Bristol

Isambard Kingdom Brunel was one of Victorian England’s greatest engineers. His legacy can be found all across the south of England, nowhere more so than in the city of Bristol. First, the Great Western Railway from London carries you into town. Brunel had the foresight to anticipate a future in which trains would travel faster than those of his time. In response to this vision he built a more level track, with gentle curves, that would enable higher speed travel. The result is a rail service that covers greater distances in less time than similar length journeys elsewhere in Britain.


Upon arrival in Bristol, Brunel’s next masterpiece comes into view; a grand and soaring train shed, now a museum. As you continue through the city, more and more of Brunel’s work is revealed. Garry and I managed to see much these engineering feats during our time in Bristol. Perhaps the most dramatic of these is the Floating Harbour which celebrates its bicentenary this year. This is nothing more than a dammed section of the Avon River, accessed by a series of locks. The creation of this harbour eliminated centuries of tidal extremes that left commercial shipping high and dry in the mud twice daily.


Today, the wharves are no longer active. In their place a process of gentrification is taking place, progressively converting the water front into a new residential, retail and leisure zone akin to that of Darling Harbour in Sydney. Even here you can find Brunel’s work. We had dinner one evening at the Severnshed , one of his original harbourside warehouses. The meal was superb and the view across the habour was magic by night.


The following day we visited yet another spectacular Brunel legacy, the Clifton Suspension Bridge. This graceful bridge is the city’s icon, spanning the entrance of the Avon Gorge, soaring 76 metres above river below. We drove across the bridge and parked so that we could walk back across its span and up to the parkland overlooking the gorge. The scene was truly spectacular. It's one of those rare postcard scene that really does hold up in real life.


Our final Brunel sight in Bristol was the SS Great Britain. For more on this magnificent ship, read this blog post. However, one of the most indelible memories of I’ve taken away from Bristol has a far more humble origin; a tram rail. Let me explain.


We stayed in a hotel in Redcliffe, across the road from the spectacular gothic church of St Mary Redcliffe. In the church grounds can be found a rusting iron tram rail embedded in the turf. This rail is a relic from the Second World War. On April 11, 1941, a German bombing raid blasted this rail over a set of neighbouring houses and into the church grounds. It still catches me by surprise to recall that this nation, and much of Europe, was once at war.