Gromit Spotting, Street Art & Lunch at Roll for the Soul in Bristol

Hi everyone! I’ve finally made it back to blogging world!

I hope you’ve all had a fantastic summer

After a refreshing break, I’m very happy to be back ‘plugged’ in. I’m really looking forward to catching up with you!  I’ve got lots to share this month, including some exciting giveaways and yummy recipes, but I thought I’d kick start my return to blogging by sharing some pics of one of my favourite family days out this summer.

Wallace & Gromit Bristo
‘Newshound’ by Nick Park CBE

I’m not sure whether my international friends will have heard about Wallace and Gromit, but they are the most endearing couple that feature in a series of stop-motion comedy films, created by Nick Park at the Aardman Animations Studios in Bristol.

Gromit Spotting 8
‘Isambark Kingdog Brunel’ by Tim Miness

This summer, 80 Gromits were ‘unleashed‘ on the streets of Bristol and surrounding area. The 5ft tall Gromits were individually designed and named by famous artists and celebrities.

Gromit Spotting 6
‘Where’s Wallace?’ by Martin Handford

While the trail finishes this Sunday (8th September), from the 18th to 22nd September, all 80 Gromits will be on display at the Royal West of England Academy (RWA) in Clifton, Bristol. They will then be auctioned in October to raise money for the Bristol Children’s Hospital

Gromit Spotting 5
‘TutanGromit’ by Dale Evans

The trail has been hugely popular with people of all ages. And what a fantastic way to encourage kids to go walking!  I reckon we must have spent over 4 hours walking round the streets of Bristol, but Lil’ L was far too busy Gromit spotting to notice. Every time he spotted one, he photographed it, checked it off on his trail map, then he was straight onto the next one!

Gromit Spotting 4
‘Lancelot’ by Paul Smith

We ended up spotting about 25 Gromits, so there are still plenty more to discover. If we don’t make it over to Bristol this weekend, we’ll definitely have to go and see the display at the RWA at the end of the month.

Gromit Spotting 7
‘Poetry in Motion’ by Joanna Lumley OBE

In addition to the Gromits, we also enjoyed spotting all the amazing street art in Bristol. I just love wandering round the streets taking it all in. Every time we visit, we seem to stumble upon new pieces.

Bristol Street Art

This visit, we also stumbled across this fantastic vegetarian community cafe called ‘Roll for the Soul‘, which promotes cycling (it even has a bike workshop upstairs).

Roll for the Soul Bristol 3

I don’t think there could have been a more fitting place for us to have lunch!  It was awesome!  A large proportion of the food served at the cafe is vegan too 🙂

Roll for the Soul Bristol 1

This time, all three of us chose the falafel wraps. They were HUGE, perfect for hungry cyclists (and Gromit spotters) and very tasty indeed. I can’t wait to go back again to try their soul burgers and vegan cakes. Maybe if I cycle across to Bristol I’ll have a big enough appetite to fit it all in 😉

Roll for the Soul Bristol 2

All in all, it was a fantastic family day out. One that I’ll treasure forever

Do you have any community or not-for-profit veggie cafes where you live? If so, I’d love to hear about them.

p.s. Thank you Lil’ L for allowing me to share your Gromit and street art pics. They’re awesome!