Art & Architecture Trail 2009

The Art and Architecture Trail will be open to the public from 10am until 6pm on Saturday 18th and 10am until 5pm on Sunday 19th of September, and consists of easy-walking loops around the central streets of Melbourne. The public streets are all wheelchair-friendly, but some of the buildings, particularly the private homes are not. A special Easy Access Trail will be marked on the Trail Guide for visitors with restricted mobility. The Trail can be started at any point, but you will need a Trail Badge and a Trail Guide to enter the buildings. These can be purchased for £4.50, (under 16's free if accompanied by an adult), at the ticket stalls in the Market Place, Castle Square, the Senior Citizen Centre in Church Street, the Festival Shop at the Leisure Centre and at Thomas Cook Memorial Hall in High Street. The local Army Cadets will once again be selling Trail Badges on the Streets and reminding people that they need a badge to get into the houses and halls – also feel free to ask them for directions.

The Trail Guide consists of a map of Melbourne with Festival sites marked. The Trail Badge is a pass to get into all the houses and halls free of charge. In the main, visiting professional artists are being hosted in rooms made available in private houses, which are not usually open to the public. Most of the houses are of historic significance, architectural information is contained in the Trail Guide, as is the name and speciality of the artists and their contact details. The artists work, which ranges from paintings and photography, to sculpture, textiles, ceramics, jewellery and corsets, is all for sale. In addition to individual professional artists, the Festival is also hosting an Open Exhibition for professional and amateur artists.

The Trail Guide also contains an insert with details of all performances, guided tours, exhibitions, demonstrations, the special Festival church service and other events taking place during the day. Finally, the location of the local pubs and, crucially, toilet facilities are also marked on the Trail Guide.

There is limited parking within the area of the Trail so we would recommend that visitors park on the approach roads such as Ashby Road, Derby Road, Packhorse Road and Station Road or on Castle Lane Industrial Estate beside Melbourne Fire Station in Castle Street.