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 Karl White, Emily Campbell and Sheku Kanneh-Mason, all of whom have significantly contributed to the local and broader community.
Nottingham sits on Route 6 of the National Cycle Network.
This long-distance path passes through the heart of England in sections from London to the Lake District.
Here in Nottingham, it travels past the university and alongside the River Leen on a mostly traffic-free route.
It picks back up to the north at Bestwood Country Park, a lakeside area home to a range of plants and wildlife including the greylag goose and the great crested grebe.
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 Nottingham's local heroes
Karl White, 'Mr Meadows'
Karl White was a youth worker with the council for over 30 years who believed in equality, diversity, and inclusion.
Known as ‘Mr Meadows’ within the community for his tireless efforts, he founded the FC Cavaliers football club in 1978.
Karl's legacy will continue as a true community hero, respected and loved by many.
Sheku Kanneh-Mason
Sheku Kanneh-Mason was the first black musician to win the BBC Young Musician competition in 2016.
In 2018, he played at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, reaching nearly two billion people and becoming a household name.
Sheku and his siblings performed heartfelt free livestreams from their family home during the Covid-19 lockdown, garnering huge international attention.
Sheku was awarded an MBE in the Queen's 2020 New Year's Honours list for his services to music.
Emily Campbell
Emily Campbell is a weightlifter who won silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the women’s +87kg event, the first medal in this sport for a British athlete since 1984, and Gold in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Emily is now a full-time athlete, and balances her work and training while supporting and inspiring the next generation of weightlifters in her community.