A new exhibition opening at Somerset Rural Life Museum this autumn offers a new appraisal of the work and life of Exmoor writer and artist Hope Bourne. Open from 27 September 2025 to 10 January 2026, A Life Outside: Hope Bourne on Exmoor, is created in partnership with The Exmoor Society, which cares for The Hope L. Bourne Collection.
Image: Hope Bourne - A Life Outside at Somerset Rural Life Museum
This exhibition considers Bourne’s status as one of the West Country’s most significant nature writers, whose work and way of life are especially prescient in this time of advancing environmental crisis. It draws on new research by writer and Guardian Country Diarist Sara Hudston, whose book A Life Outside: Hope Bourne on Exmoor will be published next year. Sara is co-curating the exhibition with Kate Best, for the South West Heritage Trust.
Hope Bourne (1918–2010) was a writer and artist who spent almost sixty years recording the landscape, wildlife, history and changing rural traditions of Exmoor. Fiercely creative and resolutely independent, she led a self-reliant life that gave her the freedom to write, draw and paint.
For nearly forty years, Bourne occupied a series of dilapidated cottages and caravans on the Somerset side of Exmoor, living off the land as much as possible. Writing provided a small and precarious income, and she exchanged drawings and watercolours for meals with friends.
Bourne was a prolific creator. She made thousands of drawings and paintings, wrote and illustrated books, authored pamphlets and newspaper columns, as well as keeping a daily journal. She bequeathed her entire estate to the Exmoor Society, of which she was a founder member.
Lisa Eden from The Exmoor Society said: “The Hope L. Bourne Collection consists of over 700 books and pamphlets, more than 2,000 sketches and drawings, published and unpublished manuscripts, a mass of cuttings and jottings, photographs and other personal belongings.
“This vast and fascinating collection offers a window on the life of this remarkable woman and is an irreplaceable record of a place in time.”
Amongst the objects on loan for the exhibition are Bourne’s paraffin lamp, her Roberts radio, compass, binoculars and Swiss Army knife. There are displays of the detailed landscape sketches she made, sometimes on the backs of envelopes and cereal packets – testament to her frugal way of life. Her personal journals and published works also feature.
Co-curator Sara Hudston said: “Hope Bourne was one of the 20th century’s greatest nature writers, whose work has been unjustly overlooked in recent years. Her ecological awareness, rejection of materialism, and close relationship with the natural world are of increasing relevance.”
Head of Museums and Engagement at the South West Heritage Trust Estelle Gilbert said: “We are delighted to be hosting the first museum exhibition of Hope Bourne’s work. Her writing and artworks offer an unsurpassed insight into life on Exmoor in the second half of the 20th century. Only now is Hope Bourne beginning to receive the recognition she deserves.”
To further explore Hope Bourne’s legacy and connection with the Exmoor landscape, a series of events are taking place. These include a guided walk on Exmoor and a talk about the Hope Bourne archive with Lisa Eden from The Exmoor Society. Writer and co-curator Sara Hudston will be hosting a nature writing workshop and an ‘In Conversation’ evening exploring Women Outside with journalist and author Meg Clothier.
Somerset Rural Life Museum, Glastonbury is open Tuesday – Saturday 10.00 am – 5.00 pm. For more information, visit SRLM.ORG.UK.
Events
- A Walk around Withypool with Lisa Eden from The Exmoor Society, 4 Oct
- October half term family activities, 27-31 Oct
- Talk and Tea: The Hope Bourne Archive with Lisa Eden from The Exmoor Society, 7 Nov
- Nature Writing Workshop with writer and Guardian Country Diarist Sara Hudston, 14 Nov
- Women Outside: Writer and Guardian Country Diarist Sara Hudston and author Meg Clothier discuss Hope Bourne and nature writing, 20 Nov
Booking required for all events (except half term.)
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