A talented Barton woman is ready to see her dream come true as she opens her own gallery at a picturesque marina.

Maxine Pincher managed a gallery for eight years before deciding she wanted to take a leap of faith and run her own business.

Mrs Pincher has walked her dog around Mercia Marina for several years and decided it would be the ideal location for her own gallery.

She said: "I used to love walking my dog along the marina. I just think it's a fabulous site and that it would be an ideal setting for a gallery.

"When I called the marina there were no units available in the boardwalk building but there was a possibility of one being available in the new piazza.

"I just knew 100 per cent that this would work. We had been been looking for somewhere for a while but everywhere was tied up and we would have had to move out of the area.

"This is perfect because it's right on our doorstep. When we secured the unit we were elated. It was fantastic news."

The Bluebird Gallery will be on the ground floor of the new Piazza building, facing the water at the Willington marina.

Maxine has been busy planning the gallery's decor and the art she wants to have on display.

She said: "We are planning to have an extensive portfolio and we will be independent.

"We will have prices to suit all denominations and a range of genres including oil paintings, pencil sketches, glasswork, sculptures, landscape paintings and abstract.

Mercia Marina in
Mercia Marina is under development

"We've got lots of exciting plans for the gallery. I'm busy sorting the technical aspects out, meeting publishers and planning how the gallery will look; there will be lots of clean lines.

"We are planning to hold events where we will have a featured artist in attendance."

What's on offer at Mercia Marina?

Mercia Marina, in Findern Lane, is a popular tourist destination, offering shops, tea rooms, a restaurant and a farm shop to its 800,000 yearly visitors.

The marina has also become a destination for boaters as more than 500 people permanently live at the sites on their boats.

When the site's £3 million Piazza building opens later this year, around 200 jobs will have been created.

Once completed, the building will house a tapas-style Indian café, a hairdressers and three shops as well as Mrs Pincher's art gallery.

Mercia Marina has been given a gold David Bellamy Conservation Award for seven years on the trot.

The gallery is set to open in spring and will be the culmination of a busy two years for Maxine, who met her husband just 18 months ago after selling him some artwork.

She said: "Nigel and I met when I sold him some paintings and we got married in the summer last year.

"Now I'm set to open my own art gallery it's safe to say the last two years have been a bit of a whirlwind."