Bristol England

In my opinion, Bristol is not high on any one's list of places to see. Lots of much more interesting places, some even relativley close. Where will you be coming from, any reason you chose Bristol.

I am all over the map on this. Trying to figure it out. I've had input from many people on where to go and somehow can't quite finalize. We only have 5 days. We will be coming from Heathrow with a rental car. I decided I want to go someplace and stay and not drive out on day trips, so thought Bristol might be a good location to do this - a zoo, museums, etc. - only 2 hours drive and then we're there. Now I'm wondering if Cambridge might not fulfill this. This will be our 17th time to England - have decided against the Cotswolds - love them but been there so many times. So it sounds as if you don't recommend Bristol.

A new area for you might be East Anglia. Lincoln (great cathedral and interesting central City area on top of a hill), Norwich , Bury St Edmonds to Cambridge, maybe a day in Norfolk Broads, to me would be a nice 5 day trip. Not many tourists, but wonderful sights. Or York- train or drive up there and then rent a car and see the moors and ruined abbeys. York has a wonderful small central city surrounded by a complete wall. One of the best cathedrals. The whole city within the walls is very walkable. many medieval looking areas. York has museums, including a railway museum. I have never visited museums in East Anglia- too many sights to see. No, i dont see anything interesting in Bristol, so many other much more interesting areas.

I live in Bristol, so can assure you that there are many things to see in the city itself, and even more within close travelling distance. It all depends on what you are looking for. Bristol is primarily a business city, and it has two universities. It is cosmopolitan, but most of the people on the streets live here; they are not tourists. There are museums, theatres, lots of good restaurants, shops and sights like the SS Great Britain and the Clifton Suspension Bridge. If you have a car, you can easily get to south Wales for Tintern, Chepstow, Caerleon, Caerphilly, St Fagan's and many other attractions. More locally you can go to Berkeley, Castle Combe, the Cotswolds (again!). By public transport you can travel to Bath, Salisbury, Wells, Glastonbury and Tyntesfield. Bristol is not a city to visit so that you can tick off famous places, or so that you can impress your friends. However, if you have been to Britain many times before and have seen all the touristy places, it has many attractions and is a good base for travel further afield. It has certainly more to see than Lincoln, lovely though the cathedral and castle are.

I used to visit Bristol for business. I agree that if you have ticked off the usual tourist sights and want to see places that are interesting, but not because they are "olde worlde" or chocolate box cover pretty, then Bristol is worth a visit. It is one of the oldest major cities in England. It unfortunately suffered bomb damage during WW2 and was also subjected to, along with many other towns and cities, some ugly rebuilding during the 1960s. However it has in more recent years had significant regeneration and improvements to its streetscape and preservation of its older buildings. If you have heard the expression "pay on the nail" here is the site of the original "nail" over which deals were struck. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BristolTheNails.jpg Edit - Bob - it's been a while but have the manners of the bus drivers on the little buses to and from Clifton improved? I felt the experience was a bit like the Wong Kei restaurant in London where it was fun to go and see how rude the waiters could be!

I hope I speak for a lot of people here when I take a moment to tell each of our European local residents how helpful their contributions are. We have several UK residents (Nigel, Bob, Linda, and Philip have been regular contributors), a couple of residents of Italy, at least three in Germany (Jo, James, & Tom, I think they're military or ex-pats), a couple in Italy, and two in France (Roger is one). There's no organized effort by the RS/ETBD to encourage these folks, since this is a volunteer board. So I like to take the opportunity, on a thread like this where their contribution is evident, to specially thank our European residents for their help. When I get more organized, I'll make a list of their names. And to thank each our regular repliers - those of us in the US, Canada (and even Australia) - wherever you live, for giving your time to make this board a helpful little corner of the internet.

Linda, I don't know how long ago you went on a "little bus" to Clifton. They use standard single deckers on that route now, but back in the 1980s they tried using small minibuses at frequent intervals on many routes in Bristol. There are still some grumpy drivers around, but you have to know the etiquette. Make sure to say "Thank you" as you get off, or if you want to be a real Bristolian say "Cheers drive" (Yes, drive, not driver). The local bus company recruited Polish bus drivers a few years back, when unemployment was very low. You could then buy t-shirts with "Cheers, drive" in Polish on them. Other vernacular t-shirts had "Gert lush" and "Them's me daps, mind". Translations available at a price.

Bob - Yes it was the late 80s, I was staying in Clifton and working in town. I had noticed in passing the attitude of the bus drivers and commented on it to my local colleagues. They just laughed and said that the route was known for grumpy bus drivers! Maybe it was having to drive the small buses?

Sharon
I had problems responding to your request for information, hope you received it brian