When I first saw that there was loads of Shaun the sheep’s going to London I was so excited but then so disappointed. I knew having just had my operation 2 months before I would not be able to trek around London finding sheep. But when I got a message of my friend Liz about the sheep coming to Bristol I was jumping around the room. Having done some charity work in the past for the Wallace and Gromit children’s charity I knew this grand day out would be helping a good course.
So on Sunday 26th July I woke up in the early hours of the morning to catch a bus to Bristol to start the hunt for sheep. On my way I downloaded the app that allowed you to see the sheep trails around Bristol. It is the only app I have ever paid for but because of the charity aspect it is well worth its £1.49. There is also a booklet map which you can get from many places in Bristol. But I would advise the app due to the fun you can have with it.
As soon as I arrived in Bristol bus station at 9.30am the adventure began with the first sheep being at the station. As soon as we found it we clicked on the sheep and an excitable baa blasted from our phones. We also gained our first trophy of the day finding a sheep in Bristol; this was the first of many trophies to come. The sheep had great puns plastered over it relating to meat or farm animals that were of places in Bristol.
We then figured out which was the best trail to start to follow. Seeing as we were by the bus station we opted for the old city trail. This trail takes you through the shopping area and along past the hospital and old castle walls. We found our next few sheep including one of my favourites, a Claude Monet inspired waterlilies sheep. Just outside the castle walls near Castle Park he stands watching the traffic go pass. We soon realised an excellent option on the app for confirmation of finding a sheep. If your phones GPS location tracker is not working you can enter a 4 digit code to confirm the sheep you have found. The code can be found at the bottom of each sheep base and is easily entered. With this trail I would make sure you consider opening times. Due to one being in the galleries shopping Centre and on a Sunday it’s not open till 11am.
Just gone 11am we had completed our first trail and were well on our way to having a few trophies. These including find a sheep walking backwards and find 5 Shaun’s. It was time to carry on our mission to find as many sheep as we could with the consistent rain not stopping us. The next trail we opted for was the temple trail taking us through the train station and past the cathedral. The two outside the train station were excellent but hard to get a clear photo. Due to it being a busy area for people to see the sheep. Another trail had bitten the dust and we were super sheep finders gathering more and more trophies by the minute.
At this stage we thought it would be a good chance to have a rest. Grabbing a beverage and refuel to power on through. Our feet were starting to get pretty tired and we realised we may have gotten over excited and peaked too early. Soon it was time to set off again and power through onto the heritage trail. This is where I made my mistake and pulled a muscle in my leg getting to the Shaun at the top of Brandon hill. Those who want just a nice stroll to find sheep I would advise to start with the other trails first before conquering the hill. The heritage trail had another great Shaun on this trail which was situated in the museum. The Shaun was called Arabian nights and was as if the sheep was a Moroccan lantern glistening with light. Other great sheep along this trail included a king Arthur inspired sheep as well as a comic strip Shaun.
It soon came to another break and lunch time was upon us before heading off to do the harbor trail. The harbor trail was a pretty long trail and at this stage we had to take many breaks on benches along the way. The harbor trail offers an array of delights such as the coloured houses, @ Bristol and many more beautiful sights. One sheep along the trail was a tribute to the Beatles Sargent pepper lonely hearts club. Another Shaun on the trail took you right outside the Ardmans head office. Although it was closed and is generally not open to the public it offered other great delights through the window. Many props from such short films as morph, the curse of ware rabbit and Gromit statues just to name a few.
It got to around 7pm and we had done it found 39 Shaun’s, walked 33300 steps which works out as 12.3 miles. We may have been sore and very soggy but we had accomplished so much in a day. some of the trails are out of the city center such as the cribs causeway and the Clifton Bridge trail. It would have been impossible to find all 70 in a day. I would advise anyone who loves the franchise to get down to Bristol before the end of August and get hunting those sheep! The sheep will be all available in London and Bristol on exhibition but you will have to purchase tickets and entry is timed. All sheep will be auctioned and all funds will be going to the Wallace and Gromit children’s Foundation. This truly was an excellent day out despite the rain and a pulled muscle, just a shame I won’t be able to track down every single Shaun. I have only featured a few Shaun’s to avoid spoilers for people who may wish on venturing out on a hunt themselves. All information can be found on the link below and happy hunting!!
http://shauninthecity.org.uk/