nmuzz
February 10th, 2008, 12:00 AM
Bristol – a brief introduction
Bristol lies approximately 105 mile (170km) west of London off the M4 motorway. It is the largest city in South West with a population of
410, 000 (550, 000 metropolitan) and the UK’s 8th largest. It is a unitary authority (Bristol City) but also straddles 3 other counties (South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Bath & North East Somerset). This is where the metropolitan population comes from.
It lies on the Avon River and is east of the Severn River estuary. Within the city centre the Avon River forms Bristol Harbour and was one of the main shipping ports for trade to Ireland as well as home to John Cabot’s ship the Matthew which explored North America in 1497. It is also home to many of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s constructions such as The Clifton Suspension Bridge striding the mighty Avon Gorge, The SS Great Britain (the worlds first steam powered iron ship) and Bristol Temple Meads Station which was the end of the Great Western Railway before its extension to Exeter.
Bristol has quite a dark past as well as it was the centre for slave trade in the 17th Century and the tobacco industry. 2007 saw the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery.
During the late 1800s it ventured, as most British cities did, into an extensive tram network and the only system in England to have open top double-decker trams as their entire fleet. Sadly, WW2 ended the tram network as extensive bombing of the city destroyed the main depots and a large percentage of the fleet and tracks. An attempt to bring back trams to the city was thwarted by lack of funding from the ever generous Labour Government and most probably redirected to the London Olympics fund!
Not only that, but many wonderful old buildings were also destroyed by the Luftwaffe. The 1950s saw a complete regeneration of the city centre into the familiar boring architecture that is seen across the UK today. But now the city is making a come back.
Bristol has always been an engineering and aviation city and is home to BAE Systems, Airbus and Rolls Royce. The city is most notably the home on the ‘British’ Concorde. Concorde 216 G – BOAF is open to the public and rests at the end of Filton Airport.
The millennium saw massive investment in the city and the redevelopment of many run down areas and buildings. Most notably the Millennium Square Development, the Watershed in the city centre and the redevelopment of the Broad mead shopping district (called Cabot Circus) which has attracted one of the most famous department stores into the South West – Harvey Nicks!!
It has one of the largest collections of private schools outside London such as Clifton High School, Red Maids School, Bristol Grammar, Bristol Cathedral School, QEH (Chartered by Queen Elizabeth 1 and founded in 1590! Hugo Weaving attended this school too!), Redland High for Girls, Badminton School and Colston’s Girls School as well as two universities (the University of Western England and Bristol University).
The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is a popular instituation as many famous actors have tread the boards. Actors such as Daniel Day-Lewis, Gene Wilder, Gretta Scacchi, Miranda Richardson, Patrick Stewart (make it so), Peter O’Toole and Sean Pertwee just to name a few!!
Many favourite British TV programs are filmed in and around Bristol such as ITV’s Afterlife, Channel 4’s Skins, and the BBC’s Holby City, Casualty and the brilliant comedies Only Fools and Horses and The Young Ones as well as Aardman Animation creators of Wallace and Grommit are based in Bristol!
There are some famous bands who hail from Bristol too such as Kosheen, Portishead and Massive Attack.
Also Francis Greenway, designer of Sydney’s first buildings was born in Bristol.
The city has a proud history of sport supporting two football teams: Bristol Rovers (the Gas Heads) and Bristol City (which Simon Chipperfield, an ex-Wollongong Wolves player played for). There is much rivalry between the two teams. But most notably the West Country and Bristol is known as a proud land of Rugby and cricket!
Bristol has such beautiful areas to visit and the pubs ain’t half bad either! Clifton (the upper class area of the city) is filled with quaint cafes, restaurants and shops and boasts possibly the best pub/hotel in the world – the White Lion at the Avon Gorge Hotel which over looks the Clifton Suspension bridge and the 75m gorge below. The Downs is a large park (a bit like Clapham Common in size) where many festivals take place throughout the year. Park Street has excellent shops and cafes as does St Nicholas Markets in the city centre. Ashton Court is a 15th Century Mansion house surrounded by 210 hectares of parkland and hosts the Bristol International Balloon Festival every August.
I suppose, from my point of view Bristol is brilliant because you get a great city feel, surrounded by beautiful parks and scenery which is literally 10mins away from the city centre. West Country folk (and Bristolians) are lovely warm people that enjoy a good yarn and a healthy pint of ciderrrrrrr! (Oohh Ahrrrrr!)
I hope you enjoy the tour.
nmuzz
First, the city centre and the redevelopment of the Bristol & West Building Society HQ.
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/4849/bristolwestfrmwatershedga3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/6795/bristolwestredevelopmengs2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Looking up to College Green and the Bristol Marriott Royal
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/3550/bristolmarriottgy9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The City Centre
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/5861/citycentre1tt4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/5848/citycentre2wj2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/9558/citycentre4rv2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/8362/citycentrefountainhl6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Looking across to one of Bristol's theatres - the Hippodrome
http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/3643/hippodromecg7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Denmark Street (no imprtance really, just small and windy)
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/3823/denmarkstreetek9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Crossing from the Watershed to Queens Square (funky bridge)
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/9499/hornbridgeef0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Baldwin Street (one of Bristol's busiest)
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/305/mbaldwinstreet3fc5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/2392/cornbaldwinstreetsts1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Statue of Neptune looking out to the harbour
http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/5356/neptunebristolwestkb0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The White Lion pub in Rupert Street
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/3052/whitelionrupertstou5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The Watershed on the right (full of pubs, clubs and bars! Brilliant spot!)
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/4913/watershedbc3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Bristol lies approximately 105 mile (170km) west of London off the M4 motorway. It is the largest city in South West with a population of
410, 000 (550, 000 metropolitan) and the UK’s 8th largest. It is a unitary authority (Bristol City) but also straddles 3 other counties (South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Bath & North East Somerset). This is where the metropolitan population comes from.
It lies on the Avon River and is east of the Severn River estuary. Within the city centre the Avon River forms Bristol Harbour and was one of the main shipping ports for trade to Ireland as well as home to John Cabot’s ship the Matthew which explored North America in 1497. It is also home to many of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s constructions such as The Clifton Suspension Bridge striding the mighty Avon Gorge, The SS Great Britain (the worlds first steam powered iron ship) and Bristol Temple Meads Station which was the end of the Great Western Railway before its extension to Exeter.
Bristol has quite a dark past as well as it was the centre for slave trade in the 17th Century and the tobacco industry. 2007 saw the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery.
During the late 1800s it ventured, as most British cities did, into an extensive tram network and the only system in England to have open top double-decker trams as their entire fleet. Sadly, WW2 ended the tram network as extensive bombing of the city destroyed the main depots and a large percentage of the fleet and tracks. An attempt to bring back trams to the city was thwarted by lack of funding from the ever generous Labour Government and most probably redirected to the London Olympics fund!
Not only that, but many wonderful old buildings were also destroyed by the Luftwaffe. The 1950s saw a complete regeneration of the city centre into the familiar boring architecture that is seen across the UK today. But now the city is making a come back.
Bristol has always been an engineering and aviation city and is home to BAE Systems, Airbus and Rolls Royce. The city is most notably the home on the ‘British’ Concorde. Concorde 216 G – BOAF is open to the public and rests at the end of Filton Airport.
The millennium saw massive investment in the city and the redevelopment of many run down areas and buildings. Most notably the Millennium Square Development, the Watershed in the city centre and the redevelopment of the Broad mead shopping district (called Cabot Circus) which has attracted one of the most famous department stores into the South West – Harvey Nicks!!
It has one of the largest collections of private schools outside London such as Clifton High School, Red Maids School, Bristol Grammar, Bristol Cathedral School, QEH (Chartered by Queen Elizabeth 1 and founded in 1590! Hugo Weaving attended this school too!), Redland High for Girls, Badminton School and Colston’s Girls School as well as two universities (the University of Western England and Bristol University).
The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is a popular instituation as many famous actors have tread the boards. Actors such as Daniel Day-Lewis, Gene Wilder, Gretta Scacchi, Miranda Richardson, Patrick Stewart (make it so), Peter O’Toole and Sean Pertwee just to name a few!!
Many favourite British TV programs are filmed in and around Bristol such as ITV’s Afterlife, Channel 4’s Skins, and the BBC’s Holby City, Casualty and the brilliant comedies Only Fools and Horses and The Young Ones as well as Aardman Animation creators of Wallace and Grommit are based in Bristol!
There are some famous bands who hail from Bristol too such as Kosheen, Portishead and Massive Attack.
Also Francis Greenway, designer of Sydney’s first buildings was born in Bristol.
The city has a proud history of sport supporting two football teams: Bristol Rovers (the Gas Heads) and Bristol City (which Simon Chipperfield, an ex-Wollongong Wolves player played for). There is much rivalry between the two teams. But most notably the West Country and Bristol is known as a proud land of Rugby and cricket!
Bristol has such beautiful areas to visit and the pubs ain’t half bad either! Clifton (the upper class area of the city) is filled with quaint cafes, restaurants and shops and boasts possibly the best pub/hotel in the world – the White Lion at the Avon Gorge Hotel which over looks the Clifton Suspension bridge and the 75m gorge below. The Downs is a large park (a bit like Clapham Common in size) where many festivals take place throughout the year. Park Street has excellent shops and cafes as does St Nicholas Markets in the city centre. Ashton Court is a 15th Century Mansion house surrounded by 210 hectares of parkland and hosts the Bristol International Balloon Festival every August.
I suppose, from my point of view Bristol is brilliant because you get a great city feel, surrounded by beautiful parks and scenery which is literally 10mins away from the city centre. West Country folk (and Bristolians) are lovely warm people that enjoy a good yarn and a healthy pint of ciderrrrrrr! (Oohh Ahrrrrr!)
I hope you enjoy the tour.
nmuzz
First, the city centre and the redevelopment of the Bristol & West Building Society HQ.
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/4849/bristolwestfrmwatershedga3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/6795/bristolwestredevelopmengs2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Looking up to College Green and the Bristol Marriott Royal
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/3550/bristolmarriottgy9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The City Centre
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/5861/citycentre1tt4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/5848/citycentre2wj2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/9558/citycentre4rv2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/8362/citycentrefountainhl6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Looking across to one of Bristol's theatres - the Hippodrome
http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/3643/hippodromecg7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Denmark Street (no imprtance really, just small and windy)
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/3823/denmarkstreetek9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Crossing from the Watershed to Queens Square (funky bridge)
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/9499/hornbridgeef0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Baldwin Street (one of Bristol's busiest)
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/305/mbaldwinstreet3fc5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/2392/cornbaldwinstreetsts1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Statue of Neptune looking out to the harbour
http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/5356/neptunebristolwestkb0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The White Lion pub in Rupert Street
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/3052/whitelionrupertstou5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The Watershed on the right (full of pubs, clubs and bars! Brilliant spot!)
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/4913/watershedbc3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)