Visiting The SS Great Britain
Before kick-off I also had time to visit the SS Great Britain.
The attached museum is pretty good too. It took me about ninety minutes to tour both. I was also surprised to see a lady in a wheelchair on the ship with an assistance dog. So the disabled access must be pretty easy as well.
I would recommend if you’re going to the football at Ashton Gate, that if you get into Bristol before about 11:00, as I did, you have time for lunch, a walk and a visit to the Great Britain. From there it’s a fairly simple twenty minutes or so walk to the ground.
How To Show Off Technology
On the dockside they were showing off an old electric crane.
Electric Crane on Bristol Docks
Note the scissor lift at the right to give access to visitors.
And here’s a steam one too!
Steam Crane on Bristol Docks
I suppose some might think the smoke was a bit excessive.
Where are London’s working cranes?
Signs and Maps in Bristol
Bristol has signs with maps in many places.
Signs With Maps in Bristol
I walked around the city for an hour or so and it was so much more pleasant than Plymouth.
Two Bombed Out Churches
In the UK, we have several bombed-out churches from the Second World War. I have post about St. Luke in Liverpool before, which is generally known in the city as the bombed-out church.
On my weekend trip to Plymouth and Bristol, I came across two more. First was the Charles Church in Plymouth.
Charles Church, Plymouth
If ever there a badly situated ruin, that is a monument to the excesses of town-planning it is this. Surely, they could at least given pedestrians access, but it seems to be unfortunately left in the wrong place by the bombing of the Second World War.
In some ways, this church sums up Plymouth. Very disappointing!
And then there was St. Peter’s in Bristol.
St. Peter's Church, Bristol
The surroundings have been left to show it off properly as a monument to those who died. It also had an information board.
Information on St. Peter's Church, Bristol
Plymouth could learn a lot from Bristol.
My New Trainers
I got my new trainers on Friday from Runners Need.
I wore them all day yesterday in Bristol and in the end we had to walk all the way from Ashton Gate to Temple Meads, which took about thirty minutes.
This morning, I have no stiffness or soreness!
I’ve not had any cramps in bed either.
So perhaps everybody should get their trainers properly fitted.
Josh Carson Does It Again
The football wan’t the best although in the end the result was what I wanted. Lee Martin got himself sent off and then the ten men of Ipswich attempted to hold on for the rest of the match.
The deciding goal had a touch of good fortune about it, as Josh Carson intercepted a stray pass and then beat David James from over twenty metres. I felt at the time, that it might have been a goalkeeping calamity, but it appears it was just a well-placed shot, that James couldn’t reach.
Carson has now scored three times in three starts and when Ipswich have won in those three games, he’s scored all the goals.
How many world-class strikers have started their career with such a record? Not many I suspect!
The Disappointing SS Great Britain
I found Brunel’s SS Great Britain very disappointing.
SS Great Britain
This is the best view you can get of the ship without paying £12.90 a person. That is just too much! Compare with how the Belfast or the Cutty Sark are displayed in London, where you can get a good view of the outside for nothing.
When you only have a couple of hours to visit an attraction, there needs to be some way to get a flavour.
The cafe was a bit of a disappointment too, as nothing was marked gluten free and it took a great deal of time to find out what was OK for me. In the end I had some very nice soup, but I still paid for the bread I didn’t need. Not that I worried about that, as the food was more important, but it would make it difficult for a family of coeliacs.
Walking Around Bristol
We walked along the water to the SS Great Britain.
Here are a few pictures. We could have taken a ferry, but it was an easy walk.
Note the statue of John Cabot, who is now thought to have landed in Newfoundland in 1497. Click the link to Wikipedia to find out more about this adventurer, who is just a footnote in much teaching of history.
Should It Still Be Called The Royal Bank of Scotland?
We walked past this building on the waterside at Bristol.
Royal Bank of UK Taxpayers
It occurred to us, that surely now is the time to drop the word Scotland from the name. After all, it is now the Royal Bank of UK Taxpayers.
Perhaps we should all be given a few shares!
The Anonymous Widower 