The fourth, and final part of our initial visit to Bristol and the sculpture trail.
We’re still getting used to sleeping in the van and I had a rough night’s sleep waking up very early with a trapped nerve in my hip. We decided to visit a few of the places in the Mendip Hills and head home for a rest.
Toucan Tango
Probably my favourite sculpture in the trail. The fake toucan beak that Feathers is wearing has a raised rope where he has tied it around himself. The tail feathers are wedged into his belt and I feel it really captures the style of disguise that Feathers would use and is known for.
Hot Dog
The postcode sends you to a petrol station called Touts. The place we were looking for was called Touts and so I, wrongly, assumed that the sculpture would be in the shop at the petrol station. There’s even a balloon archway and various images of Gromit. So I headed inside for a wander around. It’s a nice shop, lots of choices and various fridges keeping everything nice and fresh. Could I find the sculpture? Nope.
Had to ask a member of staff, who cheerily told me the sculpture was tucked around the corner by the restaurant, behind the petrol station. All I could do was smile and say thank you. It’s not the staff member that chose the placement. You can see in the photo, the lighter brick is the petrol station and the darker brick on the right is the restaurant.
I’m not a fan of the 50’s Americana aesthetic either!
Hot Dog sits at the bottom of my list, both in location and look.
Poppy
Poppy is within the farm shop at Puxton Park. Accessible when the shop is open and they do not allow dogs into the shop. Poppy is modeled after the character in the movie series Trolls and there is a lot of merchandise for Trolls and Wallace and Gromit on tables near the sculpture. The temptation to buy something was very much felt.
The Big Friendly Wallace
Look at that view!
This Wallace is in a beer garden of a pub called The New Inn. The garden is fenced off and you can walk in and out. Well, we did! The car park is small and there are residential buildings surrounding. It was very much a case of a quick snap and then off we go quietly trying not to disturb too many. A lovely spot to have a cup of tea!
Wallace Aurelius
Parking at Cheddar Gorge is a no go. We first visited around noon on a Friday during the school holidays. Would not recommend as we spend a good half an hour trawling up and down the narrow roadway searching for parking.
This picture was snapped at 6am on a Saturday morning and there were still people around. Not as many mind you and the road was mostly clear.
The Secret Keeper
Yeah.
There’s no sculpture here. There used to be one and talking with locals it had only been removed recently. The stories were split into two camps. One where the statue had been stolen and was removed by people in the night with a van and power tools. The other story was that the statue had been damaged and was removed for safety and to be fixed.
One lady who was completing the trail using the app exclaimed “Am I supposed to take a photo of the base?!”
Once Upon a Time
A gorgeously painted piece set in the garden of a pub called the Beauford Arms. Itself a lovely older building set in the South Cotswold area.
El Plumas
The last of our sculptures for this visit. And, while we were taking in the view, a couple arrived with several plushies and figures of Gromit which they carefully placed around the sculpture before taking a photo. This was their last sculpture of the trail and they were headed home.
It’s the people I enjoyed about the trail. Meeting a group or a person for a brief moment while you wait to snap a photo has been the highlight of the trip.
Talking to someone who has brought memorabilia from their collection to make the photos individual and unique to them. Or the family who had travelled several hundred miles to complete the trail because their child was a huge fan of the characters. The couple that we jokingly ‘raced’ to a few sculptures who had a little jack russell with them called Gromit.
Our feet, backs and knees hurting, we headed home, with a promise that we would return to complete the trails in the centre and harbourside of the city.
