A giant Scottie dog sculpture has conquered Ben Lomond in a mountain-sized show of support for cancer care.
Glasgow artist Douglas Roulston led the climb on Saturday, June 6, carrying Lochie, a 50kg sculpture designed for the Scotties in the City art trail in Glasgow.
The trail aims to raise funds for Maggie’s Centres, which provide free psychological, emotional and practical support to people with cancer and their families.
Douglas and Lochie tackled the arduous climb alongside a team of Maggie’s supporters and Hayley Smith, project manager for Scotties in the City.
Hiking through rain showers and on soaked ground, the team got Lochie up and down the mountain over the course of seven hours and 52 minutes.
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Douglas said: “It was a great challenge and a real pleasure to climb Ben Lomond with a team of real Maggie’s cancer charity supporters and the giant Scottie sculpture ‘Lochie’.
“I’m currently waiting for a knee operation, the team really did me proud.
“They did the heavy lifting and carried the dog up the mountain, and at times the dog was practically running away from me.
“I made a customised giant stretcher last week to get the big dog up the mountain.
“I did this once before, a couple of years ago, with a giant ‘Oor Wullie’ sculpture up Ben Nevis, and it was a lot of fun.
“Saturday was equally enjoyable, even though the weather could have been kinder to us.
“It felt like a real achievement.
“The team have helped me to beat my fundraising target for the day and raised £735 for Maggie’s along the way.
“It was a tough climb up and down Ben Lomond, but this is nothing compared to the resilience that people with cancer need to get through their treatment and that’s why I got involved in this project.”
Hayley Smith praised Douglas and the team for their dedication.
She said: “Douglas has been such a great supporter of Maggie’s and him taking on this brilliant Ben Lomond challenge with a great team of supporters and the giant sculpture was no mean feat.
“It was an arduous climb in the rotten weather we had on Saturday.
“Nonetheless we did it and it felt like a great achievement.”
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Lochie, inspired by Loch Lomond, is the first sculpture to be revealed from the upcoming Glasgow art trail, which will officially launch on June 18.
The trail will feature 40 large, artist-designed Scottie dog sculptures across Glasgow and its suburbs for eight weeks during the summer.
Following the trail, the sculptures will be auctioned off in September to raise funds for Maggie’s Centres across Scotland.
Hayley added: “We hope that Douglas and the team doing this will encourage many more people to join us on the Scotties in the City art trail around Glasgow this summer.
“The other giant Scottie dogs are all under wraps for now, but the designs are all fabulous by many different artists and the people of Glasgow and visitors to the city are in for a real treat.”
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