London’s calling: are you ready to go on a bear hunt?

The Paddington Trail has been launched to coincide with the new Paddington movie and a host of celebrities, artists and designers have created their own 3ft 6in bear statues which will be dotted around the city’s museums, parks, shops and landmarks.

From now until December 30, visitors will be able to follow in the furry footsteps of the world’s favourite Peruvian explorer visiting locations across the capital from as far west as Heathrow through to the O2 in the east.

All the family will have fun taking in some of London’s key cultural and landmark hotspots such as The Royal Opera House, Museum of London, Horse Guards Parade, the Museum of Childhood and, of course, Paddington Station with the trail ending in Selfridges.

Actor Hugh Bonneville, who stars in the forthcoming Paddington film in cinemas from November 28, said: “Paddington is an explorer – this trail is a wonderful way of bringing this to life and I hope it makes people look at London with fresh eyes. I am delighted to have been asked to design one of the bears and have created an ode to Paddington’s favourite preserve. I can’t wait for people to see it.”

Each of the specially designed bears will be auctioned later in the year to raise money for the NSPCC and Paddington’s charity, Action Medical Research.

Log on to www.visitlondon.co.uk for more information about the trail.