Bristol; Sunday, 21 January, 2007

After a refreshing shower and a less than impressive breakfast (my definition of selection of cold meats and cheeses would normally require there to be more than one of each) I headed out from the hotel and wandered towards the city centre.

The centre of Bristol is based around the old floating harbour and docks. With the increase in size of ships from the start of the 20th century the docks moved out along the Avon to where it meets the Severn, leaving the docks to decay, subsequently allowing the late 20th centuries favourite past time "Regeneration" to take place as they were (and still are being) transformed into a trendy arts, museum and living area. Part of the regeneration has seen the re-use of the canal for it's original purpose, as a means of transport. During rush hours in the winter and all day during the summer and at all weekends, ferries run up and back between the city centre and various other points, such as the train station.

I arrived at the jetty just minutes before a ferry heading west was due to depart and so I hopped on this and caught it the short distance down the river to the SS Great Britain.

Built as the first Iron Hulled ship by Brunel it changed the whole way ships were built. After more than 80 years of service the ship was finally sunk in a bay in the Falkland islands in 1937. Thankfully there were enough people who recognised the importance of the ship, and in 1970 it was successfully re-floated and sailed the 8,000 miles across the Atlantic to Bristol. At Avonmouth it was taken into a dry dock, patched up and taken off the pontoon it had sailed across the Atlantic on, and then was towed the last stretch up the Avon, underneath the Clifton Suspension Bridge (another of I.K. Brunel’s masterpieces) for the first time ever (the ship was launched before the bridge was built), and back to the dry dock it had been built in 127 years to the day it was launched, and then they started the restoration work.

It is still going on! The parts of the ship above the waterline have been restored to perfect condition, but below the waterline 127 years of salt water have seriously taken their tole, in places the iron has simply flaked away to nothingness. The ship is now sealed in its dry dock, a layer of glass seals the bottom of the boat from the elements and dry air is being pumped in to attempt to remove the salt content of the iron, it makes for a bizarre sight, as a thin layer of water is pumped over the glass the ship looks like it is still afloat. Underneath the glass you can walk around the base of the ship and read about the restoration work and see where the iron is rotting, a museum next to the ship tells its history from it's final momentous journey up the Avon in 1970 back to it's launch by Prince Albert, before being able to go onto the ship itself to look around.

After a couple of hours wandering around the Great Britain I caught the ferry across the river to the North bank and walked up the gardens on this side of the bank to Cabot tower. The tower sits on the top of a tall hill and from it’s viewing platform at the very top you can get stunning views of the city, the docks and the massive hail storm that was just approaching.

The descent took about 4 minutes as I was behind a child having serious issues with the descent, which was thankful, because by the time I got to the bottom the hail storm has stopped and it was clear and sunny again. I caught the ferry back cross the river to the SS Great Britain and picked up the ferry down to Temple Meads. From here I jumped on the bus and went out to Clifton to visit another of Mr Brunel’s constructions.

The Clifton Suspension Bridge is an amazing structure, soaring high above the Avon gorge. Next to the bridge is an observatory which, from the top floor, offers stunning views of the bridge and gorge, as well as a camera obscurer. In the basement of the building a passageway leads down to a cave in the side of the gorge that overlooks the bridge. On the opposite end of the bridge is the visitors centre, which explains a little about the history, construction and maintenance of the bridge, it's also a good place to wait out another heavy hail storm!

I walked back across the bridge to the bus stop and caught the bus back into to town, stopping off at the ruins of St Peters Church, destroyed during bombing raids in the second world war, to take a ride on the Bristol eye, a Ferris wheel that offers views over the city centre. By now it was getting late so I grabbed a bit to eat, before heading back to the hotel to get some sleep.