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Shipshape and Bristol fashion
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Article
It was a city at the heart of Britain’s sea trade and the Industrial Revolution.
Norman Wright pays a visit
Photographs by Clive nicholls |
Bristol must be one of Britain’s best short break destinations, with plenty of heritage, lots of attractions, entertainment and shopping - all in a compact area that’s easy to get around. The city has developed that reputation over the past three or four years as restoration and development aimed at tourism has accelerated. There’s a lot of work still going on, so it is only going to get better. But it is already very good, with lots of excellent facilities for visitors as well as all those things to do and see. |
Bristol’s dockside has adopted to the demands of the times and is once again at the heart of the city’s success. |
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Bristol’s power was built on commerce. It was, during Britain’s maritime golden age, one of the country’s most important seaports. Stimulated by trade from all over the world, Bristol used its wealth and nearby raw materials to fuel the Industrial Revolution. It produced one of our most important engineers, Isambard Kingdom Brunel - a proud tradition that has continued into modern industrial times with a leading role in aerospace.
Development
The city developed around the port, now th eheart of its attraction to visitors. It is easy to imagine Bristol at the height of its importance in the 18th century. And if you can’t conjure it up, just read ‘Treasure Island’. Robert Louis Stevenson captures it perfectly: “The squire gave me a note addressed to John Silver, at the sign of the Spy-glass, and told me I should easily find the place by following the line of the docks, and keeping a bright look-out for a little tavern with a large brass telescope for a sign. I set off, overjoyed at this opportunity to see some more of the ships and seamen, and picked my way among a great crowd of people and carts and bales, for the dock was now at its busiest.” |
Riverside Bristol. |
It almost has you looking over your shoulder for the press gangs! And you can have a tot of rum in Long John Silver’s tavern, for the Hole in the Wall pub is said to be the one on which Stevenson based the Spy-glass. You can also still drink and eat in the Llandoger Trow, said to be the inspiration for The Admiral Benbow Inn, run by Jim Hawkins’ mother, where retired pirate Billy Bones was tracked down by Blind Pew and handed the dreaded ‘black spot’. |
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This ancient inn, now attached to a more modern hotel, was also at the heart of another great British sea adventure story, ‘Robinson Crusoe’. it is where author Daniel Defoe met Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration for the novel.
Bristol thrived on the slave trade and the British Empire, with sherry, coffee and tobacco all crossing its wharves. But the bustle of the port died rapidly, a result of its own success and quickly developing maritime technology. Ships became bigger and found it increasingly difficult to navigate the River Avon. Liverpool was more accessible, so took much of Bristol’s traffic. New docks at Avonmouth won some business back, and are still used, but the heyday was over. |
... and today?
Today the city’s docks are bustling again, but with customers of wine bars and restaurants in the evenings and sightseers by day. You can find plenty at Bristol’s heart if you do as Jim Hawkins did and follow the line of the docks. Modern pleasure craft offer plenty to watch from its bridges or the pavement tables over a coffee. |
Today th city docks are bustling again. |
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One of the last warehouses is now the Industrial Museum, and on the dockside nearby is one of the city’s treasures, the SS ‘Great Britain’ - Brunel’s vessel that, in its day, revolutionised sea transport. Metal-hulled, with a steam engine to supplement its sails, ‘Great Britain’ was the world’s first ocean liner. Saved from a rusty grave on a Falkland islands beach more than 20 years ago, the restoration and exhibition was fully opened only in August, now with almost complete access to the ship.
You can also visit a replica of the wooden ship ‘Matthew’, the vessel in which John Cabot crossed the Atlantic and discovered the New World in 1497. Visitors can explore its decks and, during summer and autumn, the ‘Matthew’ runs evening cruises around the harbour. It looks impossibly small, and you can just imagine how difficult the passage to Newfoundland was.
Just off the waterfront are architectural gems like Queen Square, Brunel’s Temple Meads station, part of which is the Commonwealth Museum, as well as the beautiful cathedral with College Green in front. The shops in the city centre are easy to reach on foot as well.
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Beautiful Bristol. |
Venture a little further from the centre to the leafy Georgian crescents of fashionable Clifton. There you’ll find the independent galleries, boutiques and antique dealers. Clifton Village is a jewel, especially Clifton Arcade on Boyces Avenue. Another of Brunel’s major engineering feats, the Clifton suspension bridge, offers wonderful views along the Avon gorge. |
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A hop-on, hop-off open-topped bus will take you around all the harbourside attractions, up to Clifton and Bristol Zoo. It’s a great way to get your bearings ready for further investigations later in your break. There are boat tours, too.
It is flat, easy walking in the centre, so our tip is get accommodation there and explore mainly on foot. The character of the area changes in the evening, with an almost continental atmosphere. A stroll to find a meal, then back around the waterfront on a fine night will cap your visit. |
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