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Bristol is unexpectedly enchanting. A few guide books refer to Bristol as an ‘ugly duckling’ among cities, perhaps because of the unsightly buildings that came up in the city during the 1970s. Bristol was heavily bombed during the World War II. The post-War plans for the city turned out different than the dream of the bleak blitz years. But then, nobody had reckoned with Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
Bristol was the adopted home of this great engineer, who was born in Portsmouth in 1806 and voted the second greatest Briton in history in a BBC poll in 2002. Only Winston Churchill was reckoned more influential than this engineering genius, who left his stamp so definitively on the railways, the bridges, the docks and the shipyards of Britain — particularly of the south-west. The most appropriate
place to start the tour of Bristol is the railway station of Temple
Meads. Brunel didn’t build the great Gothic confection one sees
there; it was opened in 1878, nearly 20 years after his death. Brunel’s
original Temple Meads had a handsome box-frame roof that was the
largest, single-span roof in the world when it was raised in 1840.
Cast-iron columns were cleverly hidden inside carved hammer-beams.
SS Great Britain At the waterfront, Brunel’s ship, the SS Great Britain, is docked. The ship, built in 1843 as the first screw driven, purpose-built passenger liner, is Bristol’s pride and joy. Painstakingly restored, the world’s first iron-hulled steamship sits proudly in a dry dock, with the pock-marked, flaking hull protected from further corrosion in a special dry chamber. Above the illusory waterline, visitors can tour the deck, some cabins, the engine room and the first-class dining room, which are still pretty much as they were on the Great Britain’s maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York in 1845. The ship went round the world 32 times before coming to grief in a storm off Cape Horn in 1886. The salvage operation that brought her back from the south Atlantic to Bristol in 1970 is well-illustrated in the dockyard museum that forms part of the visitor’s tour. The museum also houses a replica of the Matthew, the flimsy-looking sailing ship that carried explorer John Cabot to north America just five years after Columbus’ first voyage. For a tour of the city, visitors can board an open-top City Sightseeing bus. The first stop, Clifton village, is perched on cliffs above the Avon gorge. One can cross the river by foot over the magnificent Clifton Suspension Bridge. Brunel called his dramatic feat of engineering his first child, but didn’t live to see it completed. He died of a stroke in 1859. The few minutes it takes
to walk across the bridge are filled with drama. The 500-metre-long
bridge stands 76 metres above River Avon. Despite having been designed
for horses and carts, the bridge easily withstands the thousands of
cars that use it each day.
The great cathedral Bristol Cathedral is a bus-ride away from the bridge. It drives past Clifton College’s beautiful buildings and fabulous surroundings. At the cathedral, another surprise awaits Indian visitors, the statue of social reformer Raja Rammohan Roy. Roy came to England in 1833, but he fell ill with meningitis within 10 days of his arrival and died on September 27. His remains lie buried in Arnos Vale cemetery on the outskirts of Bristol. The tomb is covered by a canopy, which has become a prominent symbol of the cemetery. The de facto capital of the West Country can leave you speechless by the end of the day. No other city in England enjoys as spectacular a situation as Bristol. Fact file How
to reach: Direct trains as well as National Express coaches
are available from London. Bristol also has an airport.
Getting around: The bright red ‘hop-on-hop-off’ buses run by City Sightseeing Worldwide drop tourists off at all the`A0major landmarks. Buy a day ticket. What to do: Go around the harbour, and westwards to the SS Great Britain and beyond, on one of the numerous ferries – both covered and open – that are used for sightseeing by visitors and commuting by locals. There are embarkation points at various points along the way. What/where to eat: Brunel is everywhere in Bristol. One of his lesser-known creations is a boathouse at The Grove. It is now the location for the Severnshed, a classy restaurant with a range of fish dishes. Don’t be misled by the special of "fish and chips with Yorkshire caviar": the Yorkshire ingredient turns out to be mushy peas. Accommodation: In the bohemian West End district, the Berkeley Square Hotel at 15, Berkeley Square squeezes 42 rooms into a row of former townhouses in a Georgian square, quirkily furnished but comfortable.
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