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Some great places to visit in Bristol

By RomanticHeart | March 10, 2010

Bristol is an interesting city to visit because it has a rich history and much more besides. The Bristol of today is a mix of the old and the new. Extensively bombed in World War II, many of the old buildings were lost. Some of the surviving chracter of the old town are the narrow cobbled streets and some beautiful old architecture such as the Llandoger Trow and the Corn Exchange.

There are occasionaly some landmark properties for sale in Bristol and when the Llandoger Trow came up for sale, Whitbread snapped it up. The Llandoger Trow has stood since 1664 and is one of the last timber-built buildings in Bristol. Rumour has it that Daniel Defoe met Alexander Selkirk (the inspiration for Robinson Crusoe) there, and there are tales of pirates, ghosts and secret tunnels too. Relax and have a few drinks in this famous pub.

The clock over the Corn Exchange (a grade I listed building) stands out because it has two minute hands. The black minute hand shows Greenwich Mean Time and the red minute hand shows Bristol time. The exchange was finished in 1743 and the clock was installed (at that time with only one minute hand) in 1822. The second minute hand was added later to show the official time in London as well as the local time in Bristol. The arrival of the railways was the reason for the extra clock hand. The railways required a standardised time across the country for timetabling and in September 1847, the Railway Clearing House recommended that every railway company in Britain adopt Greenwich Mean Time at their stations, as soon as possible.This standard time became known as 'railway time', and Bristol officially adopted it on 14 September 1852. Bristol is 2º 35' west of Greenwich, which makes the black hand just over 10 minutes ahead of the red.

Bristol has plenty of religious buildings of architectural note. Bristol Cathedral is one of the UK's finest hall churches and a great example of late Norman architecture. It was built as an Augustinian abbey in the 12th century and converted in 1542 into the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity. St John the Baptist's Church is the only surviving church out of the five built on the 12th century Saxon walls of Bristol's old town. The church would have acted as part of the city's defences as well as a place to offer prayers. Also worth visiting is the parish church of St Mary Redcliffe where you can admire the beautiful stained glass windows and the gothic arches.

If castles and stately homes are your thing, don't miss Berkeley Castle which has over 900 years of history. 24 generations of Berkeley's have influenced the character of the stately home that now contains the bedspread of Queen Elizabeth I and Sir Francis Drake's cabin chest.

If you visit Bristol at the right time of the year you will see the spectacular that is the Balloon Festival. Bristolians love to see the gathered hot air balloons and there are many beautiful examples from all over the world. The fiesta started in 1979 and now attracts around 150 balloons and half a million visitors. If you miss it, you can still get in on some of the action by taking a hot air balloon flight over the city between April and October, weather permitting. The fiesta will be held between Thursday 12th and Sunday 15th August this year.

Bristol is a great city, the delights of which I have only touched on. The docks have been refurbished, the streets are packed with cutting-edge restaurants and designer bars, the museums are world class and the nightlife and artistic talent are up there with the best.

For places to stay in Bristol or a guide to Bristol restaurants and shops, you may be interested in the Activ Bristol website which is a good place to start your internet research if you need to know more about what the city has to offer.