The Lions of Windsor 2019 team has organised
a number of city-wide sculpture trails,
raising over £430,000 for local charities.
Minerva’s Owls of Bath – Summer 2018
Swans of Wells – Summer 2012
Lions of Bath – Summer 2010
King Bladud’s Pigs of Bath – Summer 2008
“The King Bladud’s Pigs were one of the best boosts to tourism that I have experienced.”
Charles Curnock - Administrator, Bath Abbey
The Mane Team:
Megan Witty - Former ITV and BBC Natural History Unit Producer/Director, Megan devises and manages high profile, creative events including city-wide photography and sculpture trail events. Megan organised the Minerva's Owls of Bath 2018, Swans of Wells 2012, Lions of Bath 2010 and King Bladud's Pigs in Bath 2008 trails, which raised over £430,000 for charity.
Lisa Todd - Award-winning interior designer Lisa Todd grew up in South Africa and now creates beautiful hand-painted, vibrant designs from her home in Windsor. Lisa was Elle Decoration Print and Pattern Designer of the Year, won European Product Design Award 2017 and is featured in Christie’s Magazine as one of four designers to watch globally. Lisa painted one of last year's Owls of Bath sculptures and instigated the Lions of Windsor 2019 event.
Frances Sidi- Frances was an Oncology Research Coordinator for 17 years and has now turned her administrative talents to coordinating lion artists, sponsors, sculptures and the lion team! This is Frances' first sculpture trail experience and she can't wait to see the fabulous lion sculptures taking up residence across the Royal Borough.
Ian Wells - Ian was Logistics Manager for the Owls of Bath 2018, Swans of Wells 2012 and Lions of Bath 2010 events. Ian, along with fellow 'Lions of Windsor' wranglers Nigel and Alec, will soon be seen escorting lions around Windsor, Maidenhead and beyond as they are delivered to artists and sponsors for decorating, before taking pride of place across the region in August.
Meet the rest of the Lions of Windsor & Maidenhead Project Team
PREVIOUS SCULPTURE TRAILS - SUMMARY
Minerva's Owls of Bath 2018 sculpture trail featured 82 decorated owls and owlets displayed across the World Heritage city of Bath and the surrounding region for three months, from July to September 2018. Tens of thousands of people flocked to the city to see the colourful owls nesting on streets, roofs, parks and public spaces. The Owls Hoot Goodbye weekend attracted over 7,000 visitors and the charity auction raised £140,000.
The Swans of Wells 2012 sculpture trail. The 60 giant swan sculptures displayed around England’s smallest city were referred to as the best thing to have happened in Wells for decades. The Swansong Farewell weekend saw 10,000 visitors flocking to the Bishop's Palace to say their farewells to the beautiful swan sculptures and the charity auction raised over £100,000.
The Lions of Bath 2010 public art event saw a trail of 100 life-size lion sculptures across the city to celebrate the royal history of Bath, increasing footfall to sculpture locations and generating a sense of civic pride in the region. The auction raised over £65,000 for local charities.
The King Bladud’s Pigs 2008 sculpture trail was one of the first of its kind in the UK. The colourful trail featured over 100 cheeky pig sculptures, which captivated Bath’s residents and visitors. The Royal Crescent preview weekend attracted 16,000 people and the charity auction raised £200,000 for the Two Tunnels cycle path project.
Sculpture trails – Economic Impact
Sculpture trails not only raise millions of pounds for local charities, but also have a significant city-wide economic impact.
The ‘Great North Snowdogs’ trail in Tyne and Wear, attracted 676,000 visitors over the 10 weeks of the project, contributing an additional £7.2m to the local economy. 25% of visitors took in the entire trail and 35% spent six or more days completing it. 64% visited somewhere new in the city whilst following the trail.
Birmingham’s Great Western Mall saw a 25% increase in visitor numbers compared to the previous year.
During the Norwich elephant trail, Pret a Manger reported a 16% increase in sales, based on their sponsorship of an elephant.
On the first day of Pride of Northampton, an additional 25,211 visitors were recorded in the main shopping street, compared to the same day the previous year.
Sainsbury’s Colchester saw dwell time double while shoppers and visitors looked for giraffes.
‘Gromit Unleashed’ saw 1.18m visitors over the 10-week display period, of which 900,000 visited specifically to see the Gromit sculptures.
Footfall to Bristol’s Museums doubled.
The main Northampton shopping centre recorded an 18% increase in footfall during the lion sculpture trail and other local business reported an increased turnover of 14%.
A 20% increase in sales was reported by Jarrolds Department Store in Norwich, attributed to people visiting their sponsored sculpture.

Lions in new homes for Christmas!
December 18, 2019
Bid for the LAST LION today!
December 14, 2019
Raffle to win a Large Lion sculpture – draw 14 December
December 4, 2019
Lions Head off to Pastures New…
November 30, 2019
Place your bids for Thursday’s charity auction!
November 23, 2019
Auction Host Tim Brooke-Taylor visits the Pride!
November 23, 2019“The King Bladud’s Pig project was the best thing that ever happened in Bath on many fronts. It really increased footfall around the city and helped independent retailers. It also brought people into Bath from the local environs, who continue to come long after re-discovering what a wonderful city Bath is.”
Annette Martin, Bath Aqua Glass“Gromit Unleashed has helped shine a light on Bristol as a hub for culture, tourism and creativity and showcase its strengths in front of an international audience. We enjoyed tremendously positive publicity, welcomed more visitors from far and wide, and our businesses reaped the benefits.”
John Hirst, Chief Executive, Destination Bristol“The King Bladud’s Pigs were one of the best boosts to tourism that I have experienced.”
Charles Curnock, Administrator, Bath Abbey“‘Gromit Unleashed’ saw 1.18m visitors over the 10-week display period, of which 900,000 visited specifically to see the Gromit sculptures. Footfall to Bristol’s Museums doubled.”
Gromit Unleashed, Bristol“As one of the first businesses to sign up as a [Pig] sponsor, we saw the enormous positive benefits of being involved from the outset. The response from locals and visitors alike was remarkable.”
Martin Tracy, The Framing Workshop“The Swans of Wells sculpture trail really put Wells on the map in 2012 and attracted thousands of visitors to the city. Local businesses reported a significant increase in trade and people were drawn to parts of Wells they hadn’t visited before. The auction raised an incredible £100,000. We are all still talking about it today.”
Danny Unwin, Mayor of Wells 2012A female lion needs 5kg of meat a day. A male needs 7kg or more a day.
Lions used to be spread across most of Africa, but now are only found in sub-Saharan Africa. Lions have disappeared from 12 sub-Saharan countries in recent decades.
With only around 20,000 left in the wild, lions are now officially classified as ‘vulnerable’.
The Lion’s scientific name is Panthero Leo.
Lions are the most sociable of all big cats. They live in groups of 10-15 lions, known as prides.
Female lions reach two-thirds of their adult size by the time they are two years old.
The name for a baby lion is a cub, whelp or lionet.
Numbers of wild lions in Africa have gone down by over 40% in the last three generations, due to loss of living space and conflict with people.
Female lions do 85-90% of the hunting, whilst the males patrol the territory and protect the pride.
In the wild, lions live for an average of 12 years and up to 16 years. They live up to 25 years in captivity.
Lions run at a speed of up to 81km/h.
An adult male’s roar can be heard up to 8km away.
Headline sponsor – Windsor Yards