May 2018 has seen an extraordinary group of residents fly in to Ironbridge to take up perch. This World Heritage landscape in Shropshire has become a little more colourful with the arrival of the Let’s Go Quackers sculpture trail – a flock of 10 oversized ducks sporting vibrant and jazzy plumage. Guaranteed to bring a smile to your face, this project adds even more fun to any visit to Ironbridge and aims to raise significant funds for two local charities: the Severn Hospice and the Jayne Sargent Foundation.

If you aren’t aware of these kinds of projects, late spring sees temporary public art sculpture trails popping up all over the UK. They continue through the summer to take advantage of long daylight hours and into the autumn, with the aims of attracting visitors to an area, increasing awareness of widespread issues and raising money for local charities.

I am a huge fan of these types of sculpture trails having discovered many over the years from the ‘Go Herdwick’ sheep in the Lake District to the ‘Herd of Sheffield’ elephants.  Let’s Go Quackers is my first sculpture trail of 2018 and my first thoughts were: Wow: these ducks bare an uncanny resemblance to the traditional yellow children’s bath toy! What do you think?

Beautifully decorated, each of the 10 ducks has been placed in a roadside or footpath location extending along a 3 mile route of the Ironbridge gorge. Starting at Dale End Park, the trail winds through the centre of Ironbridge, past the iconic bridge to Lloyds Head and back along the Severn Way to the opposite side of the bridge. You can pick up a trail leaflet marking each duck’s details and location from the cafe by Dale End Park.

Now, I’d never been to Ironbridge before so I had no idea what to expect of the area. I knew of the existence of all the different museums and sites that make up the World Heritage landscape, but I hadn’t expected them to be so spread out along the gorge and surrounding area. I also hadn’t realised the area would be so green despite it being a gorge. I thought I would have seen much more of an industrial landscape being the birthplace of the industrial revolution so I was delighted by how beautiful the trail turned out to be and as I walked along the river I was constantly accompanied by birdsong.

Several of the ducks are positioned by key World Heritage attractions such as the Museum of the Gorge. As a result I’m sure the attractions and nearby businesses receive increased footfall and additional trade, one of the many aims of the sculpture trail. This has certainly proved to be the case at all other sculpture trails in the past. It’s just a shame that the iconic iron bridge itself (in the care of English Heritage) is currently undergoing a massive restoration programme and is completely encased in scaffolding. Unfortunately it will remain this way for the duration of the trail, so if you visit please be aware of this and don’t be too disappointed. It does however pave the way for a return trip and you can still walk across the bridge.

 

So, Let’s Meet the Ducks on the Trail

1. Natural Bee-uty

Assuming there’s space, park up in Dale End car park. The first duck Natural Bee-uty is positioned just inside the park entrance nearest the access from the main road. Designed by Ria Davies and painted by artist Alicia Hollis, this duck is dressed in beautiful spring flowers and features the creatures that are attracted to them such as bees and butterflies.

It seems fitting she is placed in a park and no less in front of a cherry blossom which as you can see was out in full glory during my visit.

Take a wander through the park to the river and head along the gorge path to the east where you’ll come to the antiques, arts and crafts centre. The tearoom inside here is where you can pick up your trail map so make sure you pop in.

Rather than taking the river path at this point, make your way through the car parks beyond to the co-op where you’ll find duck no.2. You might miss him if you continue along the river.

 

2. Mr Darby

Situated just inside the entrance to the co-op car park, Mr Darby could not get more ‘Ironbridge’ as the main feature of his plumage is the one and only bridge itself. He is named after Abraham Darby, the famous ironmaster who ran the blast furnace at Coalbrookdale (just up the road) in the 1700’s. He was the first person to smelt iron using coke instead of charcoal, a fact that is considered one of the most important technological breakthroughs in history, paving the way for the industrial revolution.

Designed by Traci Moss, the sculpture also alludes to how green the setting of the gorge is too, something you’ll remember I was particularly struck by on arriving in Ironbridge.

Make your way across the car park and pick up the riverside path till you reach the Museum of the Gorge. Here the tree-lined path comes to an end at a mooring area where you’ll see old rail lines leading from the museum building down to and along the water’s edge. Here you’ll catch a glimpse of the cloaked iron bridge in the distance.

As you round the edge of the building, No.3 pops into view.

 

3. Dr. Duck

This yellow bath toy sports a fun doctor’s uniform and has taken up perch in an enviable roadside position against the fabulous backdrop of the Museum of the Gorge. Like any good duck doctor, he highlights the danger to a duck’s health on feeding them bread through a friendly warning message on his plinth accompanied by healthy feeding tips and the reasons why bread isn’t good for ducks.

This is a widespread issue that I see highlighted all over the country in places where you have the ability to feed large flocks of ducks or geese. Signs are frequently put up warning you not to feed bread to the bird life. The importance of this issue is possibly why the Let’s Go Quackers team has positioned Dr Duck in a place where you cannot miss him as you walk or drive through the gorge.

Dr Duck is designed by James Harwood from Charlton School and painted by artist Nicky Meechan and he really is fabulous!

If you have time, pop into the Museum which is one of the ten museums in the Ironbridge Gorge Museums Trust that make up the World Heritage site. You’ll learn all about the history of the gorge and the surrounding area of Coalbrookdale through a fascinating short film and there’s an amazing 12 metre long model of the gorge to check out too. Entry price is £4.50 for adults or is included in the Ironbridge annual passport which you can buy online in advance for £25.15 and gives you entry to all 10 Ironbridge attractions for a year. (Prices correct at time of writing)

From the museum, continue walking along the road where you’ll pass a mixture of buildings from private residences with gardens built into the hillside, old industrial remains, converted warehouses and a variety of pubs, coffee shops and gift shops, the number of these increasing as you approach the centre of Ironbridge.

The odd glimpses of the river soon give way to more open views of the gorge as you reach the centre of town and eventually you’ll get THAT view of the bridge. I can’t wait to return when the work has been finished to see the bridge in all its glory.

 

4. Coalbrookdrake

At the entrance to the iron bridge, you can’t miss the fourth duck: Coalbrookdrake.

I love the clever pun on this name, mixing the name of the area with the name for a male duck and the design is equally clever at bringing together all sorts of elements of the iron industry: the typical boot design of industry workers hanging from the gates to the blast furnace site of ‘Coalbrookdrake’ along with the cogs and wheels associated with the industrial revolution and the pattern of sheet metal being held together with rivets. Plus I just adore the use of fiery colours to hint at iron being smelted. Hats off to designer Donna Newman who has done a quacktastic job (sorry, couldn’t resist) at portraying the rich history and industry of Ironbridge.

Continuing on along the road, keep right at the roundabout and the next duck on the trail can be found outside Bedlam Furnaces, the remains of a purpose built coke-fired blast furnace.

 

5.  Peace Duck

You cannot miss the Peace Duck as he is a bright rainbow of multi-coloured swirling patterns amidst a backdrop of dark brick and green vegetation. Sporting messages of peace and love in his plumage and the colours and images of the flower-power hippie movement of the 1960’s, the Peace Duck is truly hypnotic and I’d still consider him to be so even if his chest didn’t feature the eye-watering pattern associated with hypnotism that you often see used in animated films.

Designed by Amber Whitaker from Charlton School and painted by artist Jenny Leonard, the Peace Duck is an assault on the senses and would definitely brighten up the dullest of days.

Not far beyond Bedlam Furnaces, you’ll come to Jackfield Bridge which you cross to continue on the trail. Take time to admire this feat of engineering which uses an asymmetric cable stay design with a single A-pylon.

When it was commissioned in the early 1990’s to replace the previous bridge that had decayed and was eventually demolished, an innovative design was required to match the cutting-edge iron bridge that had won the area its place in UNESCO history. However it also had to meet the challenges of the gorge environment and the demands of heavy tourism traffic. 25 years on and the bridge is still going strong and it certainly holds its own when it comes to Ironbridge attractions… after all – I’ve featured it here haven’t I? So I’d say the planners succeeded.

 

6. Once Upon a Fairytale

Look left after you cross the bridge and you’ll spot a golden delight.

Designed and painted by artist Lois Cordelia, Once Upon a Fairytale is sprayed gold with a black collage of fantastical creatures. There’s some obvious fairytale characters portrayed here such as Cinderella’s coach, but the design has me thinking more of steampunk with the image of the kraken (the adopted steampunk symbol), the Victorian style of dress, the images of feathers, locks and keys as well as steam powered vehicles and early bicycles. The female silhouette is the epitome of steampunk with her goggle adorned top hat. All of these images are typically used by the steampunk genre which of course goes cap in hand with period of the industrial revolution and the Victorian era.

Once Upon a Fairytale stands next to a section of the original Jackfield bridge which has been left to mark the site of the first ‘free’ bridge to span the gorge (the iron bridge was originally a toll bridge.) A plaque on the structure gives details about the old and new bridges and indicates on a diagram which bit of the bridge the remains are from.

Take the left turn after crossing the bridge onto Lloyds Head and continue till you pass the Black Swan pub. Here the road turns sharply to the right to cross the path of an old railway line, now the footpath of the Seven Way. Railway sleepers are still visible here, as is duck no.7.

 

7. Mawster Peaquack

Designed by Hazel McNab and painted by artist Jackie Coyle, Mawster Peaquack (another fabulously punerific name) is a combination of duck and peacock and sports a vibrant peacock plumage.

The design resembles the techniques used in stained glass and ceramic decoration of outline and block colour fillings. The gold outline and bold colours remind me in particular of the Royal Crown Derby paperweight ceramics.

This link to ceramic design can’t be a coincidence as this area of the Ironbridge gorge was once at the centre of the British decorative tile industry. Just up the road is the Jackfield Tile Museum, another of the 10 Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage museums.

By positioning Mawster Peaquack at Lloyds Head, the Let’s Go Quackers team showers attention on this industry, not to mention some of the pitfalls associated with it. An information board situated near the duck tell you all about the problems with landslides on this bank of the river due to historical deposits of tile waste and detail how these problems were thwarted to stop further erosion and avoid blockages in the river. This is not something I would have known anything about if I hadn’t have been following the Let’s Go Quackers trail. It just goes to show how educational these projects can be.

The trail now continues back towards the iron bridge along the Severn Way and this is where you’ll find the next two ducks.

 

8. C-Ellie-Brate

Designed by Ellie Perks from Abraham Darby Academy and painted by artist Traci Moss, C-Ellie-Brate features a joyous collage of celebratory imagery from balloons (by the hundred) and banners to cake and confetti. A riot of colour, she stands for all there is to celebrate about these sculpture trails.

I saw so many children running towards and hugging the ducks once they’d spotted them whilst breaking out in laughter and this really demonstrates the joy these sculptures bring to a family day out. That’s definitely something to celebrate in my book!

 

9. Paddlington Duck

Further along the Severn Way, you may recognise the outfit of duck no.9 as that belonging to the much loved Paddington Bear. Designer Laura Palczynski has given Paddlington (love this pun) his very own hat and he looks super smart in his red coat complete with marmalade sandwich.

Painted by artist Betti Moretti, the message painted on his tag ‘Please look after this duck, thank you’ referencing the adorable Paddington bear stories, is a touch bittersweet now as unfortunately several of the ducks have been intentionally damaged since they took to their perches in early May. This became apparent when I got to the site of the last duck on the trail.

The path of the Severn Way eventually ends in a car park and you’ll find Lady Victoria at the far end next to the iron bridge entrance. Make sure you stop to admire the best view of Ironbridge on the way.

 

10. Lady Victoria

Designed and painted by artist Megan Evans, unfortunately I didn’t get to see Lady Victoria as she was sadly vandalised on the very first night that the ducks flew in to roost. As a result she had to be removed for repair to the duck hospital. Following her progress on social media, the damages garnered much support and I’m pleased to say she is now back on her perch.

Unfortunately the Peace Duck was stolen from his perch a few weeks later and was found downstream having been thrown into the river. He is now undergoing repair at duck hospital and hopefully he’ll make it back out onto the trail soon. It’s such a crying shame that there are individuals out there who are destroying the experience for other people and ultimately denying the charities significant funds as these ducks are to be auctioned off at the end of the trail to raise money.

I’m gutted not to have seen Lady Victoria but have loved exploring the Let’s Go Quackers trail.

It’s time now to walk across the bridge, though pop into the toll house before you do – it serves as the town’s tourist information centre and there’s also a small museum about the history of the bridge. If you’re here before 3.30pm, you’re able to walk across on the lower path (though this is one way from the other side) and here you can access a series of information panels and displays about the restoration project.  Otherwise walk across the top, admire the view up the gorge and then find yourself a pub or tearoom on the other side. You’ve earned yourself a drink!

I can highly recommend The Tea Emporium which as the name suggests serves a huge variety of loose leaf teas, ideal for big tea drinkers like me. You can even buy some of your favourites to take home too.

There is so much more to see in Ironbridge than is accessed on the Let’s Go Quackers Trail, but it’s definitely succeeded in introducing me to the gorge and highlighting the history of the area in a fun and interactive way. I can’t wait to return to Ironbridge to explore the rest of the World Heritage museums and historic sites. As I walked back to my car at the beginning of the trail, I was plotting my return visit in my head.

Let’s Go Quackers is on till the 8^th July 2018 in Ironbridge, when the ducks will fly off to take up their second perch in Southwater, Telford from the 14^th July.

So, here’s the most important question now! Which duck is your favourite? Let me know in the comments below.

If like me you’re a fan of sculpture trails then check out my trips to see the Herd of Sheffield elephants and the Go Herdwick sheep in Keswick and Grasmere, then in Windermere, Bowness and Ambleside.

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