Frequently Asked Questions

Stampede by the Sea is a huge, free art trail across Bridport, West Bay and Lyme Regis. It runs for eight weeks, from 28th March to 27th May 2025, and features almost sixty incredible elephant sculptures.

There are 31 large sculptures that will be placed in public outdoor spaces, and 28 smaller elephants – our Mini Herd – which will located in local shop and business windows.

We get this question a lot! Presented by Weldmar Hospicecare, Stampede by the Sea aims to raise both essential funds and awareness for the Dorset charity. Subjects such as end of life care, death, and bereavement can be ‘the elephant in the room’ for many people.

Also, ‘elephants never forget’, and Weldmar provide a number of special ways to remember a loved one. This includes their Light up a Life services in the run up to Christmas, and during Stampede by the Sea, our Memory Elephant.

Stampede by the Sea is a Wild in Art event, presented by Weldmar Hospicecare. The Weldmar team deals with all day to day operations of the trail.

As well as raising vital funds and awareness for Weldmar Hospicecare, it is expected that Stampede by the Sea will provide an uplift to the local economy by increasing visitor numbers outside of the regular season. Visitors to the trail will be spending money in local shops, restaurants and cafes, hotels, on parking or the local transport infrastructure.

Hundreds of artists responded to our summer 2024 open call, submitting elephant sculpture designs. A shortlist enabled partners, sponsors, and Weldmar Hospicecare to make their selections. While most artist designs were for the larger sculptures, Mini Herd pieces were also included. Simultaneously, local schools participated in our Learning Programme, designing Mini Herd sculptures through collaborative efforts, often involving entire year groups.

Stampede by the Sea has been organised by Weldmar Hospicecare, Dorset’s largest independent charity. Many of the running costs for the trail have been met through our partnerships and sponsorships and the generosity of a number of organisations. Local schools, who took part in our Learning Programme, and businesses displaying our Mini Herd, are also making a fundraising contribution.

Opportunities to donate to the charity are available on our website and app, and at every elephant sculpture. All profits of the £1.99 charge for the app will go to Weldmar once we have paid an administrative charge.

All proceeds from map and merchandise sales will benefit Weldmar, as well as ticket sales for additional events such as the Farewell exhibition and Paint and Prosecco Parties.

The most significant part of the fundraising will be the charity auction, where all of the large elephant sculptures and those from the Mini Herd designed by artists, will be sold to help fund Weldmar’s specialist care for adults in Dorset who have a life limiting illness, and support for their loved ones.

Weldmar Hospicecare provides specialist care for adults with a life limiting illness, and support for their loved ones, across the north, south and west of Dorset.

Research shows that people in the area that Stampede by the Sea is taking place are less aware of Weldmar’s services, and what is on offer to them if they or a loved one were ever referred into their care.

Although raising funds through the trail is extremely important for the charity, it is just as important to raise awareness, which would also lead to stronger local support in the future.

Wild in Art are creative producers of spectacular, meaningful and innovative public art trails.

They work with destinations, charities, brand owners, artists, businesses, learning providers and communities across the UK and worldwide to create memorable events which make a difference.

Visit their website here.

Once the trail ends on 27th May, our sculptures will all take some well deserved time out!

Then, they all gather together for our Farewell Event at the Corn Exchange in Dorchester from 14th to 18th June. Tickets are available here.

Elephant sculptures created by artists will be auctioned to raise funds for Weldmar Hospicecare. Our auction takes place at the Corn Exchange in Dorchester on Thursday, 19th June.

Attendance at our auction is by invitation only – you can register your interest here. Alternatively, you can register to take part online.

Those elephants made by local schools will be returned to them to keep.

Friday 28th March to Tuesday 27th May, 2025.

You can follow this trail for free, as often as you’d like! Beyond simply participating, you can also contribute to Weldmar Hospicecare in various ways, both during and after the event.

The sculptures can be found in central areas of Bridport, West Bay, and Lyme Regis, as well as at the Hive Beach Café in Burton Bradstock. Whilst the larger elephants will be in outside spaces, the Mini Herd will largely be in the windows of local shops and businesses.

Exact locations can be found on the Trail Map, and the official Stampede by the Sea app, which is available to download from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.

Locations of each sculpture can also be found on this website from 28th March.

It all depends on how fast you walk, and how long you stop for selfies!

The route from the first to the last sculpture in Bridport, following the official Trail Map, is approximately 3.3km. West Bay is 1.5km, and Lyme Regis is 4.4km.

You will also need to factor in travelling time between each area. You don’t need to complete the trail in one go, you could break it up into each area if you prefer.

You can pick up an official Trail Map for £2 from:

• Trail HQ: The Salt House, West Bay
• Weldmar Hospicecare shop: East Street, Bridport
• Weldmar Hospicecare shop: Broad Street, Lyme Regis
• Hive Beach Cafe: Burton Bradstock

Yes! It’s £1.99 and available from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. By following the trail using the app, you can ‘unlock’ rewards from our partners and sponsors along the way, reach milestones for collecting as many sculptures as you can, share photos, register how many steps you’ve taken, and so much more!

See the separate App FAQ section below.

Yes. All of the sculptures are accessible for pushchairs or wheelchair users. However, please note that the route in Lyme Regis does include a number of steep hills and gradients.

Thank you for helping out if you see a problem.

We have a dedicated hotline to report any issues: 07789 769 550. Please provide as much detail as possible, and include the name of the sculpture and/or its location, using landmarks so that we know exactly where to find the problem.

You can also get in touch via stampede@weld-hospice.org.uk, and include photos of the problem you’re reporting.

There are various parking options in each location. Dorset Council has a useful car park finder tool on their website.

You’ll find our Trail HQ and Merch Shop in West Bay, at the Salt House.

Located next to Fisherman’s Green at the heart of the resort, the postcode is DT6 4HB.

Yes. It will cost £1.99 from the Google App Store or the Apple App Store. This is equivalent to the £2 charge for the Trail Map, and includes a donation to Weldmar Hospicecare. There are a number of benefits to downloading the app, including rewards provided by our partners and sponsors as you collect certain sculptures.

Search in your app store for Stampede by the Sea, or get the links here.

Check you’re connected to the internet, either Wi-Fi or a mobile network. Then please try again. If you see a message saying you have already registered go to ‘log in’ and log in using the email and password you used to create your account.

If you have further problems, please report them here and we’ll do our best to help as soon as we can.

Logging out via the menu in the top left and logging in again usually resolves the issue. If not, close the app completely and re-open it (or restart your device).

Further app support is available here.

Use the map; pinch and swipe the map to zoom in and out. Location settings on your phone need to be turned ON to see your location on the map. Or, go to the sculptures tab to access the sculpture listings and search for the sculpture name, artist or location.

Further app support is available here.

There is a four digit code for each elephant, found on the sculpture plaque. Click COLLECT + and enter the number. You have now collected that sculpture and if you’re lucky, you may have collected a reward at the same time!

Yes!

You can upload a photo to the App Gallery by clicking Upload on the sculpture page. You’ll be asked to either ‘Take a photo’ or ‘Choose from library’. Images uploaded will be vetted by the team prior to being published on the app. Your photo will be seen by other app players and can be shared on social media. So get creative and have fun with your photos!

If you’ve already collected a sculpture the app will display an incorrect code message. Check your sculpture listing pages to see if you have already collected it.

Support is available from our team here.

After the main eight week trail, there will be an opportunity to see all of our amazing elephant sculptures together under one roof.

The Farewell Event – our ‘gathering of the herd’ – takes place at the Corn Exchange in Dorchester between 14th and 18th June.

Yes, this is a ticketed event, and tickets must be purchased in advance.

Tickets cost £6 for adults (16+) and £3.50 for 3-15 year olds. Under 3’s go free. As we have kept ticket prices low, there are no other discounts or concessions.

Tickets can be purchased here.

When you go to book tickets, you’ll notice that there are hour long timeslots.

These timeslots just apply for your arrival time, so that we can stagger visitors coming through the door throughout the day, as we are expecting it to be a very popular event!

Dorchester Corn Exchange has wheelchair access and toilet facilities for wheelchair users. All ground floor spaces, including the café, are flat and accessible.

Access vehicles can park on the double yellow lines immediately outside the accessible entrance on North Square for loading and unloading only. There is no designated parking at the Corn Exchange.

Only assistance dogs will be permitted into the Corn Exchange.

Yes! Subject to availability, our range of official Stampede by the Sea merchandise will be on sale. This includes pens, pencils, tea towels, fridge magnets, coasters, notebooks, and much more.

The Corn Exchange is only a short walk away from a number of town centre car parks, such as Acland Road, Top o’ Town, and the Old Market Car Park.

Dorset Council have this useful tool available to find local car parks.

Yes. There is a café at the Corn Exchange. This is not being operated by Stampede by the Sea!

The large elephant sculptures, with the exception of the Memory Elephant, and the Mini Herd sculptures designed by artists, will be available to bid for at our Charity Auction on 19th June at the Corn Exchange.

The elephants in our Mini Herd designed by local schools will not be available to buy, as they will be returned to the schools as a lasting reminder and legacy of taking part in Stampede by the Sea.

Look out for all the details about our auction here.