Oor Wullie’s BIG Bucket Trail: Ben Nevis artist’s mountain adventure sends bids soaring

A Dundee artist who provided the creative spark for one of the stand-out stories of the Oor Wullie’s BIG Bucket Trail says he is “overwhelmed” after seeing his statue raise over £10,000 for charity.

Broughty Ferry man Douglas Roulston not only designed and painted one of the most loved statues of the nationwide trail, he then managed to convince a team of volunteers to trail it to the summit of Ben Nevis in a feat of endurance that made headlines around the country.

VIDEO: Charity team lugs 5ft Oor Wullie to summit of Ben Nevis

Douglas, who teaches art at Forfar Academy, was at Inverurie Exhange on Tuesday evening to see all of his efforts pay off as his Oor Nevis statue sold for £11,000 – one of the top bids of the night.

Douglas said: “I’m ecstatic. It sold for £11,000 which I’m just overwhelmed by. I’m just so happy that we’ve raised so much money.”

He added: “The team put in so much effort into climbing that mountain and I’m just so chuffed that it paid off.”

© Andrew Cawley/ DCT Media

Douglas’ statue was one of five that broke the five-figure barrier at the auction, helping the evening raise a total of £316,700. Following Monday’s night’s opening auction in Dundee, where £239,000 was raised, it means the ARCHIE Foundation, which works to improve children’s experiences when in hospital, is well over £550,000 better off this week.

The charity’s CEO David Wood said: “It’s absolutely wonderful. We’ve had huge support, not just in Tayside but in Grampian, and between the two regions we’ve amassed over £500,000.

“We couldn’t be more grateful for all the support we’ve received.”

The Oor Wullie’s BIG Bucket Trail auctions move on to Edinburgh on Thursday evening, where the money raised on the night will go to Edinburgh Children’s Hospital. The final auction of the week is in Glasgow in aid of Glasgow Children’s Hospital.

The Sunday Post will be live from both auctions and you can follow all of our trail auction news throughout the week at www.sundaypost.com/tag/owbbt