After arriving in London on Saturday and spending a couple of days there, we headed to Bath and then explored a bit of Bristol on Monday!
Aboard the S.S Great Britain
Our first two days in England were spent with Luke's family, mostly celebrating Sophie's birthday, eating good food and drinking wine. Then on Sunday night, we went to a pantomime that Luke's cousin Jo was starring in. The show was really fun, and it was Elizabeth's first time at a panto! Following the performance, we hopped into the car and drove to Bath. It was a late night but luckily we weren't driving so we slept on the way.
As part of our whirlwind first few days in the UK, on Monday morning we took a train to Bristol!
As part of our whirlwind first few days in the UK, on Monday morning we took a train to Bristol!
The initial reason we decided to go to Bristol was to go to lunch with our friend, Dom, before he went home for Christmas. Unfortunately, we hadn't taken the time to test out the data package on the SIM card we were using, so relying on Google Maps to lead us to the restaurant proved to be futile. After snagging some WiFi, we managed to navigate our way there.
Following lunch and catching up with Dom and Ellie, we proceeded to walk along the harbour front to the M Shed. Unfortunately it was closed, so we could only see the Working Exhibits outside the museum; the exhibits were made up of cranes, trains, and boats. Bristol Harbour has been in use since the 13th century but has undergone significant changes and improvements throughout its history. The machinery outside of the M Shed included electric cargo cranes that were used in the 1950s, a steam crane built in 1878. and a fire-fighting boat. On weekends, the equipment comes alive... as in volunteers operate them so that visitors can see how they work.
Following lunch and catching up with Dom and Ellie, we proceeded to walk along the harbour front to the M Shed. Unfortunately it was closed, so we could only see the Working Exhibits outside the museum; the exhibits were made up of cranes, trains, and boats. Bristol Harbour has been in use since the 13th century but has undergone significant changes and improvements throughout its history. The machinery outside of the M Shed included electric cargo cranes that were used in the 1950s, a steam crane built in 1878. and a fire-fighting boat. On weekends, the equipment comes alive... as in volunteers operate them so that visitors can see how they work.
While we were walking along the harbourside, we saw a replica of the Matthew, the ship that John Cabot sailed from Bristol to Newfoundland in 1497; we visited the replica (of the replica) in Bonavista last year. The Matthew is usually open for visits and harbour tours, but was unfortunately closed for maintenance. At least we got to see it. We'll have to check back another time.
We then continued walking along the river until we came to the SS Great Britain, a noteworthy iron hulled passenger steamship that is a main attraction along the Bristol harbour front. It was by far the largest vessel in its day and was the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic; over its lifetime it travelled 1,000,000 miles around the world! The SS Great Britain was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and has been called the 'great-great-great-great-grandmother of virtually all modern ships'. The ship is now sitting on the exact same dry dock where it was constructed in the early 1840s, as part of the museum's outdoor dockyard.
First, we went underneath the "surface of the water" and walked around the ship's original iron hull.
We then continued walking along the river until we came to the SS Great Britain, a noteworthy iron hulled passenger steamship that is a main attraction along the Bristol harbour front. It was by far the largest vessel in its day and was the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic; over its lifetime it travelled 1,000,000 miles around the world! The SS Great Britain was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and has been called the 'great-great-great-great-grandmother of virtually all modern ships'. The ship is now sitting on the exact same dry dock where it was constructed in the early 1840s, as part of the museum's outdoor dockyard.
First, we went underneath the "surface of the water" and walked around the ship's original iron hull.
We then wandered through the museum and onto the decks of the ship. It's hard to believe that this boat made so many trips transporting passengers from England to Australia. These trips required a crew of 120-140 which included butchers, blacksmiths, and surgeons, on top of the regular sailors and officers. Unfortunately, during most voyages a crew member was seriously injured in a accident, or was lost overboard.
As crazy as it sounds, this massive ship was abandoned and purposely sunk in the Falkland Islands in 1937. It was transported back to Bristol in 1970 as part of a large salvage mission. As an aside, earlier this year we learned about the SS Great Britain's sister ship, the SS Great Eastern, who laid the first successful transatlantic telegraph cable from Ireland to Heart's Content, Newfoundland in 1866!
We spent the rest of our daylight hours completing the Harbourside Walk in Bristol. At one end, we made it far enough to see part of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, but didn't have enough time to go any further.
We spent the rest of our daylight hours completing the Harbourside Walk in Bristol. At one end, we made it far enough to see part of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, but didn't have enough time to go any further.
We finished off our time in Bristol with some drinks and a pie, before spending the night out in Bath with Luke's friends from school. We even managed to take some nice photos of Bath at night to boot.
To see the rest of our posts about this trip, check out:
Cotswolds Weekend
Greenwich Wednesday
And the travel video we made of our trip to England can be found here!
Here are some more pictures from our day out in Bristol:
To see the rest of our posts about this trip, check out:
Cotswolds Weekend
Greenwich Wednesday
And the travel video we made of our trip to England can be found here!
Here are some more pictures from our day out in Bristol:
