Paddington statue moved to Cardiff Castle 'so more families can enjoy him'

20 November 2024, 16:54 | Updated: 20 November 2024, 17:59

A Paddington statue has been moved from a location where it spent most of the day locked up.

The statue, which arrived in Cardiff to promote the latest Paddington film, was initially erected at St John's gardens in the city centre.

The area is open from 10am to 4pm Monday to Saturday and closed all day on Sunday.

Some people had wanted the statue's hours to be extended and business development service FOR Cardiff opened the gardens for an extra day due to its popularity.

FOR Cardiff posted on Facebook that it was working with Cardiff Council "to explore the possibility of finding him a new home while he's in Cardiff".

A Cardiff Council spokesperson said they were "pleased" to have worked with FOR Cardiff and Studio Canal "to find Paddington a new home at Cardiff Castle for the duration of his visit to Cardiff".

"The castle grounds are free to access and open seven days a week, meaning even more families can enjoy visiting him," they added.

"Full opening hours can be found on the Cardiff Castle website."

Dozens of people visited the statue on Wednesday, including Katie Wise, who was visiting the UK from California.

She said the character was "very beloved" to her as she had her own 44-year-old Paddington bear toy.

"I bought my Paddington bear when my son was born and I placed my son next to my Paddington bear and he was smaller than the bear," she told Sky News.

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Noku Nikisi who lives in Cardiff said it was "pretty cool" to see the fictional bear up close.

"I'd seen on TikTok that he was in the gardens by the cemetery," he added.

"It's definitely a better location for it [at the castle] because you've obviously got Winter Wonderland in here."

(c) Sky News 2024: Paddington statue moved to Cardiff Castle 'so more families can enjoy him'