Paddington Bear Statues in Britain

Paddington Bear Sightings Are Up

Pursuing Paddington Statues in Britain

London Paddington Station, London. — Paddington Bear Statue at Paddington Station in London

Travelers to the U.K. are reporting more and more sightings of Paddington Bear, the adorable British fictional character originally created by Michael Bond. Most of these sightings can be attributed to the Paddington Visits statue trail, a heart-warming, nation-wide public art project celebrating Britain's marmalade-loving bear.

Launched in 2024 to coincide with the release of the movie Paddington in Peru, the trail consists of 23 fun and frisky statues of Paddington located across towns, cities and scenic spots in the U.K. and Ireland, from John O'Groats in Scotland to Land's End in Cornwall and having stops in historic market towns such as Ashby de la Zouch and Bond's hometown of Newbury.

The statues are enjoyable because of their mix of nostalgia, wholesomeness and, well, cuteness.

Paddington Bear Statue at St. Andrews Square Garden in Edinburgh. — Paddington Bear Statue at St. Andrews Square Garden in Edinburgh

Duffle Coat & Marmalade Sandwich

Each of the statues has Paddington seated on a bench wearing his iconic blue duffle coat and red hat, and he is often munching on his trademark marmalade sandwich.

Visitors can sit on his lap or sit next to him and have their pictures snapped for posterity's sake. Local business groups report families and visitors flocking to these spots, with some turning them into mini-destinations for a weekend amusement, a spur of the moment selfie or a relaxing time to spend with the friendly, anthropomorphic bear. Bring your own sandwich.

Not just loved by children, adults appreciate the cultural nod to a story they themselves grew up with. Bond produced his first Paddington book (A Bear Called Paddington) in 1958, so any Brit under, conservatively, the age of 70 must know who Paddington Bear is.

Paddington is known for seeing the best in people, for his never-ending kindness and optimism, for his gentle humor and for his representing the outsider, since he himself arrived in London as a stowaway from "Darkest Peru," with little more than a suitcase and a heart full of hope.

Since Paddington arrived at London's Paddington Station, there is a permanent, bronze Marcus Cornish statue of him at that station. You can find it under the clock on Platform 1.

There is also a bronze Paddington statue where he is standing with Bond in the churchyard of St Mary's Paddington Green in London.

Paddington Bear Statue at St John's Gardens in Cardiff near Cardiff Castle. — Paddington Bear Statue at St John's Gardens in Cardiff near Cardiff Castle

Here is a list of the sites where Paddington is waiting patiently for you

Some are permanent and some are only temporary

Ashby de la Zouch - Ashby Spa WI Garden, Market Street

Birmingham - Medicine Terrace at Selfridges, Bullring

Bury St Edmunds - Arc Shopping Centre

Cardiff - St John's Gardens (Wales)

Chester - Foregate Street

Edinburgh - St Andrew Square Garden (Scotland)

John O'Groats - By the signpost (Scotland)

Lanark - High Street (Scotland)

Land's End - At the signpost (Cornwall)

Liverpool - Liverpool ONE

London (Connaught Village) - Connaught Street & Village Green

London (Westfield White City) - Westfield Shopping Centre

Manchester - Spinningfields, Hardman Square

Newbury - Northbrook Street (Berkshire) — also the home of author Michael Bond; repaired and re-unveiled after vandalism.

Newtownards - Conway Square (in Northern Ireland — part of wider UK-Ireland trail)

Penrith - Town Centre

Peterborough - Queensgate Shopping Centre

Reading - Broad Street

Salisbury - Fisherton Street

Southampton - Westquay Shopping Centre

Sunderland - Bridges Shopping Centre

Paddington Bear with bagpipes. — Paddington Bear with bagpipes

Update

NOTE: As of late-February, 2026, different sources disagree greatly on how many, if any, of the statues have been taken down. They were originally not meant to be permanent, but because of their popularity some are being kept longer than planned. A few seem to have been moved.

Of course, the bronze statue at Paddington Station is permanent. For an overall view of the sites, please see getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk. If you want to see one site in particular, please do your own research.

By Marshall Hughes

Author of Rural Reflections: What 11 Years in Provincial Japan Taught Me