CLAN Cancer Support

The BookBenchTrail is a mass participation public art event comprising of 41 individually designed large BookBenches forming a trail across the north-east, Moray, Orkney and Shetland for eight weeks from Monday, June 30, 2025 until Monday, August 25, 2025.

Clan Cancer Support chose the BookBench sculpture, which depicts an open book, because of the charity’s lifeline listening and support service which enables anyone impacted by a cancer diagnosis to open up and tell their story.

Corporate sponsors, artists and schools have come together to support Clan Cancer Support transforming the streets, parks and public spaces into a fun, free art gallery.

The BookBench Trail is a Wild in Art event supported by headline sponsors Hellman Worldwide Logistics and Bilfinger UK.

After the event, the BookBenches will be auctioned to support Clan Cancer Support.

Local schools have also designed and created 38 sculptures, which are displayed at venues across the region as part of The Tiny Tales Trail.

The Tall Ships Races Aberdeen 2025 has also teamed up with Clan Cancer Support to bring 12 nautically themed BookBench sculptures to the city in celebration of The Tall Ship Races visiting our shores this summer.

The Tiny Tales Trail is a collection of 38 small BookBench sculptures which will also be on public display alongside the main trail. These smaller sculptures will be displayed in groups across a range of venues across the north-east, Moray, Orkney and Shetland. These locations are listed on the trail map.

Local schools across the trail’s geography have designed 34 of the sculptures. These sculptures will be returned to the schools once the event has concluded.

The remaining four BookBench sculptures were designed by artists specially commissioned by Clan Cancer Support and will be sold at auction.

The Tall Ships Races Aberdeen 2025 has teamed up with Clan Cancer Support to bring 12 nautically themed BookBench sculptures to the city in celebration of The Tall Ship Races visiting our shores this summer.

Like the Tall Ships, the benches are free to be enjoyed by all. Please take a seat and perhaps pause to reflect on Aberdeen’s remarkable relationship with the North Sea.

After The BookBench Trail ends, one sculpture from The Tall Ships Short Story will be auctioned off to raise funds for Clan Cancer Support.

The sculptures were funded by the UK Government.

The trail is due to launch on Monday, June 30, 2025 and will be live for eight weeks over the summer until Monday, August 25, 2025.

Clan Cancer Support has organised the event with sponsors, artists and local schools to transform the streets, parks and public spaces across the north-east, Moray, Orkney and Shetland into a fun, free art gallery.

Clan Cancer Support is working with global public art producers Wild in Art to deliver the trail. They are supported by headline sponsors Hellman Worldwide Logistics and Bilfinger UK.

The charity beneficiary is Clan Cancer Support (Registered Charity No SC022606).

Taking part is easy – Buy our trail map for details of the sculptures and their locations and then explore them in your own time and in any particular order until the trail concludes on Monday, August 25, 2025.

The best way to explore The BookBench Trail is by using our dedicated mobile app which will be available to download shortly before the trail goes live.

This will help you navigate and ‘collect’ the sculptures, discover new places and unlock exciting rewards provided by sponsors.

You can also track your steps using the pedometer and share your pictures with us!

You can download the app by searching for The BookBench Trail via your app provider.

Yes! It is free to take part in The BookBenchTrail.

You can choose to pay to download the app to help you complete the trail, but you can also complete the trail without it. You just won’t be able to keep track of all the sculptures you’ve collected and unlock rewards along the way.

Our maps are available to buy from various locations for just £3. You can purchase them from all Clan centres and shops.

The best way to explore The BookBenchTrail is by using our dedicated mobile app.

This will help you navigate and ‘collect’ the sculptures, discover new places and unlock exciting rewards provided by sponsors.

You can also track your steps using the pedometer and share your pictures with us!

You can download the app by searching for The BookBench Trail via the Apple App Store or Google Play. Please note that this app will be available for download just shortly before the trail launches on Monday, June 30.

At the end of the trail the sculptures will come together for a special farewell event at The Music Hall, Aberdeen from September 21 – 22, 2025. It gives everyone a final chance to see the sculptures, meet some of the artists involved, and maybe choose one to bid for at the charity auction!  

Many of the sculptures will take centre stage at a glittering auction on Wednesday, October 8, 2025 at The Chester Hotel, Aberdeen to raise vital funds for Clan Cancer Support (Registered Charity No SC022606). 

The little BookBench sculptures decorated by local pupils will be returned to the schools that created them. They are a permanent reminder and legacy of their achievements. 

Wild in Art is one of the leading creative producers of spectacular, mass-appeal public art events, which connect businesses, artists and communities through the power of creativity and innovation.

Since 2008 Wild in Art has animated cities across the world including Sydney, Melbourne, Cape Town and São Paulo, and created trails for the London 2012 Olympics, the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Historic Royal Palaces and Penguin Random House.

Wild in Art events have:

• Enabled over £26.3m to be raised for charitable causes

• Injected £4.3m into local creative communities

• Engaged over 1.2 million young people in learning programmes

• Helped millions of people of all ages to experience art in non-traditional settings

wildinart.co.uk | @wildinart | #wildinart

Clan Cancer Support chose the BookBench sculpture, which depicts an open book, because of the charity’s lifeline listening and support service which enables anyone impacted by a cancer diagnosis to open up and tell their story.

The sculptures will be based in public locations across the north-east, Moray, Orkney and Shetland.

The sculpture’s trail map and app provide information about the locations for both large and small sculptures.

You can buy our trail map for £3 from any of the following locations from Friday, June 27:

Aberdeen:

• Clan House, 120 Westburn Rd, Aberdeen AB25 2QA
• Clan Shop, 117 Rosemount Pl, Aberdeen AB25 2YH

Aberdeenshire:

• Macbi Community Hub (Clan Centre), Newlands Rd, Mintlaw, Peterhead
• Clan Shop, Banchory, 16A Bridge Street, Banchory, AB31 5SX
• Clan Shop, Peterhead, 38 Marischal St, Peterhead, AB42 1HS
• Clan Shop, Ballater, Bridge Square, Ballater, AB35 5QJ

Moray:

• Clan Centre Elgin, 227 High St, Elgin IV30 1DJ

Orkney:

• Clan Orkney, 30 Victoria St, Kirkwall KW15 1DN

Shetland:

• Clan Shetland, First floor Islesburgh Community Centre, King Harald St, Lerwick, ZE1 0EQ

Some of our trail sponsors have kindly offered rewards for collecting certain sculptures on the trail.

These include discounts, exclusive offers and the chance to win some fantastic prices. To benefit from these offers, download The BookBench Trail app and make sure you enter the sculpture’s unlock code which is displayed on the plaque at the base of the sculpture.

The BookBench Trail stretches across 550 miles approximately.

Don’t worry if you don’t manage to cover the distance to see all the BookBenches! There will be an opportunity to see and collect the entire 41 large and 38 small BookBenches at the Farewell Weekend.

No. You can begin your trail experience at any sculpture on our trail map.

The volunteering opportunities on offer throughout The Trail include:

• BookBench Librarians: Sign up here

• De-installation: Sign up for each date below:August 25 - 17August 29

• Farewell Weekend (various roles): Sign up for each date below:September, 20-21

• Auction evening: Sign up here

Find out more by contacting [email protected] call 01224 647000.

The aim is for the trail to take people on a journey of discovery and to showcase communities and locations across the region.Clan has tried to select locations which are easily accessible and are open seven days a week. However, some local restrictions may apply. Clan Cancer Support and Wild in Art cannot be held liable for any BookBenches that are unavailable for viewing

The trail is located across the north-east, Moray, Orkney and Shetland. The trail map and app details all the locations across the regions. Most sculptures are based in central locations which can easily by accessed by car, local transport or on foot.

Clan is committed to making The BookBench Trail accessible for everyone. Please check with individual venues to confirm accessibility information.

You can browse our merchandise in person by visiting any of our Clan shops. Find out each location here: https://www.clancancersupport.org/fundraising/charity-shops/

You can also check out our merchandise online by visiting: https://clan-cancer-support-org.myshopify.com/collections/book-bench-trail-2025

If we do experience any vandalism, all efforts will be made to restore the sculpture. If there is repetition of the vandalism once the sculpture has been restored, a different location will be found for it.

If you need to report a vandalised or damaged sculpture, please call: 01224 651035

The BookBench Trail is a partnership-led event and very much depends on the buy-in of local communities, funders and sponsors. Additionally, we invited schools throughout Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, Orkney and Shetland, to get involved and showcase young people’s creativity in their local area as part of The Tiny Tales Trail.

All large sculptures on the trail are sponsored by different companies in the region, the small sculptures have been paid for by different schools in the region or, a company who has kindly sponsored the sculpture for them. The BookBench trail is a full cost recovery project and it’s thanks to our sponsors that we’ve been able to put the trail on.

At the end of the trail, the sculptures will come together for the Farewell Event, giving trail goers the opportunity to see the entire library of 41 large and 38 small sculptures under the one roof!

You can collect any sculptures you didn’t manage to visit during the trail and check out our trail merchandise.

After the Farewell Weekend, the 41 large sculptures and four specially commissioned small sculptures will be sold at auction at The Chester Hotel, Aberdeen on Wednesday, October 8 with all proceeds going to Clan Cancer Support.

All small sculptures created by pupils will be returned to the school following the Farewell Weekend.

The BookBench Trail Farewell Weekend will take place on Saturday, September 21 and Sunday, September 22 at The Music Hall, Aberdeen. To celebrate the end of The BookBench Trail, the full library will reunite at The Music Hall, Aberdeen for a very special farewell weekend. This will be your only opportunity to see all 41 large and 38 small BookBenches in the one place! This will also be your last chance to pick up The BookBench Trail souvenirs from our merch stand so hop on down and see us there!

Please note this is a ticketed event. More information will be available soon.

The BookBench Auction will take place on Wednesday, October 8 at The Chester Hotel, Aberdeen. The auction is the very final event of The BookBench Trail. The stunning sculptures from the trail will be auctioned off to raise money for Clan Cancer Support to enable the charity to provide practical and emotional support to anyone impacted by a cancer diagnosis. An online auction will run alongside the event so everyone will have an opportunity to snap up one of these unique sculptures. If you would like to register your interest in attending the auction, please email [email protected]

Blank sculptures, both large and small, are not available to buy currently. This is to protect the value of the sculptures at the auction which will raise funds for Clan Cancer Support.