Thousands flock to meet hospice’s happy huddle

Thousands of penguin-seekers have flocked to take on the great Waddle of Worcester sculpture trail in its first week.

Visitors from all over the UK have spotted the brightly coloured birds on the open-air trail through the city’s streets and public spaces.

Since the trail launched on Monday, July 22, the app has recorded more than 74,000 visits to individual penguins – with around 1000 ‘pen-grin’ selfies uploaded to its gallery.

The trail lasts eight-weeks and features an 80 strong huddle – 41 of which will be auctioned in October to raise funds for St Richard’s Hospice.

A review by Laura Bevis on the trail’s Facebook page said: “My daughter is only one and a half and we had so much fun going around and seeing the penguins. Thanks so much for this amazing activity, we were pleased to donate to a wonderful cause and can’t wait to see the rest.”

While another, left by Mary Phelan, who’d travelled all the way from Ireland specifically for the trail, said: “Absolutely loved my visit from Dublin yesterday.  Ticked off all the amazing penguins over five hours and covered 12.5km on the trail. Huge well done to everyone involved.”

Sara Matthews, Business Development Manager for St Richard’s Hospice, said: “It’s wonderful to see so many people out waddling with us, trail maps and apps in hand.

“We’re grateful to our friends at Blue Print Direct Mail for sponsoring the trail maps and also helping us deliver some really fantastic sticker books so little ones can match a sticker to each sculpture as they wander the trail.”

Trail maps are available from Worcester Tourist Information Centre, St Richard’s Hospice shops and the trail’s pop-up shop at 14 Chapel Walk, Crowngate Shopping Centre. Sticker books, official merchandise and penguin-themed goodies lovingly handcrafted by hospice supporters, are also available at the trail’s pop-up shop.

The app, sponsored by Kimal, costs £1.99 and is available for download from the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Anthony Drew, Managing Director of Blue Print Direct Mail, said: “The great Waddle of Worcester is bringing so much joy to the city, we’re delighted to be supporting St Richard’s Hospice in providing maps to trail goers.

“Our team love helping bring unusual projects to life so penguin sticker books have been great fun for us as a local Worcestershire-based supplier.”

The great Waddle of Worcester runs until Sunday 15 September. Once the trail has ended, there will be a final chance to see all 80 sculptures together at farewell events at Worcestershire County Cricket Club on Friday 4 October – Sunday 6 October and again from Friday 11 October – Sunday 13 October 2024.

Tickets for farewell events are on sale at: https://waddleofworcester.co.uk/events/farewell/. The large penguins, and one special small one, will be auctioned to raise funds for St Richard’s later in October.

The great Waddle of Worcester is supported by Presenting Partners; Crowngate, DRPG, Worcester City Council and Worcestershire Ambassadors, Community and Education Partner; Worcester BID and Media Partners; the Worcester News and BBC Hereford & Worcester.

You can follow the great Waddle of Worcester at: https://www.facebook.com/WaddleOfWorcester/, https://twitter.com/WaddleOfWorc and https://www.Instagram.com/WaddleOfWorcester