The Bristol Buzz
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There is quite a buzz about Bristol, and it is easy for us to get there now that EasyJet have started scheduled flights from Inverness. In 2015 it was voted "The Green Capital of Europe" – the first time anywhere in the UK has been given this status. To win it, you have to be ecologically sound on many levels and it is a great credit to this go-ahead city.
Bristol grew and developed around its strategic location and port, which was first mentioned in 1051. It was the main point for the import for spices, sugar, tobacco, and was the UK centre for the slave trade. Thankfully the slave trade is a dark and dismal past, and the shipping has gone as large ships cannot reach the tidal Avon docks. The harbour area (click on all coloured links for more information) is still important, however, and can be explored by foot, via marked trails, by bike (available for hire) or even better – by boat. One of the inlets, right in the centre of the city, has been covered over these days but the water still runs out via an attractive cascade of stairs into the dock where you can catch a boat for the tour. As you pass into the main water stretch, you see the "Mayflower". This is the oldest steam tug in the world and is still operational. Then you see the wooden replica of John Cabot’s ship, "The Matthew", in which he discovered Newfoundland in 1497. You have to marvel at the courage of him and his men to cross the unknown ocean in such a tiny wee ship.
A little further on and you come to the magnificent S.S. Great Britain. This is one of Isombard Kingdom Brunel’s masterpieces. This ship was the first in the world to have iron and steel construction, with a propeller, rudder, and is an absolutely "must see" attraction. The ship’s story is like an adventure tale. Eventually relegated to a coal carrier, she was finally abandoned in the Falkland Islands. Then money was raised, a pontoon taken out there, the old girl was raised, water pumped out, and towed home to Bristol in triumph. Today she sits in a dry dock – but you wouldn’t think so! At water line level there is a glass "sea" with about 1 inch of water on it, so you think that she is afloat. Then, you can walk down to her keel level on the original cobbled and slippery dock floor, and above you the water on the glass shimmers and ripples. Inside the ship the fittings have all been remade, as of course everything was stripped out for coal carrying. It is just as it was originally, and you marvel at the cramped and "intimate" berths for the steerage passengers – and the first class were not much better – and the sanitary arrangements can only be described as "minimal". When she was transporting people across the world for up to 60 days at sea, life must have been tedious! The benefit of all the fittings being a replica is that you can lie in a bunk, sit in a seat, try it all out and are encouraged to do so – children love it. There is also a cabin area where you can don typical 19th century clothes to have your picture taken. It is funny to see children wandering about wearing stove pipe hats! All part of the "hands on" experience, you can climb the 30 metre high rope rigging if you like, and win unique views of the port and the city.
The "Great Britain" really is a very well done attraction and you will enjoy it. Alongside there is a visitor centre, café and so on. There are also some sheds alongside, and the ambition is to convert these (by demolition and replacement) with a new museum devoted to the life of Brunel, and this will happen in the near future. The enthusiasm, drive and fund raising initiatives of the people behind this scheme are typical of the drive that is making Bristol Buzz! Walking back along the quay there is a line of old railway wagons – and there are photographs of a steam tank engine puffing along – but I didn’t have time to investigate this – must go back! Again – so much going on! There is the "M Shed" here, a warehouse that is now the Museum of Bristol Life. Also, the family favourite Aquarium is very popular.
It is just a short walk back to the city centre, and some of the magnificent buildings. A remarkable one is the Bristol Old Vic theatre. In 2016 it will be 250 years old. When it opened, it was illegal, so plays were advertised as "concerts with words", and you entered by knocking on a man’s front door, who then let you walk through his house, out the back door, across the yard and into the theatre. The original entrance is still there. It is a rare example of a horseshoe auditorium. Part of it has been sympathetically renewed, and the rest will be done by 2018. When it was originally built, 50 citizens invested £50 each, and in return were given a silver medal pass, to be able to go to any performance for ever. Some of these silver passes are still in existence, and I was told that a lady turned up with one recently. The cashier had to ask for advice, and was told that, yes, it was still valid! To help finance the next stage in their development, investors are being given new silver passes – a nice touch. The theatre holds the Bristol Proms every year and a vast range of performances of all types. It is especially keen to develop young talent. The Peter O’Toole School has 350 youngsters from 5 to 25 years old, and they put on at least 3 performances a year. In 1830 they had to break through the rear wall to admit an elephant for a performance. The 2016 programme has two separate plays with the word "Elephant" in the title – with the spirit and drive of the theatre – you never know………..
Culture is a big and growing scene here, and there is also the Bristol Hippodrome, the Tobacco Factory Theatre, Colston Hall and St. George’s, Bristol. In 2016 it will be 400 years since Shakespeare died, and there will be many performances and events. While I was there, performances of all sorts of music were being held in the Temple Church. This church was bombed out in the Second World War and has not been rebuilt. In the shell musicians could have a one hour slot, any time over 24 days, 24 hours a day. It is a good way for budding musicians to have an airing. Some of it was – well – shall we say "experimental", others superb. There is also a less formal cultural range of events and places too. For example, there is a "speak easy" style bar, the "Milk Thistle". Outside, it is just another solid Georgian house. You have to know – you chap the door and a wee window opens, and you are let in. Groups are not allowed. The interior is cosy and intimate, shaded, just like a prohibition bar. They serve and specialise in wonderful cocktails.
As you would expect, there are a great many good places to eat in Bristol, and one of the best is the "Glassboat". This boat, or maybe once a barge, has had a glass superstructure added, and serves en excellent menu and fine wines, with the lights of the city sparkling off the rippling surface of the water.
For accommodation, there are many options, including staying at the Zoo. It is the 5th oldest zoo in the world, having opened in 1836. Today they have "The Lodge" where you can stay and have breakfast among the gorillas – now that would be an experience! For more luxurious style, the Avon Gorge Hotel would take some beating. The Avon Gorge is spanned by Brunel’s magnificent Clifton Suspension Bridge. The foundation stone was laid in 1831. Brunel died, worn out at age 53, in 1859, so never saw his bridge opened in 1864. It was designed for horse traffic, but today 12,000 motor vehicles a day cross over it, a testament to his genius. The Avon Gorge is tidal and at low tide exposes mud beds. From these bubble warm water springs. These mineral springs were always held to have good curative powers, and it was even shipped all over the world, creating Bristol’s glass bottle making industry. To capitalise on the water, in 1898 the Avon Gorge Hotel started out as a Spa. The mineral water was pumped up to the hotel, which has magnificent views of the gorge and is next to the famous bridge. Clifton developed to be the premier residential area of Bristol. The hotel featured a pump room, 100 feet long by 57 feet wide, where the pumped water arrived in the hotel. Today it has a heated terrace overlooking the gorge and the bridge. It has 75 rooms, and many suites, including two which each have 5 rooms, its own garden to the edge of the gorge, and everything you could want, even including your own pool table!
The architectural variety in Bristol makes turning every corner interesting. There is the Wills Memorial Building next to the Museum, a huge solid tower. The Cathedral dates back to 1140 when an Augustinian Monastery was founded here, and is solidly sitting next to the ornate Library. There is "The New Room" of John Wesley, the oldest Methodist building in the world. Bristol is also home to Cameron Balloons, the biggest manufacturer of hot air balloons in the world and every August there is the international balloon festival. Of course with hot air balloons you can never be too sure just where you will land, so the organisers have a Land Rover with lots of bottles of wine etc., to give out to pacify landowners!
Bristol also specialises in shopping. There is a huge indoor shopping centre, and the lovely Victorian St. Nicholas market. This is a series of covered market halls, where you can buy all those little things that you cannot buy in supermarkets, and there are plenty of good wee places to eat in the market hall as well. Here they also accept Bristol Pounds. Yes, Bristol has its own currency, and this is a good idea that you will find in many towns in England. If you spend your money in a supermarket or chain store, most of that money goes out of the city. Bristol Pounds stay in the city, and support the small traders and shops – they keep the business local, and are a really good idea.
It was a really interesting trip to Bristol, and lots more to explore than I had time to see. Bristol airport was voted the most punctual airport in the world for 2015, and it is now linked with Inverness by Easy Jet. There is a bus service from the airport to the city centre via Brunel’s magnificent Cathedral of a railway station, Temple Meads, and runs every 10 minutes.
You will have noticed how many times "in the world" crops up. Bristol holds many such records, and keeps making them! There really is a buzz about Bristol!
