5:46pm Friday 8th February 2013
By Chris Webber
A PICNIC bench straight from the pages of Alice in Wonderland has been unveiled at a bird sanctuary.
The £12,000 bench, carved from solid oak, was revealed to the public at the RSPB’s Saltholme bird centre near Billingham, north of Stockton.
It depicts the famous Mad Hatter’s tea party scene from Lewis Carroll’s iconic story.
Created by Midlands sculptor Andrew Frost from a 10ft slab of oak it has been paid for by the Impetus Environmental Trust.
Dave Braithwaite, site manager at Saltholme, said: “The idea is to get young people here for picnics and fun activities and hopefully they’ll get interested in wildlife while they’re having fun.
“The sculpture is amazing and our picnickers can sit on these big wooden armchairs like thrones.”
Lewis Carroll, one of Britain’s most famous 19th Century authors, grew up at Croft, near Darlington.
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