Read this blog: The one where we discover we are in two time zones at once Wednesday 21st February 2024 The SS Great Britain was the first vessel of its kind but nevertheless she had a rather checkered history, including running aground off Northern Ireland and bankrupting her owners. Over the course of 90 years at sea she had several adaptations and she spent a further 84 years in the Falkland Islands where she was used variously as a warehouse, a quarantine ship and a coal hulk before being scuttled. In 1970 she was bought and rescued by the owner of Wolverhampton Wanderers and, although she was close to breaking in two, sufficient repairs were made for her to be re-floated and towed back north through the Atlantic to the UK, where she returned home to the Bristol dry dock where she was built. This former luxury passenger steamship is now a museum. The exterior of the SS Great Britain has been restored to show how she would have looked at her launch in 1843 while below deck she has been renovated to reflect some of her various incarnations. Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, SS Great Britain was the first ship […]
2024 Bristol
Read this blog: The one where we visit Brunel’s bridge in Bristol. Tuesday 20th February 2024 The weather forecast was for rain the next day so we agreed to walk round the sites in the better weather conditions promised for Tuesday. Matilda had compiled a list of sights she would like to visit and Robert worked out a route to include as many of these as possible. After a little misdirection and a slight detour we reached the Clifton Lido, originally built in 1849 and opened on 29 July 1850 as the Clifton Victoria Baths. It is situated on a corner flanked by Victorian terraces and impressive classical facades overlook both streets. The main entrance is Egyptian in style and originally led to the medicinal baths, the offices and the boiler room. We walked round to the side entrance, added in 1867 to allow entry to The Victoria Public House which is also part of the complex, and entered the poolside café. Wooden changing cubicles line one side of the pool whilst . . . . . . cast iron galleries over two floors provide viewing space on another two sides. The the website states that the water is heated […]
Read this blog: The one where we have a beer with some cats Monday 19th February 2024 We try to plan a regular trip away with our friends Liz and Martin in our respective motorhomes early in the year and for our 2024 visit we had settled on Bristol. In September 2021, on our way back from Tresco, Robert bought Matilda a lifetime membership of the National Trust at Godolphin House. Matilda noted that Robert waited until she was old enough to qualify for a senior rate before he indulged her but was nevertheless delighted and determined to start getting his money’s worth out of this investment as soon as possible. The following day, she identified Lacock Abbey and Village as a National Trust site which, unlike many at that time, did not require pre-booking. Since then, encouraged by her daughters and mindful that age could increasingly blunt her memory, Matilda has acquired a National Trust passport to keep a record of the beautiful and historic places she visits. She therefore suggested that Lacock would be the perfect spot to break the journey to Bristol so that she could get her NT passport stamped. She managed to convince Robert, who likes […]