Buckingham Swan Trail

Buckingham Town Council are excited to introduce the second temporary public art sculpture trail which will run throughout the summer holidays of 2023. The Swan Trail is a family friendly, feel-good project that provides a free community led activity for everyone to enjoy!

Just like the fantastic success of the 2021 Otter Trail, we believe the Swan Trail will attract visitors to the town and help increase footfall to our local shops and businesses. We know from previous trails, that when visitors spend time exploring Buckingham's heritage this also generates positive economic and social benefits for the community. Swan Trail HQ will collaborate with local schools, artists, groups, businesses, and organisations by helping them design, paint and sponsor a swan sculpture.

Councillor Robin Stuchbury, chair of Town Centre and Events committee said “ We are pleased to bring forward the Swan Trail this year knowing how much the 2021 Otter Trail was enjoyed and how many people took part in this community event.  Of course we are only able to run such events through the planning and coordination of our officers and the continued positive support of the committee and council to do everything possible within our limited budget to put on events which makes Buckingham a great place to live, work and visit ”.  

Sponsorship Opportunities

We invite your company to be part of a unique town wide project and sponsor a swan sculpture. With support from the community, sponsorship fees will allow us to part fund the sculpture, plaque, and plinth. Our affordable sponsorship package offers a great platform to promote your business, engage with your workforce, local community, and visitors to the town. More details are provided in the sponsorship pack.

Swan Design Competition

Calling all residents - we need your help! Do you have an idea for a swan design that could be brought to life as part of our 2023 Swan Trail?

This competition is open to anyone over the age of 16 years of age, please use the template as a base for your design brief and we would also love to hear the story behind your swan. The winning artist will have the opportunity to help paint their design and then it will be on display as part of the live trail.

To submit your swan, email a picture of your design to Swan HQ: tic@buckingham-tc.gov.uk. Make sure you include in the email your full contact details and story or statement about your design, the deadline has been extended to Friday 24th February 2023.

photo of swan sculpture

The Buckingham Swan Trail event is part funded by Buckinghamshire Council's Buckingham & Villages Community Board.

 

Weeds or Wildflowers? Buckingham Art Contest

Buckingham wildflower art contest: enter by sending your wildflower art by email to office@buckingham-tc.gov.uk or by sending it to the Buckingham Town Council Office, Verney Close, Buckingham, MK18 1JP (paper entries only) by the end of the day Wednesday 12th May 2021.

To celebrate the growing biodiversity of Buckingham, flower information boards are being put up around the toddler play area in Bourton Park. Each board has been designed to put a name to flowers you might see on your daily walks, and created with local artist Fiona Hancock, illustrating stories about the history of each flower.

five kinds of wildflowers that can be spotted in BuckinghamCreating wildflower spaces has been an important part of improving the biodiversity of Buckingham. The more different species of wildflowers there are in an area, the more different species of insects, animals and birds, from bees to butterflies to field mice and swallows are provided with appropriate food sources and habitats to flourish in more urban environments.

Beyond ideas of eco-recovery, flowers are joyful. After a tough year, the first hints of spring blossoms have brought delight. Buckingham Town Council wants to capture and celebrate that joy with an art contest. All types of creativity would be welcome, from painting, collage and photography to anything else you can think of, as long as your art represents native wildflowers.

The competition deadline is Wednesday 12th May, and entries should be sent to the Wildflower art contest posterBuckingham Town Council office. The winner (or winners) will have their art printed on the cover of the summer edition of Buckingham Town Matters, Buckingham Town Council’s newsletter, which is delivered to over 6,000 homes locally.

Please be aware that if you choose to deliver your original artwork to the office as a physical copy (instead of sending us a copy by email) we will not be able to return it and it may be destroyed when the contest is finished. If you have any questions about this, please call the office on 01280 816 426 and we will be happy to discuss entry options.

Contest poster PDF