A Family Holiday Hunting for Gromit in Bristol

At the start of the month, the Milkman and I took the boys away for our first family holiday since Mini Milk arrived.  With money being tight - what with me being at the tail end of maternity leave - we hadn't thought we'd get away at all.  However, fate was smiling on us and though a holiday abroad was a bit too much of a stretch, we decided to treat ourselves to a staycation.  We've had a few of these in the past couple of years and I really enjoy the chance to visit places a bit closer to home but which we wouldn't otherwise have explored.  

We decided on Bristol as our destination, after seeing a piece on the news about the Gromit Unleashed event that is being run in the city until September.  Basically, a range of artists and celebrities have been given free reign to give Wallace's dog Gromit a new look, and then these works of art have been dotted around the city to be tracked down.  It's all in aid of charity, and really appealed to us as a family holiday thing as it added an element of fun for Half Pint (and us grown ups!) to .

We really lucked out on the weather, as I think everyone in the UK did that week. It softened the blow of not being abroad, as wandering about in the sunshine and heat we honestly could have been in the south of France.  And Bristol is really very nice, particularly down at the harbour side.  It's also incredible for shopping...I'm thinking it would be great for a retail and spa therapy hen weekend!  Gromits aside, the city has a lot to offer and we visited the M Shed and saw some of the graffiti left over from Upfest as well while we were there.  I may have also forced the family to make an extra journey so that I could see a real Banksy, and have a bit of a fangirl moment!

We made a good stab at hunting for Gromits, scoring 28 out of 79 (there are 80, but one is in London).  Our finds were mainly in the city centre, but as we were staying in a Hilton outside the centre we scored a few further out too.  We weren't the only Gromit spotters either, and we met some spotters at more than one Gromit!    

To avoid spamming this entry with pictures of Gromit, I've narrowed down my favourites to feature.  I had really liked the sound of one designed by Joanna Lumley, but it had been taken away for maintenance so there is no photo of him.  But we did manage to see the one designed by Zayn from One Direction, so made sure to Facebook a photo of that one for Pink Milk.  I'm a little gutted we didn't see Phillip Treacy's Butterfly Gromit or the Gromberry one though!

To break up the journey on the way back we had a night in Chester.  We visited the site of the Roman Amphitheatre but decided against visiting the Roman experience museum because we were more in the mood to simply wander about.  Chester is a great place for that - it's so pretty, and packed with shops.  We didn't stay too long in the centre though, as we were staying in a Doubletree and the lure of the incredible pool and spa was too strong!  Mini Milk loved bobbing about in his little float and also figured out how to launch himself off the side of the pool into my arms at the count of three - too friggin' cute!  And of course Half Pint was in his element in the water, so the Milkman and I just tag-teamed time in the sauna and steam rooms whilst the kids turned prune-like in the pool.

A lot of good eating went on during our holiday.  And by good, I of course mean very, very bad!  I was too scared to step on the scales when we got home, but diets and holidays are not allowed in the same equation in my world!  We kept it cheap and cheerful to keep the costs down, pub grub all the way.  Not quite the same as eating abroad, but it appeals to my gluttonous side.  Though I have to say both Hilton's left a lot to be desired with their dining options.  We had an afternoon tea in the Bristol hotel and the only thing worth mentioning from that was the timer to ensure you got a perfect cuppa.  We then had a very disappointing meal in the Chester hotel too, but it redeemed itself with an incredible buffet breakfast!

I'm actually glad we didn't put ourselves through the stress of a holiday abroad with Mini Milk still so young.  Like the rest of us, his skin is more goth than beach bum, and he has a definite line of tolerance when travelling that once crossed (after about an hour or two) results in nearly non-stop screaming...can't see that being popular on a plane!  Half Pint was 15 months when I first took him abroad, to Greece.  And whilst easier than I imagine travelling with a ten month old would be, even that wasn't a breeze.  I think we'll try to book something for next year, when Mini will be nearly two and hopefully a more willing passenger.

Bring on the holiday catalogues!