Bristol

Following the trail of Gromit Unleased!

This is the second installment to my post on the “ambitious” weekend goal of covering Yeovil, Cheddar-Gorge, Street, Bath and Bristol. The first part can be read here. Both of these cities are among stunning cities in the UK that are perfect for city breaks. Bristol straddles the River Avon in the southwest of England and has plenty of maritime history but were in the city for other reasons.

By Invitation only…

A friend had extended invitations after an invitation to visit Bristol but our plans simply didn’t mesh as he always works out of town just as much as I do if not more. This time being in Somerset it just didn’t make any sense for me to be this close to Bristol and not visit. The journey to Bristol started from Bath and took only 30 minutes drive. Bristol is now a cultural hub, the Harbourside, where the M Shed museum explores local social and industrial heritage. The harbour’s 19th-century warehouses now contain restaurants, shops and cultural institutions such as the contemporary art gallery The Arnolfini. So for a quick weekend visit, I was keen to sample some elements of the many paid and free things to do in Bristol, even though, were not going to have too much time for it all.

Driving through picturesque countrysides via long winding country roads, I was looking around the city limits as we entered Bristol, trying to see if I could catch a glimpse of triumphant Victorian engineering at its best but I just couldn’t see it. Meeting my friend Khalid near his home, we set off to walk to the Clifton Suspension Bridge via the scenic route through Ashton Court Estate.

Dear oh Deer…

Khalid took us to see Ashton Court Estate having walked under the flyover bridge and coming across skateboarders. My boyfriend decided he was going to show Khalid and I some of his skills on the board. I was stunned that dude still had some moves on him from his teenage years.

Arriving on the Ashton Court Estate, all 850 acres of it, beautiful garden with huge oak trees which were apparently imported and a grand deer park that has kept deer here since 1332. The estate also boasts not one but two 18-hole pitch-and-putt golf courses(I don’t do golf, I am guessing that’s pretty big right?).

The estate was owned by the Smyth family and has a rich history with stories of impersonations and fights over inheritance worthy of a blockbuster write up. We circled the estate to walk through the park to see the deers up close.

I was really looking forward to seeing these beautiful red deers that roam freely on the grounds but unluckily we came on the day they had recently introduced a few young deers into the compound so they closed off parts of the grounds to allow them to settle in. We could see them from a distance but not near enough for my phone to take good shots.

Just like us, they were sheltering under bushes to hide from the fierce sun we had on Sunday. A real shame that I had managed to leave my DSLR in my living room when I left on Friday so I could not zoom in on them to take good pictures as they were far away. Really beautful animals. I may have to check out the ones close to home, Richmond Park in London also has some Red and Fallow deer which have been roaming around and grazing the park since 1532.

Ashton Court Estate also hosts the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta which has been running for over 30 years. During the Fiesta hot air balloons take to the sky as the sun rises and sets with mass ascents from 150 teams taking off at 6am and 6pm to light up the sky with these colourful, fun and creatively decorated balloons. This year’s Fiesta takes place from 8th-11 August. I may hopefully come back to see these and the deers!

Coming face to face with Clifton…

With the gates of Ashton Court Estate leading to Clifton Bridge closed, we walked back down and crossed the river passing the lock that controls river flow in Bristol’s rivers. As we walked up, we could see Clifton from miles away. We must have walked around for at least 2-3 miles to get to Ashton Court I didn’t really want to ask just how we were going to get up to the height where Clifton stood.

We took to the walk up the winding path snaking around up to 75 meters above sea level before arriving in sweaty excitement at the reward before us. Coming face to face with the Clifton Suspension Bridge having looked at many pictures and reading about its construction and designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, seeing it there was pretty awesome.

Having won a contest in which he put forward a few drawings in a competition, it was a real shame he died five years before its completion. He battled funding of the project, the construction was completed a good 30 years after the starting due to delays caused by funding as well as riots and protests in the city with some opposing plans over expenditure for the project.

For me, this is another iconic structure showcasing the true beauty behind metallurgy and how advanced we are in technology of metals(among other things). I see San Francisco’s Golden Gates bridge in the same light. It sounds ridiculous that I would travel that far just to marvel at a bridge, the Golden Gates is not just a bridge now is it?

It’s amazing just how creative the human(yes, other animals too!) mind can be and just how something that was built then with the little technology they had compared to what we have today can stand the test of time. The Golden Gates Bridge was started around the same time as Clifton but completed in 1937 while Clifton opened in 1964. Spanning 214 metres between two towers and 75 meters sea level, it was originally built for pedestrian and horse-drawn traffic but now carries 12,000 plus cars a day and around 4 million a year.

Like John Muir said, “The power of imagination makes us infinite”. The Clifton Suspension bridge is truly ingenious and innovative construction by the Victorians. It’s now Bristol’s cultural icon structure and easily recognisable image of the city.

A spot of Banksy…

You cannot visit Bristol, the home of the famous street artist, Banksy, and not run into his art on the streets. Having passed some of the street amateur art under the bridges I wanted to see the real deal. Bristol is quite hilly so prepare for a little up an down. I had not planned on hiking and didn’t pack any hiking boots but my Anne Klein iFlexi flats haven’t failed me yet. For those visiting London and want to check out Banksy’s art, check out these Banksy locations in London.

What goes up must surely come down. As we walked up to Clifton we had to walk back down to the town center. With the bus taking 20 minutes to arrive looking at the timetable, our tour guide for the day, my friend decided it was going to take just as long to get into town so walking was to be the way to get back down.

At this rate, I was thinking I could do with a but of a break after walking around in the heat and we passed a few Boston Tea Party cafes which seemed just as popular as Starbucks or Costa in London as I had spotted a few in Bath too. Not long before getting into the center did we come into contact with a “A Banksy”, above. I would have loved to hunt for more but it was getting dark and my feet were starting to ask why I was torturing myself after a lovely spa in Bath.

The hunt is on for Gromit!…

I had my first encounter with Gromit unleashed was when I saw it in Cheddar Gorge and my bf took to taking pictures of me while I posed and made faces at Gromit. Over the years we have had several themes of this nature around the UK, we have had bears, cows, elephants and other animal statues painted and scattered around different cities in the UK and auctioned off to raise money for charity.

They have unleashed 80 Gromits for 10 weeks around the Bristol county area all painted to different themes. Gromit Unleashed is a public art exhibition with giant sculptures of Gromit, decorated by invited artists and unleashed on the streets. This is being led by the Wallace and Gromit Grand Appeal, a charity raising money for Bristol Children’s Hospital.

The exhibition is such a great way to explore the city, especially if you are bringing kids along(I was just as excited each time I saw one). There is also a trail with a map marking all the Gromits and where in the city you can find them. There is also an app you can download with a guide to Gromit spotting(I didn’t get that far).

These will be on show until 1st of September so try and see them if you can. The Gromits will all be on auction at the end of the exhibition to raise funds for the appeal. I came across Superman Gromit, Pharoh Gromit, Pirate Gromit,….but sadly not enough time to see them all. Just as I was finishing this post I found out that there will be one Gromit in London. I will hunt it down and when I find it I will post it on my Facebook.

All good things must come to an end…

Bristol has some of the longest cycling routes stretching for miles with real beautiful scenery so next time I may rent a bike. It is such a large city that one day was never going to be enough but I came and saw what I was really was hoping to see, Clifton(and my friend). I still yearn to see more but night approached and Monday was slowly beaconing, it was time to catch up over dinner before we left Khalid and bf and I went our separate ways as he was staying in Somerset while I am working in London.

For more street art check out my previous post on Street Art in London and for more on Banksy’s Street art, check out Barbara’s piece on the Banksy Effect in Bristol. Details of Gromit and map of the trail can be found here.

For Banksy Street Art tours in Bristol check here for details.

Where To Stay In Bristol

Our south-west visit ways short but for a large city like Bristol, there are plenty of options for where to stay in Bristol. From cool Bristol Airbnbs, to lovely Bed and Breakfast to boutique and luxury hotels. There is something for everyone. Also because this is very much a university city, there are plenty of budget options for cheap hotels in Bristol.

Also See

Royal Crescent, Bath

A lot of the time you will read about my blog posts from my travels outside of the UK(apart from my climbing trips off course, mainly in UK). Well that will all hopefully change as I will try and show you a little bit of where I live, the popular holiday and settling destination that is the UK. The past weekend I had an ambitious goal of covering Yeovil, Cheddar Gorge, Bath and Bristol! Art, Spas, Climbing, Hiking and Music, all in one weekend!

I have always been fascinated by architecture(still am) and at some point I considered studying for the profession until I stumbled onto the love of computer programming. I came across Clifton Bridge a couple of years ago and I have since wanted to see it. For some reason months turned into years and here we are now.

My bf is currently working in Somerset at the moment so he came up with the idea of showing me around Somerset over the weekend. We took that idea and ran with it! Seeing as Bath and Bristol are only an hour away we decided on meeting one of my university friends for a little exploration of Bristol.

Is there such a thing as Clarks Village?…

Clark’s Village in Street, Somerset

Living London on Friday evening after work and turning down free drinks and food at a company event, I set off on a two hour train ride to Yeovil. Saturday we started off on the town of Street(yep that is the name of the town) with a tour of the Clarks Village on the High Street of Street. An outlets shopping area with shops the likes of Calvin Klein, Fiorelli, Jaeger, Apsen, Coast M&S, Clarks and more. I also discovered where the little apple tree below is as I had come across the image a while back and assumed it was from a faraway land. After some retail therapy and enjoying the sun shine while sipping on Costa’s raspberry ice teas it was time to head to the gorge!

All gorge and no cheddar…

The drive from Street to Cheddar Gorge was about 45 minutes but as we had been too relaxed and in no real rush we lost track of time and the caves in Cheddar Gorge were closed when we arrived just after 5pm. Cheddar Gorge is considered to be Britain’s largest gorge. Still high on the summer sun we have surprisingly been graced with this July, we set off to explore the area. Somerset has some of the most stunning views with winding little country roads stretching all the way to Cheddar Gorge.

Lying in the southern Mendip Hills of Somerset it features two caves that have become popular with tourists. The two public caves; Cox’s Cave and Gough’s cave with beautiful stalactite caverns where the Cheddar Man, Britain’s oldest skeleton was found. With no caves to see(after turning up at closing time) we took up a little bouldering instead. A real shame that I didn’t get to see the caves or gorge on cheddar but our tickets are valid for a year so I will be returning there for the caves.

My shot of Cheddar Gorge in 3D

Museum of Prehistory

Cheddar Gorge waterfalls

I will try and return in the next 4 weeks to check that out as well as Glastonbury Tor that’s nearby, not to mention, I did discover a lot of sport climbing routes there when we went for a hike. A return trip to try out the routes is a definite must with proper climbing gear. The place has some beautiful surroundings.

For the perfect view of the gorge you can climb the 273 steps on Jabcobs ladder which leads to a Lookout Tower and the Cliff Top Gorge walk for stunning views of the Mendips and Somerset countryside. I love learning about the landscapes, and the history attached to the areas and on a day that was bright and breezy with high clouds, the perfect set up for some hiking.

274 Steps to great views of the gorge.

Bathing in Bath like a Roman…

Minerva Pool, Therme Spa

After a long week at work and hiking around Cheddar Gorge for a couple of hours it was time for some proper R&R. Sunday we planned to bathe in Bath! The home of Roman Baths. We booked into the Therme Bath Spa. Bath is only about 1 hour from Street. We parked the car in Gay Street, fitting, considering we were in the gayest of moods(in the old sense of the word obviously). This was also conveniently within meters of the Royal Crescent, one of the worlds famous landmark. Built between 1767 and 1775, a crescent with 30 houses one which has now been turned into a hotel and one publicly accessible.

Royal Crescent, Bath

The “Royal” part was added after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany had stayed there. We walked to the spa and made it within minutes of my facial appointment. My bf went off to lounge in one of the two pools that the spa has. My face was cleansed, toned, oiled, stroked repeatedly and massaged before being moisturised.

The whole facial was about 50 minutes but towards the end when I felt the beautician coming to a stop that little voice in me was screaming ‘please please please don’t let it be the end’ and before I could say please one more time the sound of a gentle bell went to which she said I will now give you a few minutes to get up and put on your robe. *insert sad face here* My skin felt softer and clearer though.

Treatment Room

Having finished my treatment I was ushered to the relaxation room where energizing herbal teas awaited. From there I moved on to the cafe over looking The Cross Baths(another open-air thermal bath) while sipping on yet more herbal teas but this time with the added sweetness of English tea cakes! Catching up with the bf and comparing notes on our treatments, where he had an hour body massage it was time to dive deep. First starting with the basement Minerva pool then heading for the Steam room pods before cooling off on the roof top pool with view of Bath’s Gothic cathedrals.

Therme Bath Spa

Blissfully happy and leisurely walking out of the Spa at 2pm having gone in at 9 in the morning. We stopped by the Jazz Cafe to continue the theme of rest and relaxation. This place serves a beautiful Seasonal Mezze whilst your senses are tickled and soothed to the sounds of the like of Miles David and more smooth Jazz tunes. Apparently they also do live shows but we were only in Bath a few hours so it was time to move on with the show.

The Jazz Cafe – Bath

As this post was starting to get really long, I have decided on cutting this blog update into two. I will post details of Bristol in a few days so I can get a chance to get all the images from the trip together.

My first encounter with Gromit in Cheddar Gorge.

Cheddar Gorge

Part 2 coming up shortly.

So have you ever had an ambitious weekend to cover a mammoth of items? How far on your list did you get?

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Bath Spa, Royal Crescent, Roman Baths in Bath.

UK Road Tripping Bath To Bristol Pt2