The Next Gromit Unleashed Trail is Returning!

The Next Gromit Unleashed Trail is Returning!

The Next Gromit Unleashed Trail is Returning!

It’s the news you’ve all been waiting for, Gromiteers! Yes, you heard us correctly. Our pup-ular Bristol trail will be back. Get ready for more spectacular sculptures, innovation, creativity, big names and starring roles from some of Aardman’s iconic characters.

The burning question is ‘when?’... Gromit Unleashed return to Bristol from Monday 30 June, 2025. So, you have plenty of time to clear your diary and prepare for another sculpture spectacle.

 

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Here’s a little overview of our three epic sculpture trails, some of the fantastic artists and the groundbreaking auctions that raised a breath-taking amount of money raised for sick children in the South West.

2013: The Birth of Gromit Unleashed

Gromit Unleashed started 10 years ago in partnership with Aardman. After a huge call out, we had over 500 different sculpture designs submitted. After much deliberation 80 Gromits were chosen and unleashed across Bristol.


Nick Park at the launch of Gromit Unleashed in 2013 next to Grrrromit at Bristol Harbourside.

Photo: In true Wallace & Gromit style, a steam train carrying Gromit sculptures, with Nick Park watching them arrive safely at Bristol's picturesque harborside.

We are sure you’ll remember them all fondly - especially the famous faces, brands and artists whom each gave their own unique design, including Pixar, The Snowman creator Raymond Briggs, Cath Kidston, comedian Harry Hill, artist Sir Quentin Blake, actress Joanna Lumley to name a few.

Once the trail was announced, Gromit fever well and truly took hold. The colourful canines were an instant hit with visitors from near and far. Did you know Gromit Unleashed brought over 1.2 million people to our beautiful city of Bristol?

Gromit Unleashed Trail 2013 Harry Hill Nick Park and Raymond Briggs and Gromit!
After a summer-long tour of Bristol, the 80 houndsome pups were rounded up for The Greatest Dog Show on Earth. The crowds were immense, with some people waiting up to eight hours to see the sculptures. Over 25,000 people visited the exhibition that summer.

The Gromit frenzy showed no signs of stopping. In October 2013, each sculpture went under the hammer at an auction, raising an astonishing £2.3 million for Bristol Children's Hospital.

Find out more about our first Gromit Unleashed trail.

Next: Shaun in the City   
2015 saw Shaun the Sheep starring in two ewe-nique arts trails around Bristol and London. A total of 120 sculptures of Aardman’s award-winning character flocked to iconic locations and green spaces.  

 

Nick Park at the launch of Shaun in the City. Driving Shaun the Sheep across Clifton Suspension bridge.
Photo: 2 July 2015 at the Bristol launch. Nick Park drove a fab-ewe-lous flock of Shaun the Sheep sculptures across the Clifton Suspension Bridge by a tractor for their big homecoming.

Many of the sculptures were designed by celebrities and artists like British supermodel David Gandy, Dame Zandra Rhodes, Wayne Hemingway, Bagpuss creator Peter Firmin and DreamWorks, to name but a few.

Local Bristol artists also got involved. Paula Bowles, Tom Hovey, Emily Ketteringham, Emily Golden and Tim Sutcliffe all added ewe-nique style to the flock.

Shaun in the City trail in Bristol and London featuring Tom Hovey, Nick Park, Wayne Hemingway

Meanwhile, iconic brands like Cath Kidston, Tatty Devine, Paddington, Hello Kitty, Mr Men, Little Miss, Thunderbirds and Peter Rabbit TM joined the trail frenzy.  

We can’t forget Aardman Directors and charity trustees Nick Park and Peter Lord, and Shaun the Sheep the Movie director Richard Starzak who added their woolly designs to the growing flock. 

 

27 June 2018 saw The Great Bristol Boat Chase take place between Gromit and Feathers McGraw to launch the summer of trail spotting.

Photo: BAA-WULF by Peter Lord. Baaack to the Drawing Board by Nick Park
and Lotus by Richard Starzak.

Gromit Unleashed fans didn’t disappoint- that’s you! The Shaun in the City trails were a huge success, with the trail app reaching the top of the charts within 24 hours of launching. Herds of people visited the trails, making them a major tourist attraction for the summer in both cities.

Take a closer look at Shaun in the City trail.

Gromit Unleashed 2
2018 saw Gromit Unleashed return to Bristol with a bang. This time, Gromit was not alone. His pal Wallace and the arch nemesis Feathers McGraw joined him for cheeky shenanigans and trail fun.

27 June 2018 saw The Great Bristol Boat Chase take place between Gromit and Feathers McGraw to launch the summer of trail spotting.

Photo: 27 June 2018 saw The Great Bristol Boat Chase take place between
Gromit and Feathers McGraw to launch the summer of trail spotting.

Gromit Unleashed 2 the trail launch Bristol

67 designs dazzled the streets of Bristol for nine weeks, perfectly placed for a proper ‘Grand Day Out’ with family and friends. The fun didn’t stop there. Gromit Unleashed 2 was a truly innovative trail. From augmented reality to contactless donations and interactive sculptures, it beautifully combined arts and science to bring a whole new spectacle of sculptures to Bristol.

Remember our turbo-powered ‘Trailblazer’ pooch ‘Gromjet’? Designed by Rolls-Royce and located at Aerospace Bristol. The engines on his backpack turned 33 times per second, and he even hovered off the ground! Who can forget the wind-up Feathers McGraw, ‘In-cog-nito’, designed by Amalgam and situated at The Mall at Cribbs Causeway? This sinister penguin was built with moving cogs, glowing eyes and a revolving head.

Interactive GU sculptures Gromjet and IN-COG-NITO from Gromit Unleashed 2
Photo: ‘Gromjet’ and ‘In-cog-nito’.

This trail had its fair share of household names too. Brands like LEGO, Pixar Animation Studios and Minions all created their very own sculpture, while engineering giants such as Rolls-Royce and Renishaw used top technology to reimagine Gromit like never before.

The Gromits

This trail saw a perfect combination of sitting and standing Gromits. We welcomed everyone’s favourite, classic Gromit, by Nick Park and pup-u-lar sculptures ‘Cracking Build Gromit!’ by the world-famous brand LEGO and ‘Gromit P. Sullivan’, nicknamed Sulley from Monster’s Inc. by Pixar Animation Studios.

Gromit glowed in the dark with ‘Dias de los Perros’, inspired by the ‘Day of the Dead’ holiday by Aardman artist Gavin Strange and we got a sugar rush with ‘Sprinkles’, designed by Bristol artist Tom Hovey known for his graphics on The Great British Bake Off! With just a tiny example of the pedigree of pups in this trail, it couldn’t fail to be a success.

Gromit Unleashed 2 LEGO Gromit 'Cracking Build Gromit!' Gromit P. Sullivan and Dias de los Perros
Photo: 'Cracking Build Gromit!’, ‘Gromit P. Sullivan’ and ‘Dias de los Perros'. 

The Wallace effect 
Cheese-loving hero Wallace wasn’t spared from the breadth of ideas and creativity of our many artists and designers as he appeared in many stunning outfits, including Star Trek hero ‘Spock’ painted by Phil West, ensuring he went ‘where no man has gone before’!   He got the Roy Lichtenstein pop-art look as ‘The Wallace Collection’ painted by Rachel Bennet and even a rooting-tooting 1950s cowboy makeover as ‘The Wensleydale Kid’ by trail favourite Paula Bowles. A popular sculpture took us back to the 1970s when we saw Wallace get the complete Bowie treatment as ‘Space Oddi-tea’.This Ziggy Stardust-inspired design by Carys Ink certainly wowed the crowds at Wapping Wharf.  
 
The bonus with these Wallace sculptures meant you could all take a well-earnt rest while trail spotting, sit next to Wallace and enjoy a brew on his bench, which was perfect for selfies and big group shots. 

Wallace from Gromit Unleashed 2 trail Bristol. Nick Park with 'Space Oddi-tea' The Wensleydale Kid and The Wallace Collection, the pop art inspired Wallace
Photo: ‘Space Oddi-tea’, ‘The Wensleydale Kid’ and ‘The Wallace Collection’.
 
The Penguins  

The most menacing sculpture added to Gromit Unleashed 2 was the feathered foe himself, Feathers McGraw, in an array of highly creative disguises.   Aardman’s Peter Lord returned with a cheesy design for this trail, the brie-lliant ‘Fromage McGraw’. We all got an extra helping of a sweet ice-cream sundae, ‘Game of Cones’ painted by Aardman artist Rachel Bennett. Minion mayhem filled Bristol as we all said ‘Bello’ to ‘One in a Minion’. Illumination, the creators of Despicable Me and the Minions, created this mischievous penguin, providing the perfect yellow-tastic photo opportunities.  

Some of you may have missed this master of the roadworks on Gas Ferry Road, ‘Oh, Bollards!’, designed by the Creative Director of Wallace & Gromit, Merlin Crossingham. This pesky penguin was hidden in plain sight beside the traffic cones outside the Aardman studios. 

Feathers McGraw in disguise at Gromit Unleashed 2 Trail Bristol. One in a Minion, Game of Cones and Fromage McGraw by Peter Lord Morph creatorPhoto: ‘Game of Cones’, ‘One in a Minion’ and ‘Fromage McGraw’.
Gromit Unleashed 2 Oh Bollards!       Photo:‘Oh, Bollards!’
Gromit Unleashed 2 was a resounding success, and once again, our trail app hit the number one spot with over 40,000 downloads. Meanwhile, (you lovely lot) our loyal Gromiteers travelled over 1,250,000 miles to see your favourite design.  
 
Explore Gromit Unleashed 2

The homecoming exhibition celebrated the 250th anniversary of the circus by transporting fans of the trail to a world of canines and carnivals. Visitors had one last chance to see all 67 sculptures in a ‘Big Top'-style marquee at The Mall at Cribbs Causeway before they were auctioned off. Each sculpture found its fur-ever home in a spectacular auction where over £1.3million was raised to help sick children.   

Gromit and the legacy of the trails   
At the heart of this are two special hospitals: Bristol Children’s Hospital and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at St Michael’s Hospital.   

Our three sculpture arts trails have raised millions to support each hospital and help them provide the very best treatment.  

So, whether you went Gromit spotting, Gromiting, Gromit hunting or Gromiteering, thank you for helping make life better for sick children and their families.   

2025. What’s next?  
Since 2018, we’ve been inundated with questions about our next trail. While we can’t reveal the exact details just yet, rest assured the next Gromit Unleashed will be bigger than ever. So, watch this space.  

If you want to keep up with all things trail-related make sure you’ve signed up to our email newsletter you’ll find Wallace & Gromit merchandise, Gromit Unleashed goodies, all the latest figurine releases, and so much more. 

 

Find out more about about Gromit Unleashed 2025.
Read more about our amazing Gromit Unleashed trails