Trans Pennine Trail Midpoint Sculpture
Flight Path is a permanent public sculpture commissioned by the Trans Pennine Trail, marking the official midpoint of the 215-mile coast-to-coast route that spans from Southport to Hornsea. The sculpture is located at RSPB Old Moor, a nationally important nature reserve and a key destination on the trail.
Inspired by the patterns of flight and migration seen in local birdlife, Flight Path references both natural and human journeys. The sculpture invites trail users to pause, reflect, and orient themselves — offering a moment of stillness in a place shaped by constant movement.
A Marker and a Metaphor
As a nationally significant marker, positioned at the heart of one of the UK’s most important long-distance trails, the work embodies balance — between east and west, past and future, nature and infrastructure. Its siting at RSPB Old Moor underscores the transformation of the Dearne Valley from a once post-industrial landscape into a thriving haven for wildlife.
Flight Path is both a waypoint and a poetic symbol — a point where human journeys meet those of migrating and native birds. It invites walkers and cyclists to pause, look up, and reflect.
The sculpture is made from Corten steel — that warm, rust-toned metal that changes with time and weather. It symbolises both the permanence of the trail and the ever-shifting rhythms of the natural world. Birds rise in flight across its surface, joined by human figures in motion, echoing the rhythms of footfall and wingbeat.
This project has been especially rewarding — not just for its location, but because it touches on themes I often return to in my work: movement, connection, storytelling, and birds. Please see ‘Belonging’ and ‘Sentiment d’appartenance’.
The idea began with a simple sketch — lines rising and paths converging, inspired by the flight paths of birds and the flow of people along the trail. Similar to those network maps used by airlines, these first lines hinted at connection and movement.
From these early sketches and ideas came paper models and then 3D prototypes, exploring how light might pass through, how silhouettes could emerge. Patrick wanted the birds to appear as if they were lifting from the metal — playing with positive and negative space.
He carefully drew individual bird shapes, refining their movement and positioning. The final sculpture was laser-cut from Corten steel and includes a bench, offering a place to pause. In this way, it becomes part sculpture, part shelter, part story — and even a kind of functional bird hide.
Throughout the process, he documented the making — from shots of the steel being cut and folded at the fabricators, to the final installation. (A selection of these photos is shared below.)
Here are a series of images of the completed sculpture in situ, capturing how it sits within the landscape and how light and shadow interact with its details.
The sculpture was designed to animate as sunlight shines through its details at different times of day.
The birds create changing effects when viewed from the front and back of the sculpture.
Details from the sculpture
Listen to Patrick talk about the sculpture and why the trail matters in a podcast by the Trans Pennine Trail team, recorded at the unveiling.
