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The Great Britain Guide

Public art & sculpture · Central Scotland

The DunBear

Free admission♿ Wheelchair: limited

The DunBear in Scotland Central, United Kingdom.

A tribute to John Muir at Dunbar - geograph.org.uk - 6331999

M J Richardson — CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons licence

Plan your visit

Typical visit
1 h–2 h
  • Free entry
  • Dog-friendly
  • Limited wheelchair access

About

The DunBear is a public sculpture in Scotland Central, United Kingdom, dating from 2019. Britain's public art ranges from Henry Moore reclining figures and Anthony Gormley installations to the Angel of the North and the surviving statues of empire.

Photo gallery

From the Wikipedia article

The Dunbear is a five-metre-high steel sculpture of a brown bear standing on its hind legs. The public artwork is located immediately adjacent to the A1 at Dunbear Par, Dunbar in East Lothian, Scotland. This proposed low carbon community is part of the Hallhill development and is being progressed by the landowner, Hallhill Developments Ltd. Erected in November 2019, The Dunbear is a tribute to John Muir, the Dunbar-born naturalist and conservationist. Muir is known as "Father of the National Parks" due to his role in the establishment of National Parks in the US, including Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. The brown bear sculpture was created by Andy Scott, the Scottish sculptor whose other public artworks include The Kelpies in Falkirk and the Beacon of Hope in Belfast.

Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.

Background

History

The name of the sculpture, The Dunbear, was chosen as the result of a competition involving local schools and named by a pupil at Dunbar Grammar School. It is a play on words of the town of "Dunbar" and the sculpture of a "bear". The brown bear was chosen to symbolise the role that John Muir played in establishing National Parks in the USA. These included Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, and through the creation of these certain species such as the brown bear have survived and thrived. According to the sculptor, Andy Scott, The Dunbear "is a symbol of the wilderness John Muir was such a passionate advocate of and is testament to his incredible desire to protect the natural environment".…

Architecture

The Dunbear is five metres high and positioned on top of a mound at Dunbear Park, Hallhill, in Dunbar. Located immediately adjacent to the A1, the site for The Dunbear was selected as it is at the primary gateway to the town and is visible from both the A1 and East Coast Main Line. Work on the sculpture commenced in 2018 and was completed in 2019. The Dunbear is made of welded steel and fabricated from plates of various thicknesses. Heavy at the bottom and lighter towards the top, this gives the structure an inherent strength. The sculpture is fixed to a base erected on a mound planted with wildflowers, and visitors can access it via a footpath. Illuminated by lighting powered by onsite…

Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Coordinates
55.9883, -2.5070
District
East Lothian
Postcode
EH42 1BF
Parliamentary constituency
Lothian East
Established
2019

Sources

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Frequently asked questions

Where is The DunBear?
The DunBear is in central Scotland, United Kingdom (postcode EH42 1BF).
When was The DunBear built?
Built or established in 2019.
Who owns The DunBear?
The DunBear is owned by | accession =.
Is The DunBear free to visit?
Yes, The DunBear is free to enter.
How do I get to The DunBear?
Drivers can navigate to postcode EH42 1BF. It sits within the Lothian East parliamentary constituency.