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Bristol Holiday and Tourism Information
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The 21st century face of this vibrant, waterfront
metropolis is, thankfully, far removed from the days
when Bristol was the unofficial capital of Britain’s
trade in African slaves.
Now contrite, it is a bustling city that can safely
celebrate a past full of energy, enterprise and
pioneering brilliance.
Surrounded by sumptuous, rolling countryside and
boasting some of the country’s most important museums,
it is a place of evocative architecture, historical
vitality and maritime supremacy.
Founded, according to legend, by the Celtic tribal
leaders Belinus and Brennus, it has a natural harbour on
the River Avon that provided the basis for its
development as a major port as early as the 10th
century.
In the Middle Ages it became the hub of a thriving
export trade in wool and later its ships crossed the
globe to bring back expensive cargoes of tobacco, rum
and, of course, thousands of unfortunate black slaves.
The Genoese-born navigator John Cabot sailed from here
in 1497 in search of a route to Indonesia, unwittingly
discovering America some eight weeks later. The
adventurer is commemorated by a 105 ft tower at Brandon
Hill Park.
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Another ‘son’ of Bristol was the 19th
century engineering genius Isambard Kingdom Brunel who
created many world-beating monuments including the
revolutionary ship SS Great Britain, the awe-inspiring
Clifton Suspension Bridge and the Great Western Railway
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The SS Great Britain, built in the 1840s, has been
restored and is a major local attraction; it was the
world’s first propeller-driven iron ship capable of
sailing the oceans, making 32 voyages around the world
during its 26-year lifespan.
Left to rot in the Falkland islands this historic vessel
was brought back to its home port in 1970 and is
currently in dry dock. Find out more about
visiting SS
Great Britain...
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The huge Clifton Suspension Bridge,
designed by Brunel, spans the steep-sided Avon Gorge
and at one time it formed a defensive gateway to the
city.
Only two miles from the city centre, it is
overlooked by three Iron Age hill forts.
The gorge is a Site of Special Scientific Interest
and supports two unique types of tree, the Bristol
white beam and Wilmotts white beam. They are found
nowhere else. |
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Brunel also improved Bristol’s
docks and built the city’s old Temple Meads station,
terminus of his Great Western Railway from London to
Bristol.
This was a twin track line using broad
gauge (approx 7 feet [214cm] wide) for which he also
had to construct the two-mile-long Box Tunnel, the
longest railway tunnel in the world at the time of
its completion. |
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Temple Meads today houses the award-winning British
Empire & Commonwealth Museum, the first major
institution in the UK to present the 500-year
history and legacy of Britain's overseas empire.
Modern Bristol has a plethora of
historic buildings and attractions that include the
city’s majestic cathedral in College Green. Founded in
the 12th century as an abbey, it was reputedly built on
the spot of a famous meeting between St Augustine and
Celtic Christians in the year 603.
Together with fine medieval glass
windows and a number of ancient tombs, it possesses some
remarkable animal carvings, one of which depicts a
monkey playing the bagpipes.
Two other local churches date to the 13th century - St
Mary Redcliffe, which was built by local merchants and
mariners and boasts a 285ft landmark tower, and nearby
St Stephens.
One of Bristol’s most impressive buildings is the
Victorian Rooms, in which both Charles Dickens and Oscar
Wilde gave readings of their works, while the
oak-panelled Red Lodge is an Elizabethan merchant’s
built around 1590 that boasts a suite of 16th century
rooms and a Tudor-style knot garden.
The city’s mid-18th century Theatre
Royal is the oldest working theatre in the country while
Bristol Zoo is the oldest zoo in the world outside a
capital city.
The Watershed Media Centre and Arnolfini gallery are
both housed in disused dockside warehouses.
The city also boasts, among others, a
hands-on science centre and a remarkable industrial
museum and art centre.
There are many more sights to visit
beyond the city’s boundaries. Dyrham Park, for example,
is one of the National Trust’s finest properties while
the Duke of Buckingham’s castle at Thornbury is arguably
the west of England’s best Tudor building.
Further afield are the seaside resorts of Clevedon and
Weston super Mare, not forgetting the splendid Georgian
city of Bath.
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