Sculptures bring history to life

OVER 1000 people flocked to an exclusive open day at the Garden of Heroes and Villains in Dorsington - the former private garden of the late publishing mogul Felix Dennis.

The garden features over 50 life-size sculpture of historical and fictional characters, from Charles Darwin and Alice in Wonderland to Bruce Lee and King Kong, all created by some of the world’s finest portrait sculptors. The event, a fundraiser for the Heart of England Forest charity founded by Mr Dennis, also saw falconry workshops, walks guided by head forester Stephen Coffey and a children’s adventure quiz.

Committed to planting a massive forest of native broadleaf trees across an area from Spernal in the north to Dorsington in the south, the forest project will benefit from around £9,000 that was raised at the Open Day. Events manager, Toby Fisher, said afterwards: “It was wonderful to show off these sculptures to so many people and make them aware of The Heart of England Forest while raising funds for the charity. This was a real team effort with many volunteers coming to help make it such a success.”