E-travelguide To Bristol
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Bristol, England
Bristol in England with e-travelguide.info
Welcome To the e-travelguide to Hotels, guest houses and attractions in Bristol.
Make the most of your time in Bristol, use the information provided on this web site by clicking on the links above to plan your visit.
Bristol is one of Britain’s great historic cities and is regarded as the financial, cultural, commercial and leisure capital of the West Country. There is so much to see and do in Bristol, with fascinating attractions, first-rate museums, art galleries, superb shopping facilities, an excellent selection of hotels and a plethora of restaurants, bars, pubs and clubs. Bristol also has a thriving music scene and a diverse and multicultural flavour; the eclectic influences are apparent throughout the city.
There are two major universities in Bristol, and the city is one of the UK’s most popular areas for business relocation, with a major focus on media and innovative high-tech industries. The city’s docks are a particular source of industry and attraction and here visitors can explore the likes of the Matthew – the replica of John Cabot’s vessel aboard which he stumbled upon Newfoundland in 1497 – and the SS Great Britain which was designed by none other than Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The great architect also designed the iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge (pictured) which hangs high above the Avon Gorge and overlooks much of the city.
It is also worth noting that Bristol had a large part to play in the production and running of Concorde; the world’s first supersonic passenger airliner was built at Filton in the northern suburbs of the city. Other notable industries and innovations include the HTML web language which was partly developed at the Hewlett Packard Research Centre in Bristol and Aardman Animations, the creators of the Oscar-winning Wallace and Gromit films. It is clear that Bristol has been pushing back the boundaries for centuries.
Bristol’s great heritage had humble beginnings; the tiny Anglo-Saxon settlement of Brigstowe steadily became a thriving port and over the following centuries Bristol became one of England’s principal ports. By the mid-18th century Bristol had become England's second city and goods such as cane sugar, tobacco, rum and cocoa imported via Bristol from the New World bringing great prosperity to the city.
Yet by the 19th century Bristol's fortunes as a port were declining. The River Avon's extreme tides and many bends were not compatible with the new, much larger merchant ships. In 1831 a new chief engineer was appointed at Bristol docks by the name of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Brunel not only redesigned the docks, he also spearheaded the arrival of the Great Western Railway linking Bristol with London. His legacy is still stamped on the city today, with icons of the industrial age including the Clifton Suspension Bridge, the SS Great Britain, and Temple Meads Old Station.