Gromit Unleashed – The Return!

I promised we would return!

And so we did.

When I say this was a long weekend and one with lots of wrong turns, wrongs ways and probably even wrong trousers.

I don;t remember the exact route we took, so I will just use the list from the Visit Bristol website, which can be found via this link here.

Aladdin

Tucked away inside a booth in the St Nicolas Market. I think this was the toughest one to find. The market is tucked up in the corner of Bristol city centre and the parking is tricky.

Ringmaster

Absolutely no parking available near this one as it is on the main road and next to the children’s hospital. We accessed him by parking a few streets away and jogging to and from the car.

Emerald

Emerald is a beautiful statue. Just outside an entrance to the bus and coach station. I did have fun watching some of the coaches for National Express loading up and heading out.

Wallace Goes to Hollywood

It was ana amazingly sunny day in September when we ventured back to Bristol. Unfortunately, it does mean that several of the photos are washed out due to the camera settings. There were two of us snapping photos and you can really tell the difference between the pair.

Anyhoo, Wallace is set outside the entrance to John Wesley’s New Room. It looked like a garden courtyard beyond the stone entranceway. Wallace was a star and always had someone nearby or sitting on the bench. He attracted quite a queue.

Gnarlybot

Frostbite

Cropped to protect identities of those hovering around a busy shopping centre. One thing I will add is a child ran up to the statue to immediately grab at the icicles hanging from the beak and use them as leverage to stand upon the statue base.

Love Actually

Poor Gromit was tucked underneath an escalator. Not my favourite of the statues, it is what is claims to be.

Cuckoo

This one was in an interesting location. I feel like I’m saying that alot, however this one, was actually interesting in the awkward type. The statue is inside a store, Gardiner Haskins Interiors to be exact and just behind the camera, there is a morning meeting of the salesmen going on. Definitely all men. All giving that brash salesman patter with each other. Luckily I was totally ignored upon entering, I probably don’t dress like a typical interiors customer!

I have to give you a close up on the face as I love the bird!

Predator

I had an expectation when I heard the name Predator, I was expecting the hunter from the Aliens universe to be there, which would not have been in the same spirit of the rest of the statues!
What we have instead is a fun nod to the location, near a quay and a quirky outfit for Feathers.

Wednesday

I’ve not seen the series this is based off. I’ve seen the Adams Family so I know the character, however I have yet to watch the series. Partly because it is a Netflix brand, well, yeah, it’s mostly because of that.

Anyways, a gothic Feathers that made the goth inside very happy!

Treasure Island

I believe this is the statue that was the prize for the raffle, so, if you won the statue, congratulations! I do love the detail that went into this one. Feels like it totally encapsulates what the title says.

Robin Hood, Prince of Cheese

The title makes me think of the Kevin Costner movie and the outfit Wallace wears reminds me of the old Errol Flynn movies. The odd angle of the photo is because of the mess the seagulls had made of the bins. All around Bristol it seems that seagulls have learned to open bins and you find numerous pizza and burger boxes with holes in the top where hungry beaks have pecked.

Norbot

He’s just a friendly little guy! I’m not sure why he’s behind bars, however it did make snapping a photo tricky as the pavement is really narrow here!

Casperis

Near the museum and art gallery, I’m guessing there are some Egyptian artifacts within?

Bobby Dazzler

I think I found my favourite statue. Think mirror ball like they had in those old discos that my parents and then I would go to. Every space is covered with the mirror ball effect glass. There are extra signs on the base to warn that the glass edges are sharp and I can honestly say that yes, they were sharp.

Phileas Dogg

I love the story of Around the World in 80 Days and I love what the interpretation was for this theme. A voyage around Bristol with all the main places on the statue.

Oceana

Okay, Oceana might be a favourite of mine too. With the belt of seashells around the waist, perfect!

The nose is a pearl!

King of Diamonds

Astrognome

I know, the worst picture yet. However, there is a tale to be told here.

The site opens at 10am and we were there at 7am. Probably more like 8am, on the Sunday. And well, while I do love Bristol, there just isn’t much to do in the mornings there. Most of Bristol comes alive at night time and I respect that. However, I’m a morning riser and I love to be out and about very early. Plus, due to attempting to find car parking and other events, I was getting rather frustrated at this point.

Rooster Booster

Wallace as a chicken. Well, a rooster I guess.

Woolly Capers

A Shaun the Sheep!

Located outside Aardman offices at the Harbourside in Bristol. A lovely little chap celebrating the 30 years of Aardman.

Jolly Roger

Underfall Yard, the location of this one, is an outside location, however, the gates remain locked until the cafe opens. This is due to a fire at the buildings on the other side of the docks and no pedestrian entrance until the cafe opens. A little annoying as it meant we had to come alllllll the way back. By then, people had arrived and I had to take this photo closer than I would have preferred in order to protect the privacy of a family sat just outside of the shot.

The postcode given, takes you to the buildings seen in the photo behind the statue.