock Water, Ennerdale, Honister, Borrowdale and Derwentwater, with each LEGO® brick representing 10m of real life landscape.  Eventually, it might need half a million bricks.

It was during the first COVID lockdown that Jon became inspired by his lifelong interest in LEGO® and his love of the Lake District, and began creating landscapes out of bricks in his Derbyshire home. He hasn’t stopped since.

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“I’ve always loved the Lake District,” he explains. “And during COVID I wanted to explore whether it was possible to build a scale model of a landscape that needs to flow out of something that is mainly blocks and squares.

“I worked out that the smallest plate is 3.2mm high, and using that, calculated that each plate scaled up would be 10m in height with each brick scaling up to 30m high!

“From there, I used Ordnance Survey maps and Google Earth to survey the landscape, and used that information to build my model. I’m looking forward to adding to it during its run at the Museum of Making.”

The exhibition, which is not officially endorsed or supported by The LEGO® Group runs at the Museum of Making until April 14, by which time the model promises to be even more spectacular.

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And for young – and young-at-heart – visitors, there’s an added bonus. Museum staff have also hidden all manner of LEGO® mini figures throughout the building, and you can pick up a trail guide to tick them all off.

It comes as the family-friendly museum has been named as one of just three UK attractions shortlisted for the European Museum of the Year Award 2024. The EMYAs are like the Oscars of the museum world.

In all, 50 museums across Europe have made the shortlist The other two UK sites in the running are The Burrell Collection in Glasgow, and the Museum of the Home in London, with the result to be announced in May.

If successful, it would be just the latest award bestowed upon the £18 million Derby attraction, which celebrates 300 years of innovation in and around Derby, and stands on the banks of the River Derwent, at the site of the world’s first factory.

For more on the museum and its award shortlisting see the Museum of Making website. For tourism advice and information about Derby and its attractions, see the Visit Derby site.

Images of the LEGO® Lake District model and museum courtesy Derby Museums/Oliver Taylor and Jon Tordoff.