Shaun the Sheep - Bristol IV

From Dusk 'til Shaun. A nocturnal Shaun with a sunset colour scheme. I like this one, very colourful. He is in Brandon Hill Nature Park. Hill is the important bit there. It's quite steep. Nice park, but steep. In the background is Cabot Tower, built in 1897 to commemorate the voyage of John Cabot from Bristol to Newfoundland (they thought long and hard over naming that). It's 100 feet high and you can climb to the top using the staircase inside if the climb up the hill wasn't enough for you, or you can fly if you have wings.

Shaun in the City - Bristol III

Shaun on the Cob, Shaun the Sheep crossed with a corn on the cob. In a shopping centre, just outside a fairly well known shop. Having met this Shaun I started feeling peckish, not that dragons eat vegetables but they do eat - better not say it around Shaun -. Which probably explains why I kept fancying a snack.

Shaun in the City - Bristol II

This Shaun is Cecilia. Cecilia is covered with Laura Ashley designs and is in one of the shopping centres in Bristol - there's a few of those and you can't always tell one ends and another begins. Cecilia was very nice, only trouble is he looked like a duvet so I kept thinking it was bed time. The noise in the shopping centre would have kept me awake and it was a bit bright, I prefer my nice dark caves.

Shaun in the City - Bristol I

Off to Bristol for more Shauns. Bristol is the home of Shaun the Sheep and is a rather nice city, it's also close to Wales which makes it even nicer, but not as nice as if it was in Wales. Anyway, this Shaun is Bagpuss Shaun in Cabot Circus. I know who Bagpuss is, but I don't get the frog on his head. Still he seemed a nice enough frog, not keen on the banjo though. I was hoping to find Jessica Fletcher but Shaun and the Frog didn't know who I was talking about. I guess they had only lived in Cabot Circus for a couple of days so didn't know everybody yet.

Christmas Steps Bristol

During my visit to Bristol I went to Christmas Steps. This is a steep narrow street just outside the city walls. It's a very old street and originally the river would have been close to the bottom of the hill. Barrels were rolled down the hill to be loaded onto ships. The steps were put in place in 1669, which will have put a stop to rolling barrels. Where the name 'Christmas Steps' came from nobody knows, it used to be known as 'Queene Street' in Medieval days. Then it became 'Knifesmyth Street' after the trade in the area, I think that means people made swords and knives there. Years ago it was full of pubs. At the bottom is a very old building dating back to 13th C and in it is a very old fish and chip shop, supposedly one of the first to open in England.

Near the bottom of Christmas Steps I met this man and his horse. I told him how to get to the top of the steps without going up the steps themselves. His horse wasn't keen on climbing the steps.

William Tyndale

After chatting with Cary Grant I saw William Tyndale. Tyndale is famous for translating the Bible into English. This was forbidden at the time so he had to go into hiding. He was writing as English was changing from Middle English to Early Modern English. He created new words and coined a lot of phrases still in use. He came up with "under the sun", "signs of the time", "pour out one's heart" and "Go the extra mile". With out him it looks like song writers and management consultants would be stuck for things to say. In this photo he was telling me he is working on a new translation of the Bible. I asked about any dragons, maybe for a Welsh language version. I'm not sure he speaks Welsh. I had to be careful with breathing out fire when I was with him though. Aside from setting fire to his book he seemed a bit scared of flames. Can't think why.

Cary Grant

When not being swamped by Gromits I got a chance to meet Cary Grant. He's originally from Bristol. Though his real name's Archibald Leach. I suppose Archibald isn't really an actors name. I can't think of any actors called Archibald. It is Captain Haddocks first name, not sure if he counts as an actor though. In his hand you can see the script I gave him. It's about a good looking, funny, sophisticated, suave and charming dragon. I would play the lead and he would have a supporting role. He said he would think about it, so I mentioned when I met Humphrey Bogart in Bruges. He got a bit more interested then.

Gromit Unleashed Bristol - Last Two

Outside St Mary Redcliffe for this Gromit. The oldest part of this church dates back to 1185. The rest of it was built over a period of a couple of hundred years. In 1446 the spire was struck by lightning and fell, damaging the interior of the church. The spire was rebuilt in 1872 to a height of 292', making it one of the tallest in the country.

Not far from St Mary Redcliffe, outside a hotel, is another Gromit. This Gromit is called 'Blazing Saddles'. Designed by a local illustrator and designer Carys-ink. Not that's her real name. I suppose I should have sat in the saddle as one is there but I went for the little cowboy hat instead.

Unleashed Gromits Still in Bristol

A few Gromits are in the shopping centres. This is in the new Cabot Cove, oh sorry Cabot Circus, shopping centre. It's quite large and connects with another shopping centre. I say new but its been open five years now. I did look for Jessica Fletcher but I couldn't find her. Probably busy investigating the death of yet another nephew or cousin, not enough time for shopping.

Back over in the harbour area now. I'm by Arnolfini which is an arts centre in an old tea warehouse. It has all manner of things going on here - art exhibitions, music, dance and poetry readings. On the plus side it has a cafe bar that serves wine! There is water on three sides at this point and a swing bridge to get to the other side of the harbour. On the other side of the harbour are four old cranes, at least one still works, and the Pyronaut, a fireboat. She was built in 1934 and retired in 1972. She was sold with plans to convert it to a diving boat, which never went ahead, and sold again with plans to move her to Ireland. This didn't happen either and she got sold to Bristol City Museum where she was restored. She travelled to London in 2012 to take part in the Queens Jubilee Pageant. Though she went by road.

Gromit Still Unleashed in Bristol

Not far from Cascade Steps is this Gromit. He is dressed as a super hero. He still can't fly though, unlike me, as you need wings, not a cape or a leotard. Otherwise the sky would be full of people going to their latest keep fit craze. Which wouldn't be nice for me and my fellow dragons.

Over to St Nicholas Market now. There has been a market here since 1743. The building Gromit is in is the Corn Exchange. Not that it was ever used exclusively as a corn exchange. It was used by all different types of merchants. Initially it didn't have a roof over the internal courtyard as the traders weren't used to trading indoors. Around 100 years later they changed their minds and a roof was put on. It's the last surviving exchange building from the 18th C as the other two, in Liverpool and London, burnt down. There's a market here and in the surrounding streets every day.

Gromit Unleashed Bristol - Again

More of Gromit having his photograph with me. This is in a new development near Millennium Square. Lots and lots of new flats being built and a bit off the beaten track, so very quiet round this Gromit.

Here we are by the Cascade Steps. The Cascade Steps being a series of steps with water running down them at the city centre arm of the floating harbour. Where we are standing covers the River Frome. The floating harbour was constructed in the 19th century to increase the docks capacity as Liverpool was attracting more trade. It created a stable water level by creating locks to the River Avon, which has a high tidal range. It cost more than expected - nothing changes. The docks fell in to disuse in the 20th C. There was even a plan to fill in part of it and build a road in the 60's. Luckily things went badly for the council, despite getting a bill through parliament, and the docks were saved. The area is still being redeveloped but what has been done makes it a very nice palace to go for a walk and have a drink.

Gromit Unleashed Bristol

More from Gromit Unleashed in Bristol. I'm in King Street for this photo. Gromit is just by the Llandoger Trow, a very old pub. A Trow was a flat bottom barge, Llandogo is a village 20 miles away in South Wales. It's said this pub is where Daniel Defoe met Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration for Robinson Crusoe. It also appears as The Admiral Benbow in Treasure Island.

This Gromit is in Queens Square. Being largely red it was a bit difficult to photograph him with me. The statue behind is William III, he has been there since 1736. In 1937 the council decided to put a dual carriageway through the centre of the square and moved William III as a result. It took until the 1980's before they realised it was a silly idea and plans were made to restore the square. In the 1990's the dual carriageway was closed and the restoration of the square began. It's now a very nice place.

Gromit Trail in Bristol

I'm in Bristol and looking at Gromits. To raise money for charity there are 80 Gromits around Bristol, though one is in London. There is a map showing the location of each one on the trail. Each Gromit has been decorated by an artist and will be auctioned when the exhibition is over.

I didn't see all 80 Gromits. These are the first two photo's of Gromits with me.