Pictures and prices from CHAS Hairy Highland Coo Trail auction at Scone Palace

The Hairy Highland Coo sculptures are off to their new homes and CHAS is £272,300 better off after Thursday night's charity auction

By Morag Lindsay

September 27 2024, 2:32pm

Project manager Hayley Smith and the Alphabet Coo welcomed bidders to the CHAS Hairy Highland Coo Trail auction at Scone Palace. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson

The Hairy Highland Coo Trail has trotted out on a high note, with a whopping £272,300 raised at auction for CHAS.

Bidders gathered at Scone Palace and online on Thursday night in the hope of bagging one of the colourfully-painted cow sculptures for themselves.

Biggest seller on the night was Lavender, painted by artist Sylvia Whitely, which fetched £15,000.

She said she was proud her sculpture, which was based at Loch Leven’s Larder near Kinross all summer, had played its part in the trail’s success.

Butcher Simon Howie paid £12,000 for the sculpture he’d sponsored.

SImon Howie being shown a sculpture of a golden cow in the audience at Scone Palace — Simon Howie proved he knows a good coo when he sees one. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson.

Charlotte Cope’s Love Letter to Perthshire Coo was another big hit, going for £11,000. It was sponsored by Stagecoach and featured a host of local landmarks.

Hamish the Doodle Coo, which stood outside Perth’s AK Bell Library, and the hairy coo from the St John’s Shopping Centre, sold for £10,000 each.

Meanwhile, the saltire coo, which was based by the river at Dunkeld, went to a mystery bidder who made an offer that was too good to refuse ahead of the auction.

All 30 of the coos that were dotted around Perth and Kinross this summer are now going to new homes.

Hairy Highland Coo Trail sculptures outside Scone Palace at sunset — The sun set on the Hairy Highland Coo Trail at Thursday night’s auction. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson.

They went under the hammer along with a number of bonus sculptures, which helped to boost the fundraising total beyond organisers’ wildest expectations.

Speaking at the launch last September, organisers said they hoped to raise at least £100,000 to support the children’s hospice charity’s work at Rachel House, Kinross, and elsewhere.

Scone auction concludes memorable summer for Hairy Highland Coo Trail

The CHAS team say they are grateful to everyone who took the coos to their hearts this summer.

That includes the almost 5,000 people who visited them during their farewell event at Scone palace last weekend.

Lorry with cow sculpures on board outside Scone Palace — McLaughlan Transport sent a makeshift cattle float to Scone Palace. Image: Hairy Highland Coo Trail.

And they had special vote of thanks for McLaughlan Transport, who stepped in at the last minute and provided a free lorry and temporary storage for our coos until they go to their new homes.

Here are some of the best photos from the Hairy Highland Coo Trail auction at Scone Palace.