A Weekend in Bristol
Mom and Dad get a taste of my world in the city where I live
The bus ride to Bristol on Friday morning was less than comfortable. We had decided to sit at the back. The coach was fully booked so I had a stranger sitting beside me. About halfway through the journey, the bus driver came over the PA and asked if we minded taking a short break at the services to cool off. The air conditioning on the bus wasn't working, and the cool air was welcome when we stepped off the bus.
We eventually made it to Bristol without melting, and walked the three or four blocks to the hotel on Tyndalls Park Road. A nice old mansion turned hotel, with friendly helpful staff, I was batting a hundred on hotel choices. Mom and Dad would be treated again to Full English Breakfast each morning. Unfortunately I wasn't so lucky, as I was staying at home. After relaxing a bit we started the walk to my house, which took a bit longer than I had advertised, as we took the back road and cut through the park. Mom was again taken by the abundance of flowers and shrubs in the front gardens of the homes we passed. Back at my place, I treated them to a cup of coffee and some fruit, and we watched a short video about Bristol on YouTube to give them a preview of the city. We would be spending the weekend in Bristol, and I would return to work on Monday before we headed off Tuesday for Somerset.
From my place we walked across the Downs to the edge of the Avon Gorge to view the Clifton Suspension Bridge from afar, as evening was falling and its lights were beginning to glow. We then walked back across the Downs to the top of Whiteladies Road, where we caught a bite at the Black Bear before heading back to the hotel. I think the difference between London and Bristol was immediately apparent to Mom and Dad. The mad rush was gone.
In the morning I met up with the folks and we walked down the steep Park Street toward the city centre, stopping in at arts and crafts store, The Guild, a Bristol institution. We also paused briefly to look at Banksy's now famous piece of graffiti on a blank wall at the bottom of the street.
We crossed College Green and stopped in at Bristol Cathedral. I had never had a proper look around there, and as luck would have it there was a free tour at 11:30. We had a few minutes to burn so we wandered around looking on our own. Back at the front entrance at tour time, we found we were the only ones present for the tour. An Austrian man joined us shortly after starting. Our guide Roger showed us the oldest parts of the cathedral, dating back to the late Twelfth Century, and into the newer part, completed several centuries later. Bristol Cathedral, unlike many of its proximate counterparts, has a very light interior, due to the full height side aisles. We were glad to have caught the tour. It's good to know the history behind things you would otherwise pass by.
We continued on to the Centre. The Bristol Festival was on that weekend, so the sounds from the stage were making their way toward us. We walked to Millennium Square, where all of the free activities of the festival were taking place. There were tents set up by people selling various wares, and a dance team doing a demonstration. We walked along the quay to the Centre Promenade, where we sat and enjoyed ice cream before catching a ferry. It was the first time I'd travelled down the harbour by boat so it was as exciting for me as it was for Mom and Dad.
Our destination was the SS Great Britain, the first passenger steamship. She was designed by the great engineer I.K. Brunel, and built in Brisol back in the 1840s. She sailed around the world several times before being abandoned in the Falkland Islands. In the 1970s she was brought back to Bristol on a pontoon boat, sailing past the Clifton Suspension Bridge for the first time, which was also designed by Brunel. Today the ship has been turned into a museum, rebuilt to show what life was like on the ship. At the water level, a glass roof filled with water allows the visitor to walk along the hull of the ship as though under the sea. The air surrounding the hull is kept very dry to prevent the existing rust damage from spreading further. On board the ship we each got a different audio guide. They come in three kinds, each telling the story from the points of view of different classes of passengers and crew.
We caught the ferry back to the Centre and walked around there for a while. We found our way back to Millennium Square where a group of drummers caught our attention for a while. A large crowd had gathered around them and the atmosphere was very alive. We then caught a bus up to Clifton. We had seen the Suspension Bridge at night from a distance, so I figured we should see it up close. This was also an opportunity to show Mom and Dad my office, which is very close to the bridge. After a bit of a climb we were at the top of gorge, looking down at the bridge. We stopped for some photos in the early evening light, and then continued on down to the bridge level. We crossed the span, which is nearly three hundred feet above the River Avon.
Once we crossed back we headed up to the Avon Gorge Hotel to have some food and drink on the terrace, which has a great view of the bridge and the green hills of North Somerset. The weather had cooperated amazingly thus far. Again, I assured Mom and Dad that nice weather like this had not been the norm in the month leading up to their arrival.
On Sunday, another sunny day, we headed for the Bristol Zoo, another attraction that I had passed every day on my walk to work, but had never visited. I had thought we would only spend a few hours there, and being the ambitious planner that I am thought we may be able to do the zoo and go to Bath in the same day. Boy was I wrong. Despite its seemingly modest size, Bristol Zoo is a full day affair. We arrived around 11:00am, and when the zoo was closing at 6:00pm, we hadn't seen everything.
It is a nice zoo as zoos go. There is a great seal tank with a glass tunnel where the seals swim right over top of you. They also respond to chip bags. Some kids were swirling them round in circles as the seals would follow. They have a great gorilla enclosure as well, and we were fortunate enough to catch feeding time. The eighteen month-old gorilla was fascinating to watch, so small compared to the alpha male. There is also a nice lemur exhibit. One of the great patrons of the zoo is British comedian John Cleese, who went to school across the street at Clifton College, and loved visiting to watch the lemurs. The zoo's current collection has him to thank no doubt.
After our visit we walked back toward the Suspension Bridge. Since we had seen it from close and afar in the evening I figured, to get the full advantage of the great view, we ought to see it in the daylight as well. We continued on through Clifton Village and then headed back toward the hotel.
On Monday, I went to work, and Mom and Dad found themselves, for the first time, on their own in England. They were starting to know their way around Bristol a bit so I wasn't too worried about them. They managed to head into Clifton Village and then down to the waterfront. After work I went to the car rental place to pick up the car that would provide us with slightly more comfortable transportation on our next leg of the journey. It turned out to be a Vauxall Corsa, which was more than adequate for our travels. It also gave us the opportunity to offload some of Mom and Dad's luggage. That evening, after they packed what they needed for the next few days, I loaded their big suitcases in the car and brought them back to my place for storage. The plan was to leave for Somerset in the morning. I had already booked us in at a bed and breakfast.
The adventure continues southwest.
Cheers.
The bus ride to Bristol on Friday morning was less than comfortable. We had decided to sit at the back. The coach was fully booked so I had a stranger sitting beside me. About halfway through the journey, the bus driver came over the PA and asked if we minded taking a short break at the services to cool off. The air conditioning on the bus wasn't working, and the cool air was welcome when we stepped off the bus.
We eventually made it to Bristol without melting, and walked the three or four blocks to the hotel on Tyndalls Park Road. A nice old mansion turned hotel, with friendly helpful staff, I was batting a hundred on hotel choices. Mom and Dad would be treated again to Full English Breakfast each morning. Unfortunately I wasn't so lucky, as I was staying at home. After relaxing a bit we started the walk to my house, which took a bit longer than I had advertised, as we took the back road and cut through the park. Mom was again taken by the abundance of flowers and shrubs in the front gardens of the homes we passed. Back at my place, I treated them to a cup of coffee and some fruit, and we watched a short video about Bristol on YouTube to give them a preview of the city. We would be spending the weekend in Bristol, and I would return to work on Monday before we headed off Tuesday for Somerset.From my place we walked across the Downs to the edge of the Avon Gorge to view the Clifton Suspension Bridge from afar, as evening was falling and its lights were beginning to glow. We then walked back across the Downs to the top of Whiteladies Road, where we caught a bite at the Black Bear before heading back to the hotel. I think the difference between London and Bristol was immediately apparent to Mom and Dad. The mad rush was gone.
In the morning I met up with the folks and we walked down the steep Park Street toward the city centre, stopping in at arts and crafts store, The Guild, a Bristol institution. We also paused briefly to look at Banksy's now famous piece of graffiti on a blank wall at the bottom of the street.
We crossed College Green and stopped in at Bristol Cathedral. I had never had a proper look around there, and as luck would have it there was a free tour at 11:30. We had a few minutes to burn so we wandered around looking on our own. Back at the front entrance at tour time, we found we were the only ones present for the tour. An Austrian man joined us shortly after starting. Our guide Roger showed us the oldest parts of the cathedral, dating back to the late Twelfth Century, and into the newer part, completed several centuries later. Bristol Cathedral, unlike many of its proximate counterparts, has a very light interior, due to the full height side aisles. We were glad to have caught the tour. It's good to know the history behind things you would otherwise pass by.We continued on to the Centre. The Bristol Festival was on that weekend, so the sounds from the stage were making their way toward us. We walked to Millennium Square, where all of the free activities of the festival were taking place. There were tents set up by people selling various wares, and a dance team doing a demonstration. We walked along the quay to the Centre Promenade, where we sat and enjoyed ice cream before catching a ferry. It was the first time I'd travelled down the harbour by boat so it was as exciting for me as it was for Mom and Dad.
Our destination was the SS Great Britain, the first passenger steamship. She was designed by the great engineer I.K. Brunel, and built in Brisol back in the 1840s. She sailed around the world several times before being abandoned in the Falkland Islands. In the 1970s she was brought back to Bristol on a pontoon boat, sailing past the Clifton Suspension Bridge for the first time, which was also designed by Brunel. Today the ship has been turned into a museum, rebuilt to show what life was like on the ship. At the water level, a glass roof filled with water allows the visitor to walk along the hull of the ship as though under the sea. The air surrounding the hull is kept very dry to prevent the existing rust damage from spreading further. On board the ship we each got a different audio guide. They come in three kinds, each telling the story from the points of view of different classes of passengers and crew. 
We caught the ferry back to the Centre and walked around there for a while. We found our way back to Millennium Square where a group of drummers caught our attention for a while. A large crowd had gathered around them and the atmosphere was very alive. We then caught a bus up to Clifton. We had seen the Suspension Bridge at night from a distance, so I figured we should see it up close. This was also an opportunity to show Mom and Dad my office, which is very close to the bridge. After a bit of a climb we were at the top of gorge, looking down at the bridge. We stopped for some photos in the early evening light, and then continued on down to the bridge level. We crossed the span, which is nearly three hundred feet above the River Avon. Once we crossed back we headed up to the Avon Gorge Hotel to have some food and drink on the terrace, which has a great view of the bridge and the green hills of North Somerset. The weather had cooperated amazingly thus far. Again, I assured Mom and Dad that nice weather like this had not been the norm in the month leading up to their arrival.
On Sunday, another sunny day, we headed for the Bristol Zoo, another attraction that I had passed every day on my walk to work, but had never visited. I had thought we would only spend a few hours there, and being the ambitious planner that I am thought we may be able to do the zoo and go to Bath in the same day. Boy was I wrong. Despite its seemingly modest size, Bristol Zoo is a full day affair. We arrived around 11:00am, and when the zoo was closing at 6:00pm, we hadn't seen everything.
It is a nice zoo as zoos go. There is a great seal tank with a glass tunnel where the seals swim right over top of you. They also respond to chip bags. Some kids were swirling them round in circles as the seals would follow. They have a great gorilla enclosure as well, and we were fortunate enough to catch feeding time. The eighteen month-old gorilla was fascinating to watch, so small compared to the alpha male. There is also a nice lemur exhibit. One of the great patrons of the zoo is British comedian John Cleese, who went to school across the street at Clifton College, and loved visiting to watch the lemurs. The zoo's current collection has him to thank no doubt.After our visit we walked back toward the Suspension Bridge. Since we had seen it from close and afar in the evening I figured, to get the full advantage of the great view, we ought to see it in the daylight as well. We continued on through Clifton Village and then headed back toward the hotel.
On Monday, I went to work, and Mom and Dad found themselves, for the first time, on their own in England. They were starting to know their way around Bristol a bit so I wasn't too worried about them. They managed to head into Clifton Village and then down to the waterfront. After work I went to the car rental place to pick up the car that would provide us with slightly more comfortable transportation on our next leg of the journey. It turned out to be a Vauxall Corsa, which was more than adequate for our travels. It also gave us the opportunity to offload some of Mom and Dad's luggage. That evening, after they packed what they needed for the next few days, I loaded their big suitcases in the car and brought them back to my place for storage. The plan was to leave for Somerset in the morning. I had already booked us in at a bed and breakfast.
The adventure continues southwest.
Cheers.
posted by Mark Bauche at 1:56 AM
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