Travel Feature
Bristol, a maritime city in South West England, has successfully blended its unique history with modern living to create an energetic yet relaxing place which clearly feels good about itself.

It’s spacious, green, the people are friendly, there are restaurants, cafes and bars all over town and excellent theatre, dance, music and visual arts at a host of venues.

Those who arrive by train travel the route of the original Great Western Railway. It was one of the outstanding achievements of the great Victorian engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, whose magnificent engineering masterpieces gave the city so much of its character and made it so culturally rich.

Arriving at Bristol’s Temple Meads station you feel this is how the Victorians would have travelled in style! At the end of the curved gothic forecourt is Brunel’s original Old Station building restored as the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum: the world’s first museum dedicated to Britain’s 500-year colonial history.

Many visitors arrive at Bristol International Airport, its direct flights serving some 60 destinations across Europe. The city itself served by good local transport but, for me, one of the best ways to enjoy its special atmosphere is simply to walk. Rarely have I visited a city that so positively invites you to walk around it (it is also very cyclist-friendly).
Bristol was for centuries a thriving port. Today water flows from the River Avon to the city’s eastern edge via its Victorian man-made Floating Harbour, another Brunel engineering feat.

Bristol has imaginatively transformed its unique water feature into a focus for city life. You can criss-cross it on footbridges Venice-style and walk along the quaysides.

On Harbourside are stylish modern bars, cafes and restaurants – Brannigans, Evolution, Mackenzies, bSb and Chicago Rock Café - offering daytime and evening menus with a range of international cuisine, or you can just watch the world go by over a cappuccino. The Watershed media and arts centre has international cinema programmes, exhibitions and a café and bar.

Behind, in pedestrianised Millennium Square is At-Bristol – a complex of high-tech attractions bringing together science, wildlife and art. Explore - a hands-on science discovery experience; Wildwalk - a journey through life on earth including a living rainforest, and a giant screen Imax cinema.

On The Grove waterfront are Severnshed, Riverstation and Mud Dock Café - stylish, modern restaurant/bars with good food and cocktails and great river views. Along Princes Wharf, beside the old dockyard, is the Industrial Museum which charts the city’s maritime and industrial past and a remarkable ship - Brunel’s SS Great Britain - in dry dock.

Launched in 1843, she was the world’s first iron hulled steam propeller-driven ocean liner. She carried more than 15,000 passengers on 33 round the world voyages before being converted to cargo. Brought back to Bristol after being beached for 33 years in the Falkland Islands she is undergoing extensive conservation. You can explore the ship and visit the Maritime Heritage Centre which has exhibitions of original artefacts and films on her history and conservation.

Alongside is a working replica of The Matthew,, the ship in which John Cabot sailed to Newfoundland in 1497. Also for maritime fans, the Bristol Packet Company runs harbour cruises at least every weekend through most of the year in covered, heated boats and occasionally to the spectacular Avon Gorge, spanned by Brunel’s Clifton Suspension Bridge (a major city icon), then out to the Bristol Channel.

The city has retained much of its historic charm and elegance with Tudor timber framed buildings, cobbled streets and many elegant Georgian houses and squares. It’s worth stopping for a drink at the Llandoger Trow the 17th century inn reputedly the Spyglass Inn in R.L. Stevenson’s adventure, “Treasure Island”.

Christmas Steps and St. Michael’s Hill area are steeped in history with lots of specialist individual shops. St. Nicholas Market has dozens of stalls with just about everything you could want from antiques to the latest fashion and a Farmers’ Market and Flea market. Broadmead is a massive modern shopping and leisure complex with over 400 stores.

Theatre lovers can enjoy world class productions at the Bristol Old Vic at the Theatre Royal, the main venue for the Bristol Poetry Festival from October 2-12, and groundbreaking theatre at the Tobacco Factory whose acclaimed Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory season runs from February 6 to April 26.

One of Bristol’s attractions is its superb location on the edge of the Costwold Hills, close to Georgian Bath and a short drive to the elegant town of Cheltenham, whose literature festival runs from October 10-19.

If you have a car, it’s well worth heading to Westonbirt Arboretum near Tetbury, where the autumn foliage colours are breathtaking and attract visitors from all over the world.

Bath celebrates the world of author Jane Austen (who used to holiday there) from September 20 – 28. The Jane Austen Festival has walking tours, visits to the Assembly Rooms, tea in the Pump Room and many other events. The new Bath Spa complex, with its thermal pools, baths and steam rooms, is scheduled to open by October. The Bath Christmas market and the Christmas market at the American Museum are perfect opportunities to buy those special gifts.