The Matthew in Bristol Harbour

Larry and I have had one trip away since he came over to England in July. That was to visit my eldest son and his partner, who live in Bristol. One of the most interesting things about Bristol is the harbour – see below.

‘Bristol Harbour was the original Port of Bristol, but as ships and their cargo have increased in size, it has now largely been replaced by docks at Avonmouth and Portbury. These are located 3 miles (5 km) downstream at the mouth of the River Avon.

The harbour is now a tourist attraction with museums, galleries, exhibitions, bars and nightclubs. Former workshops and warehouseshave now largely been converted or replaced by cultural venues, such as the Arnolfini art gallery, Watershed media and arts centre, M Shed museum and the At-Bristol science exhibition centre, as well as a number of fashionable apartment buildings. The Bristol Harbour Railway, operated by M Shed, runs between the museum and the Create Centre on some weekends and bank holidays. Historic boats are permanently berthed in the harbour. These include Isambard Kingdom Brunel‘s SS Great Britain, which was the first iron-hulled andpropeller-driven ocean liner.

^{S.S. Great Britain in Bristol Harbour – Autumn 2013}

^[1] and a replica of the Matthew in which John Cabot sailed to North America in 1497. The historic vessels of M Shed museum, which include the steam tug Mayflower, firefloat Pyronaut and motor tug John King, are periodically operated.

The Bristol Ferry Boat Company^[2] and Number Seven Boat Trips^[3] operate ferry services in the harbour, serving landing stages close to most of the harbour-side attractions. The latter company also operates a Bristol City Council supported commuter service.^[4] The Bristol Packet boats offer regular harbour tours with commentaries and river cruises on the Tower Belle up the River Avon to Conham, Hanham and Bath and downstream to Avonmouth.^[5]In late July each year, the Bristol Harbour Festival is held, resulting in an influx of boats, including tall ships, Royal Navy vessels and lifeboats.^{[6]‘ from Wikipaedia}

We had a really great time on a pleasure boat in Bristol Harbour: This is our view from the inside:

After we had sampled the delights of Bristol harbour, we chilled out in a wonderful coffee bar near the city centre.

Larry is learning our cafe culture. It goes slowly. He was not in his comfort zone in here.

In true American fashion, he wanted a map of the city and a plan for the day. I, on the other hand, was very happy to amble through the day, alighting like a butterfly, on one interesting place after the other. I think he got quite frustrated with me!

We had a great time visiting my son and his partner and all their animals:

…and hope to return there again soon.