In retrospect we probably should have done this as an overnight trip. As we soon learned, there’s no fast, direct way to drive from Dorset’s Isle of Purbeck to Bristol (map). Google says it should take a couple of hours in optimal conditions which sounds doable, if a bit slow. But conditions are rarely optimal. Bank on something closer to two and a half or perhaps even three hours instead, covering roughly 80 miles. You will not find a convenient motorway or a dual carriageway along the way.
My wife has a friend who lived in the United States for awhile but returned to England, and who now lives in Bristol. She offered us a walking tour if we could get ourselves there. So this was an opportunity to renew acquaintances and spend a few hours in a place a bit removed from the usual international tourists track.
I felt we did a credible job of covering the Greatest Hits of Bristol in a single day with a walking route that stretched to about 5 ½ miles.
SS Great Britain
We met our host outside of Brunel’s SS Great Britain at Bristol Marina (map). The complex includes a museum as well as the ship itself, on display in perpetual dry dock. She was a revolutionary ship for her time, springing from the genius mind of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The SS Great Britain was both the largest passenger ship in the world and the first iron steamer designed for transatlantic passage when launched in 1845. Under favorable conditions the crew could also pull the screw from the water, unfurl the ship’s sails and ride the wind.
The ship crisscrossed the globe, sailing frequently to the Americas, carrying new settlers to Australia, and finishing its service in the Falkland Islands. She was finally abandoned and scuttled there in the 1930’s. However, people began to appreciate her historical significance as time passed. She was brought back to her home port of Bristol and restored as best possible. The ship is no longer seaworthy but she makes a great exhibit.
Bristol Beer Factory
The drive and the ship took up most of our morning and now we needed lunch. Fortunately Bristol Beer Factory had a tap room at nearby Wapping Wharf (map), directly along our intended path. So of course I ordered a beverage that my wife’s friend described as a “proper British pint”. The kitchen was closed that day but we could bring outside food, and I combined the pint with some fish and chips we grabbed from a carryout place. It’s hard to get more English than that. Cheers!
M Shed
Then it was off to Bristol’s local history museum, M Shed (map), bearing the original alphabetic name from its time as a cargo building. It also used to be the Bristol Industrial Museum — and it still incorporated a lot of Bristol’s industrial heritage — but with an expanded scope that focused more culturally.
History isn’t necessarily “old” either. For instance M Shed included an exhibit on the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests that rocked the city. Protesters toppled, vandalized, and tossed a statue of Edward Colston into Bristol Harbour, perhaps influenced by American protesters who jettisoned Confederate generals in a similar manner. Colston was a 17th Century slave trader who later donated vast wealth to Bristol institutions and the city once held him in high regard. However those days are gone. His complex legacy now requires a museum setting to provide greater context.
Banksy
In Bristol, it’s hard to escape the works of renowned pseudonymous street artist Banksy. This is Banksy’s hometown. Some people even come to Bristol simply to view a large concentration of his public creations in person. I didn’t know any of this before we arrived.
We saw three Banksy artworks during our walking tour:
- “Girl with a Pierced Eardrum” (2014), a takeoff on Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” in the image above (map).
- “Well Hung Lover” (2006), which unfortunately bears the scars of vandalism (my photo) (map).
- “Paint Pot Angel” (2009), literally a statue of an angel with a bucket of pink paint dumped on her head, the sole remnant of a much larger temporary exhibit called “Banksy versus Bristol Museum”.
We didn’t have to go out of our way. They were just waiting along our intended route, and we could have seen plenty more if we had a couple more hours.
Bristol Museum
And speaking of the Bristol Museum, we were actually there for different reasons (map). I mentioned Mary Anning (1799-1847) and her pioneering paleontology work previously. Well, the Bristol Museum included an Ichthyosaur fossil that was one of her earliest finds, and a permanent exhibit on Ichthyosaurs in general. These were a type of ancient marine reptile that lived about 90 to 250 million years ago. So we saw the fossils as well as some modern animal taxidermy and a few preserved bugs. Then we moved along because we had a lot more ahead of us.
The Slidey
Our host wanted us to experience a very local attraction, the Clifton Rock Slide. Google Maps calls it the “Ancient Stone Slider” or the “Butt Polished Rock but many call it simply The Slidey. That’s “THE” Slidey because there are plenty of other slideys around Bristol but this one stands in a class of its own.
It’s not really an official thing and it doesn’t look entirely safe either. However, untold generations of Bristolian children (and some adults) confront their fears here. They’ve worn solid rock into a smooth ride over decades of sliding. It’s an essential rite of passage, or so I’m told. I wouldn’t try it but my two kids did and they lived to tell about it.
Clifton Suspension Bridge
The Slidey was just a detour. We were really on the way to the Clifton Suspension Bridge over Avon Gorge, high above the River Avon (map). This was another impressive creation from Isambard Kingdom Brunel although he never saw it completed. Construction began in 1831 and proceeded in fits-and-starts until 1864. Brunel died several years before that.
A century later, the first modern bungee jump happened here when two adventurous students from Oxford University hopped over the railing in 1979. I’m not sure what that adds to the overall story but I like obscure trivia so there you go.
I always enjoy a great bridge and this one is magnificent. Local residents are justifiably proud of their bridge and it often serves as a symbol for the city.
Ashton Court
We finished the walking tour by bushwhacking through the Ashton Court Estate (map). It’s hard to believe such a large open space exists so close to the centre of Bristol. This was once the private estate of a single wealthy family but now it’s an 850 acre park.
On second thought, we probably could have skipped this last stop and shortened the walk to about 4 miles. It was nice but we were pretty tired by that point.
Articles in the England Series
- Do Over
- Jurassic Coast
- Dorchester
- Bristol
- Isle of Purbeck
- Bournemouth
- Tankfest
- Onward to London
- Atypical London
- More Typical London
See Also: The Complete Photo Album on Flickr
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