A tranquil oasis in deepest Wolverhampton

Every now and again, you stumble upon something that takes you completely and utterly by surprise. Wandering one lunchtime in Wolverhampton, that place came to me in the form of the Wolverhampton City Archives.

There's a ring road there somewhere

Tucked between the ring road and the Molineux, and behind the rather unforgiving-looking and sadly now defunct Wanderer pub, you'd be hard-pressed to find a less salubrious location. But believe it or not, nestling right there is a beautiful little garden which makes for a very pleasant and tranquil spot to eat your sandwiches.

At this time of year, the gardens are abloom with lavender and some lovely flowering yuccas (thanks to The beet route for that plant knowledge). You can gaze across at St Peter's Church and relax as bees buzz busily beside you and butterflies elegantly flutter by.

The Archives themselves are housed in the Molineux Hotel Building. Dating from the mid-18th Century the building was originally the home of Wolverhampton's wealthy Molineux family (yes, as in the football ground), and became a hotel in the 1870s. It remained a hotel for over 100 years, before closing in a dilapidated state. Thankfully, it was restored with funding from English Heritage, among others, and reopened as the Wolverhampton City Archives in 2009. If you're interested, there's more information about the history of the Molineux Hotel Building on the WAVE website.

The very grand Molineux Hotel Building

The Wolverhampton City Archives are located on Whitmore Hill and are open every day except Sunday and Monday. The building (and gardens) are accessible on foot from Ring Road St. Peters - in between Waterloo Street and Molineux Street.

Gromit spotting in Bristol

Isambark Kingdog Brunel

Stepping out of the majestic Bristol Temple Meads station I was tickled to be greeted by this fellow - Isambark Kingdog Brunel.

But I was soon rather perplexed as I spied a second one as I made my way towards Clifton on the number 8 bus. Then another particularly bling Gromit emerged as I rounded the corner to Colston Hall.

It seems Gromit has been unleashed, and you can find him all dressed up and all over Bristol throughout the summer.

Gromit Unleashed is an art trail of 80 larger-than-life Gromits painted by various invited artists. 

These gorgeously decorated Gromits have bounded all over Bristol and will be there for you to find until Sunday 8th September. There's even a Detect-O-Gromit app for you to log photos of the Gromits you spot. Or for the old school amongst you, you can pick-up a Gromit Unleashed passport and get it stamped at six locations across the city.

And when the trail comes to an end, the sculptures will be auctioned off in aid of The Grand Appeal at Bristol Children’s Hospital Charity.  

How many have you found so far?