Communities across Perthshire are preparing to bid farewell to their Hairy Highland Coos after a summer of joy in aid of CHAS.
The charity sculpture trail has been a huge hit, attracting visitors to locations across Perth and Kinross.
However, it ends on Friday when the 30 colourfully decorated model cows will be rounded up for a bit of TLC.
They will reappear on September 21-22 for a farewell weekend at Scone Palace.
Fans will be able to view them all together, for one last time, before they are auctioned to raise money for Scotland’s children’s hospice charity on September 26.
Hayley Smith of Wild In Art, which put on the sculpture trail for CHAS, says more than 1,000 tickets for the farewell weekend have been sold already.
And she revealed visitors are in for a few surprises, including some all-new coos to add to their collections.
“We’ll have a few specially-commissioned mini-coos that haven’t been out on the trail, as well as all the coos and all the mini-coos,” she said.
“It’s been so lovely to see the reaction to the trail.”
How one town made the most of its place on the Hairy Highland Coo Trail
Most of the coos were sponsored by large organisations, such as Stagecoach or Simon Howie Butchers.
But in Auchterarder, a group of small businesses in the area formed a “coo-operative” to cover the cost of sponsoring a sculpture.
Maisie Moonro has stood Garrie’s Corner all summer.
And visitors have been challenged to follow a trail of letters in the windows of shops along the high street.
Traders even collaborated with local photographer Johnathon Dunn on a video for social media to make the most of the town’s time in the limelight.
Ang Laurie, of the Auchterarder and Aberuthven Community Action Plan, said Maisie had been a fantastic addition to the high street.
“People were excited to see her arrive, and her cheery face has had people smiling all summer,” she said.
“It’s been lovely seeing coo-spotters making a day of visiting the town as they check her off their lists.
“There’s a wonderful sense of community here and the coo-operative has felt an especially nice reason to bring people together,” she added.
“the trail supports such a deserving cause.”
Tickets for the Hairy Highland Coo Trail farewell weekend are available here. They cost £5 for adults and £2.50 for children. All profits will go to CHAS.
Potential bidders for the sculptures are being urged to register their interest here.
Conversation