Over the summer, 31 large penguin sculptures, alongside 72 baby penguins, flocked to the streets of Southend-on-Sea and Leigh-on-Sea, creating a colourful and vibrant art trail. The trail raised over £580,000 for Havens Hospices, which provides specialist care and support for babies, children, young people, and adults living with incurable conditions across Essex. 

Some of the new owners of these individually designed penguins have been sharing where their sculptures have found a home.  

Able Group, a reactive maintenance service in Leigh-on-Sea, and Event Partners of the Waddle-on-Sea trail, were among one of the companies to welcome their new sculptures. Able Group loved their sponsored sculpture, Wild, so much that they decided to purchase it on auction night. 

Joe Horton, Managing Director at Able Group, said, “As Waddle-on-Sea Event Partners, the entire experience has been an incredible journey, from attending the initial meetings, selecting our design, and meeting the talented artists, to volunteering and experiencing the trail firsthand. The opportunity to work with other sponsors and partners to support such a great cause made the whole experience even more special. 

“Seeing our sponsored penguin, Wild, alongside the other fantastic sculptures around Southend, and getting our colleagues and families involved, truly topped it all off. Then bringing Wild home to our office at the end of the trail felt like the perfect conclusion, especially knowing that our purchase contributed vital funds for Havens Hospices. Wild currently lives in our office boardroom, though it will be making the rounds across the business so that everyone can enjoy it. 

“Supporting Havens Hospices feels like a natural extension of our commitment to the area, and we’re proud to help raise funds for such an important charity.” 

Kat Smith, from Southend, is now the proud owner of two sculptures from Havens Hospices’ art trails. In 2023, Kat successfully bid on the elephant ‘Summer Meadow’ at the Herd In The City auction, which now takes pride of place in her garden. And at the Waddle-on-Sea auction earlier this year, she brought home the sculpture Pengowie, who has found a new habitat in Kat’s kitchen. 

Speaking about why she bid on Pengowie, Kat said, “Havens Hospices is very important to my family, as they took amazing care of my dad when he received end of life care at Fair Havens. Pengowie felt like the perfect sculpture because my dad loved David Bowie, so I feel as though he would have chosen this one too.

“We will always continue to support Havens Hospices so that others can receive the same care and love that my dad did. The art trails are such a fun way to do this, as I get to keep a small or big piece of the incredible trails that Havens Hospices creates.” 

AJ Chambers in Rochford, which provides specialist recruitment and mergers and acquisitions services, has become a devoted fan of Havens Hospices’ art trails. The company now proudly owns seven sculptures from various trails, including Hares About Town, Herd In The City, and Waddle-on-Sea. 

At the Waddle-on-Sea auction, they secured two sculptures, ‘Jazzy Feet’ and ‘Oh! I do like to waddle beside the seaside’. Andrew Hilliard, Founder of AJ Chambers, says, “I’ve had to face the fact that I’ve developed a bit of a sculpture problem over recent years! We’ve had, and still have, one hare, four elephants and two penguins. We love the whole concept of these amazing fundraising events, so deciding to bid simply comes down to which sculpture we fall in love with the most. Our penguins now live side by side – penguins are sociable animals, of course – sitting under our Rothko and bringing joy to the whole office. 

“We enjoyed everything about Waddle-on-Sea: the trails, the creativity, the celebration of local artists’ work, and the auction was pretty fun too.  

“Supporting Havens Hospices is important to us because we’ve visited their sites many times over the years, and the incredible work carried out there never ceases to astonish us.” 

The care provided by the local charity is free of charge and only made possible thanks to donations and fundraising initiatives such as Waddle-on-Sea. 

Vanessa Harvey, Project Manager of Waddle-on-Sea at Havens Hospices, said, “The money raised for Havens Hospices by Waddle-on-Sea is incredible and will help us continue to provide specialist care and support to more local people of all ages who need us across Essex. 

“Each uniquely designed penguin leaves a lasting legacy of the art trail, and we’re so thankful to the new owners for helping us raise vital funds for those who need the care that only Havens Hospices can provide” 

Find out more about how to support Havens Hospices at www.havenshospices.org.uk.  

Published on 8th December 2025