I have always been very lucky to have been able to travel overseas fairly regularly but, like most of us, since Covid hit that has ceased. I've been fortunate that I've been able to visit and stay with my Mum several times, much more than many have over these past couple of years. Sadly though this was not always under the best of circumstances as my Dad suffered a stroke in late 2020 and passed away last year. Another consequence of not taking holidays as we normally would do is that I also got to the stage of having a lot of leave left and needing to use it or else lose it. My husband also had to take time off so we decided to finally get away somewhere for a well deserved couple of days last November. We opted for the UK (though we did also manage travel overseas in December - more on that soon) and chose Bristol. I've never been to Bristol (not sure why) and although my husband had it was only briefly so that, and a programme that we had watched earlier in the year about its vibrant food scene, swung it for us as the place to go.
We were 100% tourists for the couple of days we were there so one of the things we decided to do was visit the SS Great Britain. Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and launched in 1843, she was then the largest vessel afloat, originally built for the Great Western Steamship Company's service between Bristol and New York. She later carried thousands of immigrants to Australia before being retired to the Falkland Islands in 1886. She was then used as a warehouse, quarantine ship and as a storage facility for coal before being scuttled and abandoned in 1937. There she remained until 1970 when the Great Britain was raised and restored enough to be towed back to the UK and to the Bristol dry dock where she had been built.
She's now a permanent museum ship in Bristol harbour and gives visitors the opportunity to learn more about her history and get an idea of what it would have been like onboard. As you'd expect you get to see all areas from the kitchens and crew areas to the lounges, saloons and cabins for the passengers. As well as the onboard and up on deck areas as she is in a dry dock you can also go below sea level and view her from that angle too. It is impossible not to appreciate the power and engineering behind her when you get up close to the replica propeller.
Our other tourist must do for the weekend was a visit to the Clifton Suspension bridge, another of Brunel's engineering design achievements. Although this was my first visit to Bristol the bridge is, of course, a familiar one to me. One of my own associated memories is of watching Concorde fly over it on the news on one of her farewell flights back in 2003. I've also seen it pop up on countless TV shows, including a very recent one so I felt like I knew it just a little beforehand.
Spanning the Avon Gorge and river Avon the bridge opened in 1864 and remains a toll bridge, the income providing funds for its maintenance. It is now a Grade l listed structure, in recognition of it being one of the oldest surviving iron suspension bridges in the world. Although there had been bridges crossing the river Avon before it was the death of Bristol merchant, William Vick in 1754 that saw the beginnings of building what was to become the Clifton Suspension bridge. He left £1000 in his will with instructions for it be invested and upon the interest reaching £10,000 it was to be used to build a stone bridge, though it took some time for his idea to come to fruition.
By 1829 the legacy had increased to £8000 and a competition was announced for a design for the bridge, one of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's entries was declared the winner in 1831. Construction of the bridge began in June that same year but was halted a few months later by the Bristol riots that had been sparked by tensions over proposed voting reform. This resulted in investment in the bridge dropping and work on it ceasing. Over the following years work was able to continue but eventually ceased again in 1843 with funds exhausted.
Views both ways from the bridge.
Brunel died in 1859 without seeing his bridge completed but in 1860 a proposal was made again to finally finish the bridge as a memorial to him and in December 1864 the bridge was officially opened. Today you can walk (or drive) across the bridge to admire the views, though doing this is probably easier if you walk across. We walked there after a lovely long lunch, it was a good way to burn off some of all the wonderful food we had just eaten, and it's well worth including it if you're visiting the city. After that lunch, the walk to the restaurant and the walk from there to the bridge afterwards we finished the day with a well earned drink in one of the nearby pubs.
Where did we have that lunch prior to our walk to the Clifton Suspension Bridge? At littlefrench, one of the places we'd seen on that TV programme I mentioned earlier and a lovely independent, family owned restaurant offering a regularly changing menu of French food. Littlefrench, of Freddy Bird fame, is in the Westbury Park area of the city, we decided to walk from our city centre hotel, as I mentioned, and it turned out to be quite a walk from there but luckily we had given ourselves plenty of time. Bristol, or at least this part on our walk, is also quite hilly so I was definitely reminded of walking around Edinburgh as well as by all the Georgian houses reminiscent of the New Town that we passed on our way.
As we had walked there when we arrived we had a bit of time to fill before our booking and it was at this point that the heavens decided to open meaning that whatever we were going to do staying outside was not an option. Luckily just a short walk from the restaurant we found the littleshop and pantry which, although we didn't know beforehand but as you may have guessed, is the little sister of littlefrench. Here we were able to sit inside (thank goodness) with a coffee and watch the rain and life outside go by for awhile. Although we didn't make any other purchases this shop was full of amazing deli and bakery goods, as well as also having its own kitchen and I'm very jealous of those who live near there. Lunch itself, once it was time to go, was a delight, with glorious ceps mushrooms to start, a delicious pork chop for my main and a zesty lemon tart for dessert. We left satisfied and keen to return again if we have the opportunity.
Somewhere else we had been recommended was Bristol Lido and we decided to do breakfast there (my husband was unable to book a swim as the lido only has limited availability for non-members) on our final morning before making the journey back to London. The lido is tucked away amongst the streets of Georgian houses in the Clifton area of the city and on approach is a quite unassuming building right next to a pub, once you're inside though and sat besides the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the pool it's a real delight.
It first opened its doors in 1850, after an Act was passed in 1846 encouraging local authorities to build public baths and washhouses. The lido was enjoyed by many after opening but fell into disrepair and closed in 1990. It was then threatened with demolition with plans for the site to be used for flats but local people campaigned against this and in 1998 it was awarded Grade ll listed status. In 2006 planning permission was granted for its full restoration and in 2008 it reopened as a subscription pool with spa facilities, a restaurant and poolside bar. Although swimming was not an option this time, booking for breakfast was straightforward and I went for the Turkish baked eggs with flatbread. If you're looking for somewhere a little different for dining the lido makes a very good choice. This and littlefrench were definitely my food highlights of the weekend.
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| A rainy view across The Lido |
It was a very brief trip, just two nights and three days so I know we barely scratched the surface of what Bristol has to offer but what we did see and do certainly made me want to return. It was the perfect choice for our first break away since before Covid, with history, epic scenery, good food and a great vibrant energy it didn't disappoint.
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