Mowbray Park, Sunderland

Had a lovely morning wandering round the beautiful Mowbray Park in Sunderland, which is beside the art gallery and museum.

The life-size Walrus in bronze was made by artist Andrew Burton in 1999. The inspiration for the sculpture comes from the story Alice in Wonderland, written by Lewis Carroll. This story features a poem called ‘The Walrus and the Carpenter’. There is a Sunderland legend that Lewis Carroll was inspired to write this poem after seeing the stuffed walrus in the Sunderland Museum. However the poem was published before the walrus was displayed so there can be no truth to the tale. The head of the Walrus survives to this day and is displayed in the Time Machine gallery in Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens.

Apologies for the live action shot of the pigeon obscuring the walrus’s head, you can see an unobscured walrus as an extra.

Back in Musselburgh now, anyway, I hope you have had a good Sunday.