Beautiful Bristol
Just hearing the name Bristol sounds so British. We truely loved exploring Bristol. First off we drove over the Clifton Suspension Bridge, which cost us a pound. The iconic bridge opened in 1864. We had really wanted to park and visit the Clifton Bridge Visitors Center and walk across the bridge but there is no dedicated car park and it was busy.
We drove past the SS Great Britain on the docks.
Our roof top car parking gave us amazing views over the University town.
Then we headed for a stroll through Bristol’s old town area which was just a gem.
Bristol has many beautifully restored historical houses. This one was built in 1485! We are always astonished by these stunning architectural buildings!!
We enjoyed making our way down the Christmas Steps, built in 1669!!
We were extremely keen to taken in all the artistic street art. A huge tourist attraction is Bristol’s street art, even on historical buildings!!!
We visited St. Nicholas Markets which is a foodies heaven. It is also great for checking out homemade craft items. The market building also has some nice historical decorative features.
Not far from the markets we stopped for a break at a tiny coffee shop called, Playground Coffee House. We had researched this stop. It had amazingly good coffee. We tried ours on cashew milk which was great. We also enjoyed sipping our coffee on the swing chair whilst playing a game of exploding kittens!! This coffee playground had even game imaginable for you to play!! A really great social winter hub.
Whilst on the foodie trail we stopped at a cute music club called, By-Brasil. Why??? Well we couldn’t go past a two for one deal on chicken burgers. They were delicious!!
In high spirits we explored the cheery Christmas Markets. Christmas really feels festive in the cool winter weather.
Then came our walk through Castle Park with St. Peter’s Church ruins and it’s river views.
Rob really adored the Tudor buildings especially, Smugglers Bar! I fell in love with the romantic rose coloured facade building.
This lead us to the renovated dock area filled with nice cafes, restaurants an interesting horn bridge, wheel and a festive winter wonderland!!
Our last stop at the end of the day was Bristol Cathedral. It made you feel so insignificant with its vaulted heavenly high ceiling features. Just a jaw dropper. The ancient 14th century stained glass window were another wow factor. What a way to end our day in Bristol.
Our history lesson was not over yet. On our way back to the car we found the famous piece of street art created by Banksy.
The we stumbled on Bristol’s oldest public bar which was established in 1500. Now how insignificant do you think we felt when standing in front of a 519 year old drinking house. What tales could this beautiful Tudor architectural buildings tell us?
