Bristol had a lot of sights to offer, many that were free, and we kept busy during our several days there.

Sunday

After a filling Sunday roast lunch, we explored a bit of the Tyndalls Park neighborhood. The city is very hilly and there are a lot of old brick buildings.

We wandered through the Royal Fort Gardens, down Cantocks Steps and around the University campus, heading toward College Green Street.

   

There were quite a few people on the lawn enjoying the sunny Sunday weather and although we didn’t enter, the Bristol Cathedral was beautiful from the outside. Across the street there was a famous Banksy, “Well Hung Lover”.

On the way back to our apartment, we walked through Millennium Square and across Pero’s Bridge to Narrow Quay.

The next area of interest for us was Stokes Croft to see two Banksy pieces and some other street art.

   

We detoured back through the Bristol Shopping Quarter for look for more Wallace and Gromit pieces.

Monday

The next day at lunch we visited two of the free museums in town, the Georgian House Museum and the Red Lodge Museum. Both are closed Wednesday-Friday, and both have a suggested donation of £5 to enter but aren’t pushy about it.

The Georgian House was a fascinating journey back in time to an upper-middle class home of the late 1700s merchant. Many of the rooms were displayed with the original furnishings and there is a little stuffed mouse hidden in almost every space! The kitchen and laundry area were of particular note. The small gardens were open during our visit, so we got to see the exterior of the house as well. Definitely worth stopping in.

The Red Lodge has been repurposed multiple times, first as a grand residence from the 16th century, then a Victorian reform school, founded in 1854, to a museum today. One of the coolest features are the three central rooms with beautifully carved oak interiors that remain intact from 1580! Apparently the home remodels and extensions over the centuries were added on and around these rooms, leaving the oldest remaining rooms in Bristol. There is also a 40+ foot deep brick well that was discovered under some floorboards in 2010.

   

After work we walked along the canal across the Redcliffe Bascule Bridge to St Mary Redcliffe Church for some photos (and another Gromit!).

   

After dinner, we walked back to the room via a graffiti alleyway, then headed out again along the Narrow Quay and across the Prince Street Bridge to the M Shed area. There we scoped out a few restaurants and the ship “Matthew”, which we planned to visit on Wednesday. From there we continued across the River Avon on the Gaol Ferry Bridge for some sunset photos.