Giraffe About Town: Nessy departs Loch Ness to experience city life in Edinburgh this summer

Edinburgh Zoo’s Giraffe About Town project, which sees a herd of 42 charming giraffe sculptures spread across the capital, continues to bring joy and colour to Edinburgh’s streets.

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The unique art trail is a partnership between the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) and Wild in Art and aims to raise much needed funds for wildlife conservation.

The project will run until August 29 before culminating in a farewell weekend in September where the delightful giraffes will be auctioned off at Edinburgh Zoo.

Nessy can be spotted near the Sandport Place Bridge.

The month-long artistic event also encourages people of Edinburgh to get out and about and rekindle their love for the capital following two years of Covid restrictions, by trying to spot all the colourful creatures around the city’s famous landmarks.

For the next month we will introduce you these impressive creatures, their story and where you can spot them.

Today we feature Nessy, which can be found at the Shore.

Taking inspiration from Scottish legend, the Loch Ness Monster, artist Megan Heather Smith-Evans, said that creating a Nessy design was the first idea that sprung to her mind after observing that both creatures share the same distinctive long neck.

Megan Heather Smith-Evans is a Birmingham-based tattooist and artist who has painted over 30 sculptures for various art trails across the UK, raising over £100k for charities in the process.

Situated near the Sandport Place Bridge, this quirky amphibious sculpture depicts a semi-submerged Nessy-themed giraffe, whose long green body is peering up from the water below.

Once up close, visitors can see that, alongside Nessy’s monster-like appearance, complete with beady yellow eyes and green flippers, there are traditional giraffe patterns underneath, decorating its body.

Megan is a Birmingham-based tattooist and artist who has painted over 30 sculptures for various art trails across the UK, raising over £100k for charities in the process.

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Nessy is proudly sponsored by Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre at Leith’s waterfront.

You can download the Giraffe About Town App to help you explore the trail and also be in with a chance to win prizes.

When you find a sculpture, enter the four digit code into the app and you might unlock a reward from one of the event sponsors.

You can also add to the gallery of sculptures, vote for your favourite and track how far you have walked whilst doing the trail.

The app costs 89p with proceeds going to the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.