2021 has been the year of the sculpture trail. Nearly twenty charity sculpture trails have taken place on various streets in the United Kingdom this year, and many of them were delayed from 2020. The sculpture trails aim to raise money for charities, and they are always a fun day out to explore new areas and to see creative work by local artists. All of the sculptures are unique, and the designs are often a nod to the local area. Below is a list of some of the sculpture trails that I visited this year and others that I was unable to visit.
Elephant Parade in Southampton: Launched in the middle of March, this sculpture trail is run by Elephant Parade to raise awareness of the plight of the elephant in the environment. It consisted of nearly twenty sculptures dotted in and around West Quay shopping centre.
Derby Ram Trail: The Derby Ram trail made its way to Derby's streets in May for the summer and featured several ram sculptures that have been based on the famous Derby ram sculpture in the city.
Elmer's Big Heart of Kent in Maidstone: The children's book character, an elephant named Elmer, came to Maidstone in Kent in the spring. The sculptures are located around the city and raise charity for local organisations.
Winchester Key Workers Otter Trail: Winchester had several otter sculptures in its shop windows in the spring to raise awareness for key workers. The sculptured were hard to discover and not easy to photograph.
Cows About Cambridge Sculpture Trail: Cambridge is known for its herd of cattle, and these painted cattle raise money for local charity and are fun to locate across the city. They launched in June.
Tusk Lion Trail in London: A pride of lions came to London during the summer months to raise awareness for the endangered lion. The sculptures were designed by celebrities and popular artists and located across London but mainly in west London.
'Hares About Town' at Southend-on-Sea: Over thirty large hare sculptures and several smaller ones were placed around Southend-on-Sea in the height of the summer to raise money for local charities. These were located in various parts of Southend and encouraged a trek around to explore.
GoGo Discover Dinosaurs in Norwich: Twenty T-Rex sculptures were placed in Norwich in the height of the summer. These were meant to be launched in 2020, but it was postponed. These sculptures will be returning next year with additional sculptures for a larger trail. The sculptures highlight the arrival of the dinosaur skeleton of "Dippy" on display in the cathedral.
Worcester's Big Elephant Parade: Another elephant trail featuring thirty elephants went on display in the height of the summer across the centre of Worcester, and this was a pleasant walk around the city with most of the sculptures being accessible easily in a loop walk.
Luton's Big Trunk Elephant Trail: More elephants...this time in Luton. Over thity sculptures are located in the town centre of Luton and in parks outside of the centre.
Hogs of Hampshire in Basingstoke: There were approximately thirty hogs across Basingstoke in the summer months to raise money for local charities.
Gratitude NHS Sculptures in Manchester, Birmingham and London: These human-like figures have been commissioned to raise charity for various NHS charities to benefit those that were on the front line for the pandemic. They were on display in one place for a weekend in London, Manchester, and Birmingham.
Rocket Round Leicester : Fourty rockets have been placed around the city of Leicester with several smaller ones to raise money for a local hospice. The rockets are a nod to Leicester's National Space Centre museum and its study of space through the university programmes. They were placed in the height of the summer.
Walking with the Snowman in Bromley, Swadlincote, Birmingham: I did not visit any of these trails, but the same sculpture designs were displayed in London along the south bank near London Bridge in 2019. The trails each feature twelve snowmen to coincide with the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" with each sculpture decorated with one of the twelve themes in the song.
In addition to the above, the following were some sculpture trails that I did not get to see this year:
Lincoln Imp Trail: Thirty statues of imps are scattered across the city of Lincoln. The imp is one of the statues of the cathedral that is known in the city. I had planned to see them, but I ran out of time.
North Notts Journeys: Nottingham had fourty book benches on display across the city to mark 400 years of the Mayflower, and millions of people can trace their ancestory back to 102 individuals who travelled on the ship. The trail aims to get people back to the high street.
Octopus Ahoy!: Thirty octopus sculptures were located around Essex with one at Liverpool Street Station. These octopuses mark the 400 anniversary of the Mayflower ship and Clacton-on-Sea.
Light the North: Over 45 lighthouse sculptures have been placed around some of the northern Scotland islands: Orkney, Moray, and Shetland.
Eye Art Trail: The town in Suffolk has brought several tortoise and hare sculptures across the area to raise money for charity as the pandemic has caused a decrease in funding.
Kingfisher Trail: This Cotswolds trail brings over twenty sculptures to the area so people can get out to explore.
Bears of Sheffield: The city of Sheffield hosted bear sculptures over the summer to raise money for children's charities.
Gigantic Leap Stockport Frog Trail: In 2019, the city of Stockport hosted a frog trail. It has returned this year with more frogs to raise further charity for local hospice.
Winchester Gingerbread Trail: Several gingerbread sculptures have been placed in shop windows across the city of Winchester for visitors to find.
Leave a comment