Giant swans go to auction

The colourful swan sculptures will go on display one last final time at the Buckingham Old Gaol Museum, from Monday 23rd October until Friday 3rd November. During this time, the public are invited to visit the Old Gaol to view them and make their best bid.

The Swan Trail project featured ten selfie sized swan sculptures all individually painted by school children and artists and sponsored by local businesses and Buckinghamshire Council’s Buckingham & Community Board.

The swans were dotted around the town’s landmarks, parks and streets forming a fun, family-friendly town trail. As well as making art accessible to all, the trail provided residents and visitors with a free activity to enjoy all summer long.

The trail encouraged people to enjoy exploring the town in a different way and the iconic art brightened up everyone’s visits. It also helped to increase footfall to our high street. The popular trail saw more than five thousand people take part and over 10,000,000 steps taken by explorers.

The trail was a fantastic success, feedback from explorers and hosts has been truly wonderful and there have been some great suggestions for future events. But now it is time for these incredible works of art to go up for sale at auction to help raise funds for the Mayor’s Charities and a future similar project.

The swans are now a part of the history of Buckingham, so it is a once in a lifetime chance to buy a piece of iconic art. The auction will be promoted online using social media @buckinghamtc and take place via the Buckingham Town Council website or in person at the Tourist Information Centre.

The Swan Trail auction event is kindly sponsored by Buckingham Old Gaol Museum. We would also like to say a big thank you to everybody who helped make this community event happen, including all the school children and artists who decorated the sculptures and the sponsors who helped fund the project. And of course, all the wonderful swan spotters!

The following artists and sponsors took part: Jill Blakey Art, Zen Seeta Doodles Artist, Ashley King Illustration, Little Magpie Art, Buckingham Primary School, Padbury CE School, George Grenville Academy, Lace Hill Academy and Beachborough Art Club, Buckingham Ford, Thrive Chiropractic Healthcare Clinic, Heritage & Sons, The Grand Junction, Buckingham Chantry Chapel, Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity, The Buckingham Society, Gilroy Steel Solicitors, Beachborough School and the Community Board.

If you would like to find out more about the auction or one of the swans, please visit: www.buckingham-tc.gov.uk/swan-trail-auction/ .