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Painted cow sculpture trail arrives at Woolacombe Dunes for the summer

Dynamic Dunescapes

On June 25th, to celebrate the first World Sand Dune Day, ten bright and bold, community-painted cow sculptures will form a fun and educational ‘Cows on Dunes’ visitor trail through the dunes.

The trail has been created by North Devon National Trust and Dynamic Dunescapes, and is designed to showcase the importance of sand dunes to wildlife, people and the community. Each cow was allocated a theme, and has been painted by a different school or community group in North Devon.

The community have been involved in the Cows on Dunes Community Art Project from the very beginning. The cow’s themes were chosen after National Trust ran a survey exploring the local public’s views, thoughts and feelings towards sand dunes in North Devon, and include: threats to sand dunes; memories of the coast, the military; dune plants and animals; dogs on the dunes.

A group of 6 children and 4 adults stand around a multicoloured cow sculpture. They are all smiling

‘Goofy’. The theme for Goofy is ‘Dogs on Dunes’, and was painted by The Wave Rangers.

Bev Phillips, Dynamic Dunescapes Engagement Officer at North Devon National Trust, says

‘The community arts project has already inspired and empowered so many different people and groups who have contributed, and I’ve been so impressed by how much passion, hard work, idea-sharing and creativity has been involved. It’s brilliant to see the sculptures painted and to know that they’ll be a thought-provoking addition to the dunes, and that the community has been involved in our dune conservation and education work.’

With the trail’s launch coinciding with a whole host of exciting events planned for World Sand Dune Day, including yoga and photography workshops in the dunes, from June 25th visitors to Woolacombe will be able to follow the trail and learn more about each cow sculpture, the team who painted it, and about the role of cows (real ones!) in sand dune conservation.

A multicoloured cow sculpture with a blue head and panels of artwork on the body

‘Daisy May’. The theme for Daisy May is ‘Threats to Sand Dunes’, and was painted by members of the community during community painting sessions and by Georgeham Primary School.

A multicoloured cow sculpture has British wildlife species painted on the side. This includs a badger, a frog, dragonfly and a bird of prey

‘Gertrude’. The theme for Goofy is ‘Sand Dune Fauna’, and was painted by Trinity Arts Group.

The trail will start at Woolacombe Tourist Information Centre. The sculptures have been painted by: Wave Rangers; Georgie’s Youth Centre; Georgeham Primary School; Dene Lodge Nursing Home; Local artist Felicity Cowley; Hatherleigh Primary School; Trinity Arts Group; Space Youth Centre; North Devon National Trust Rangers and Volunteers.

The Cows on Dunes trail and the introduction of the new dune grazing herd have been established by National Trust North Devon as part of Dynamic Dunescapes, an ambitious partnership project restoring 7,000 hectares of sand dune habitat in the UK. The project is funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund and EU LIFE Programme.

Find out more about World Sand Dune Day and book your place on the exciting events planned at Woolacombe on the Dynamic Dunescapes website: Yoga, Wood Carving, Wildife Photography; Woolacombe World Sand Dune Day - Dynamic Dunescapes

A landscape painting of the sand dunes along the coast. 3 chestnut brown cows are walking along a path in the dunes