One of the world’s most legendary and mischievous Christmas characters is winging its way to London next month to hide around the city as part of a free scavenger hunt. The infamous Scout Elf® is coming to London and taking over some of the most iconic landmarks in the city, as part of an Elf on the Shelf® trail.
The London Heritage Quarter has joined forces with The Lumistella Company to hide 12 giant Scout Elves around the city. They’ll be popping up at 12 locations, including Buckingham Palace, Westminster Cathedral, and Trafalgar Square. Altogether, they make up a public art trail that takes elf-hunters around some of the city’s most famed attractions and sights.
The Elf on the Shelf trail
Next month’s public art trail will be the first ever Elf on the Shelf trail in London. The trail is just the latest in a string of trails around the city. Past trails have included everything from sculptures of lions and lionesses to life-sized paintings, cartoon characters, and more.
While exact dates haven’t been released, the trail will be in place from November to December. The almost 2-metre-tall elves will be scattered around an almost 2km2 area, giving you an impressive area within which to search. And you know those elves are often hard to find! You can find them in unexpected places such as Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey, and the Houses of Parliament.
Each Scout Elf on the trail has been uniquely designed by a team of artists. They each have their own colourful designs, with some sporting cosy Christmas jumpers and others festooned in twinkling stars and snowflakes.
Christmas in the London Heritage Quarter
The trail is just one of several festive activations from the London Heritage Quarter this winter. They’re also responsible for the Strand Christmas lights, which bring a touch of history to the Christmas spectacle, as well as giant Christmas trees in and around Victoria. Spot the lights shining merrily on high from November 12 through the festive season.
They’ll also be bringing a miniature railway art installation to Victoria Station this Winter, in collaboration with beloved British model railway brand Hornby®. The display will “wind its way past recreations of some of London’s most recognisable landmarks, including Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Nelson’s Column and 10 Downing Street.” They’ll unveil the art installation when they switch on the Christmas tree lights in Victoria.
