The Shaun the Sheep Trail

We met our first Shaun the Sheep as we left Fenchurch Street station. This one was called Liberty Bell, was painted in Statue of Liberty green and wearing her crown.

There are fifty of them dotted across central London until the end of May. Then there’ll be another fifty in Bristol before all one hundred gather in Covent Garden in September, when they’ll be auctioned off for charity.

On our way to find the Tower of London Welcome Centre to pick up a map, we found our second Shaun. This one sponsored by the Royal Mint and wearing a large gold coin around his neck. He was standing guard at the top of the hill with the Tower behind him.

Crossing Tower Bridge, we followed more Shauns to the South Bank. We kept bumping into families who had come from the Shaun we were heading for. We were doing the route backwards, sort of. There are four trails to follow but we were doing our own version, taking in a bit of each.

We wandered through Borough Market where I discovered a stall that sold proper Darjeeling Tea. Pure tea leaves, not blended with anything. First Flush, Second Flush, Oolong and White Tea. I was in heaven. I bought some Second Flush Tea Leaves which is the second crop of the season and slightly stronger than First Flush.

Rainbow Shaun was hiding inside The Shard. Others were hiding round corners. “Here he is! This way!” I yelled, spotting another. Each had been painted a different design. Some had names that were a play on words. “Br-ewe-nel” was painted gold and looked very distinguished in his top hat, like Isambard Kingdom Brunel himself.

Across the Millennium Bridge, that no longer wobbles, there were nine all around St Pauls, and in the adjacent streets. Two of them taking refuge in a nearby shopping centre. All were surrounded by families following the trail. We took a bus to Carnaby Street to find the two who were lurking about there. Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom Shaun was hiding in Hamley’s. We searched the ground floor looking for him. He’s got to be here somewhere.

 

There was another halfway down Regent Street and two more hovering about Piccadilly Circus. At Trafalgar Square, Nelson Shaun had a pigeon sitting on his back, peeking over his shoulder. He stood proud in the shadow of his counterpart on his column. Dusk was falling and we were exhausted, but we had managed to find twenty-five Shauns. And what better way to end the day than with Britain’s greatest naval officer.