Rachel Pratt (41) and John Waddington (44) from Kent travelled especially to Glasgow last Friday to bag all 92 large and small Scottie dogs in the trail’s first weekend!

John said: “Rachel and I love the Wild in Art trails. We have completed a couple before including the ‘Shaun the Sheep’ trail in Kent and the ‘Wallace and Gromit’ one in Bristol, but we do believe the ‘Scotties in the City’ in Glasgow is one of our favourites!

“We had a lot of fun finding all of the dogs – our favourite big and little dogs on the trail included ‘Lochie’ – the Loch Lomond inspired one and ‘Star’ which is a little one in Woodside Library.

John added: “We tried to complete the trail as sustainably as possible. We walked over 35 miles in two days and we took buses and trains and a couple of Ubers to make sure that we saw them all. On Friday it poured with rain and we got soaked to the skin, but we still enjoyed ourselves.

“The Scottie’s art trail made us visit some parts of the city and lovely parks in Glasgow we didn’t even know existed, and it’s definitely made us want to come back to visit Glasgow again. Time permitting, we might even come back to see some of the Scotties this summer!”

From South West England to North West Scotland

Annie Cottis, came all the way from Cornwall to see the Scotties in the City art trail with her own wee Scottie dog, Hamish, in support of Maggie’s.  Annie and Hamish are also doing the trail to raise funds for the cancer charity.

Annie who hails from Gunnislake village in Cornwall, said: “I took a break from renovating a Cornish cottage to come all the way to Glasgow to do the Scottie’s art trail. 

“Obviously Hamish is a Scottie dog, and I visited a similar trail for Maggie’s on the East Coast which I loved. So when I saw that Scotties in the City was happening in Glasgow, we just had to come.

“Then I thought that if we were going to try and complete the trail that I may as well get sponsored. So I set up a Just Giving page in support of Maggie’s and the incredible support they give people impacted by cancer.

“It has been tremendous and we have visited 37 of the large dogs that we could access! We have loved every minute of it though Hamish did get pretty tired with all the walking. I know it was a long way to come, but I am so pleased we did.”

A barking success

Last Thursday (18 June) saw the trail launched by broadcaster and presenter Kirsty Wark and Jacqueline McLaren, Glasgow’s Lord Provost, as the city was taken over by 40 larger than life featuring beautifully designed giant Scottie dogs.

52 smaller Scotties also beautifully designed by schools, nurseries and community groups can also be found in Glasgow libraries and in Buchanan Galleries.

Hayley Smith, Project Manager for the art trail run by Maggie’s, confirmed that in its first five days, 11,623 people had joined the trail using the ‘Scotties in the City’ app, and that the people who had joined had already collected an average of seven Scottie sculptures!

The app is available on GooglePlay and Apple stores for free, and is where people can collect their sculptures, donate to Maggie’s, find out everything they need to know about the sculptures, artists, locations and sponsors – and view the next available Scottie dogs to bag on the trail.

The top dogs so far

The top three Scotties voted as favourites by the public so far have included:

• ‘Scottie the Bruce’, which sits at Plantation Quay, by artist Maureen King and sponsored by Cairnhill
• ‘Tenements Scottie’ by artist Daniela Pettinato, which sits bang in the centre of Buchanan Street and sponsored by SafeDeposits Scotland
• ‘Duke’ by artist Cat Mackenzie and sponsored by Westpoint Homes

The art trail encompasses locations across the city, including the Riverside Museum, the Science Centre, Kibble Palace, Milngavie and Giffnock, and Paisley Abbey.

The trail will run for a full eight weeks until 16 August.

Other ways to get involved for Maggie’s

Maggie’s is organising  a ‘Farewell Weekend’, where all the Scottie dogs can be viewed in one place at the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust Bridgeton on 29-30 August. Get your tickets here.

The grand finale to the Scottie’s trail will be in September, when Maggie’s hosts an evening to auction off our Scottie sculptures with the aim of raising as much money for Maggie’s as possible.

Project Manager Hayley Smith said: “We know people like John and Rachel travel far and wide to take part in art trails like this. Our fantastic ‘Scotties in the City’ trail makes a great outing for family and friends. Because the big and wee dogs are situated in different parts of the city, you can spread the trail over a weekend or the summer, and it can make for a fantastic few days out!

“Most importantly, we are hoping that people will enjoy the trail and feel uplifted enough to make a donation to Maggie’s to help us support as many people and  their families living with cancer in Scotland.” 

Charlie Langhorne, MD and Co founder of Wild in  Art added: “We are thrilled to be working with our friends and partners at Maggie’s on our first standalone trail in Glasgow. 

“Following the success of our previous partnerships in Dundee and St Andrews, we are confident that our Wild in Art Scottie Dogs will bring joy to both residents and tourists as they discover the trail and explore the city.

“Importantly, this initiative will also raise awareness and vital funds to support the invaluable work that Maggie’s does to help people with cancer and their families.”