The Portrait Benches project commemorates local heroes nominated by their communities by immortalising them as life-sized steel figures. You'll find them on National Cycle Network routes across the UK. This latest iteration of the project is in celebration of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
Portrait Bench figures can be found on National Cycle Network routes all across the UK.
As part of the Portrait Benches project, we're celebrating the renowned local artist and sculptor, Mary Edyvean, and Colonel Eric Davidson MBD DL, who organised the annual Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal and remembrance parades in Bury for over six decades.
Route 6 travels in sections from bustling London to the picturesque Lake District, past gorgeous landscapes, alongside historic canals and through some of the UK’s most interesting towns and cities.
Heading towards Bury, the route follows much of the Irwell Sculpture Trail.
Bury and Accrington are linked via on-road and traffic-free sections of the old East Lancashire railway path.
To mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022, local communities nominated heroes from their hometowns.
These heroes have been immortalised as steel figures along the National Cycle Network.
Explore the National Cycle Network
Find walking, wheeling and cycling routes near youCelebrating Bury's local heroes
Mary Edyvean
Mary Edyvean was a renowned local artist and sculptor.
She was heavily involved with Bury Arts Society, serving as both Chair and Vice-President, and worked tirelessly to secure the future of the society in Bury.
Working primarily in watercolours and pastel, Mary's favourite subjects were landscapes and flowers; she exhibited widely both locally and nationally.
Mary was born in Bury in 1933 and passed away, aged 88, in 2021.
Colonel Eric Davidson MBE DL
Colonel Eric Davidson MBE DL organised the annual Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal and remembrance parades in Bury for over six decades.
He was Founder and President of the Band and Corps of Drums of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Lancashire, Chairman of the Fusiliers Association and a Director of the Fusilier Museum.
In 2002, Colonel Eric was appointed as a Deputy Lord Lieutenant and in 2015 made an Honorary Freeman of Bury.