A summer seahorse mini-sculpture trail has been launched in Ipswich - but where can you see the 10 seahorses?
The Ipswich Family Trail comes as families in Ipswich are eagerly waiting for Elmer’s Big Parade Suffolk next year, following the huge success of the Pigs Gone Wild trail in 2016. Seahorses have been chosen because they have a unique link with the history of Ipswich, as two Neptune’s Seahorses feature in the Ipswich Coat of Arms. Here are the locations of the 10 colourful 3ft sculptures:
Quay Place: This unique wellbeing and heritage centre at St Mary at the Quay makes a historic setting for a seahorse, framed in the window.
Old Custom House: Another historic setting is this famous buiding on the Waterfront, with the seahorse standing in pride of place.
LoveOne, St Peter’s Street: Ipswich illustrator Boo Hamilton-Frost, who is also a Sales Executive at LoveOne, will be decorating the seahorse which will feature in their summer window display.
DanceEast: The seahorse sculpture for DanceEast was painted orange to match their reception and has been named Cecil. It has also had a special DanceEast lanyard created.
Christchurch Mansion: The Mansion seahorse can be tracked down in the beautiful setting of Green Room.
Ipswich County Library: The Library seahorse is behind the reception desk.
Ipswich Museum: The museum seahorse is in the geology room.
Ohh Deer, the Walk: This quirky card and gift shop has a lot of animal-themed items on show, so the seahorse sculpture adds to the mix.
Buttermarket Shopping Centre: Visitors will be able to look out for the seahorse sculpture amid the centre’s range of shops and restaurants.
Ipswich Town Hall: The town hall is a very appropriate setting given the link between seahorses and the town’s history.
All the sculptures were created by Aden Hynes, who has worked with some of the world’s biggest movie and TV production companies, creating set pieces and figures along with sculptures for promotional events and award ceremonies. He has also painted all of them except the LoveOne sculpture.
Families can pick up free trail maps at the sculpture locations and also in the Tourist Information Centre, the Reg Driver Centre in Christchurch Park and various other shops and businesses.
As well as giving information about the sculptures and the link between Ipswich and seahorses, the map also aims to raise awareness of the danger to real seahorses, and other wildlife, posed by plastic pollution.
Once families have completed the trail, they will be able to collect an Ipswich Explorer sticker and enter a competition to win four tickets to the New Wolsey’s Cinderella rock’n’roll panto. For more details, visit the Ipswich Family Trail website.
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