17 July Bristol

The weather is starting to deteriorate. Have decided to stay an extra day and forgo Alton Towers. Visited Bristol today, which is 45 minutes from Cheltenham. Bristol’s main feature is its busy tidal river. It has the extremes of very low and high tides. A well known phrase “Ship Shape in Bristol Fashion”, is all to do with ensuring the ships remain upright when left high and dry at low tide. The tide issue for the Bristol docks was resolved in 1809 with two locks being constructed at each end of the river to keep the water at a consistent level. Decided to take the Hop on Hop off sight seeing bus, which has proved useful for getting us around previous cities. Highlights include The Clifton Suspension bridge that soars high above the Avon River. It was the first bridge built of its type and pundits of the time said it couldn’t be done. I guess they were a tad wrong as it still takes traffic today. Some of the biggest Victorian and Georgian mansions in England are situated on the hill here and the Public buildings and schools offer fantastic architecture. After the bus tour we went back and explored a ship, the SS Great Britain that was built in 1845. It was the world’s first great ocean liner’. It was built initially to transport immigrants from England to Melbourne Australia. It served in both world wars, then became a cargo ship. In its time it was the biggest cruise ship in the world and was known as the Mammoth. By today’s standards it would now be considered a small super yacht. It had 3 classes of passengers. All the cabins were very cramped. Steerage was just a narrow bunk bed within a dormitory. First class was a teeny cabin, but at least you had more public space and had a dining room. The ship is in dry dock so you can view underneath the ship but the museum creates the illusion of still being in the water. It has been completely restored considering the fact it was scuttled after its use by date and had to be re-raised and put back together then restored. It is a great museum. We returned to Cheltenham ahead of the worst of the rain. Final dinner out before we say our fond farewells and head back to Yorkshire.