Things to do in Bristol near the Clifton Suspension Bridge

The Kennet & Avon Canal doesn’t technically go all the way to Bristol. The canal officially begins at Hanham Lock No. 1, about 3.87 mi/6.22 km from the city center in a straight line. The canal, however, is in reality the canalized River Avon, and downstream from Hanham Lock the river becomes the Bristol Avon Navigation for 14.5 mi/23.3km all the way to the Bristol Channel at Avonmouth.

So in my mind, and in the opinion of many others I’m sure, Bristol is part of the K&A. You will certainly find YouTube videos of people riding bikes or walking from Bristol to Reading (or vice versa), and I plan to start my September trip in Bristol.

Unfortunately there are more things to do in Bristol than I can reasonably do in the time I’ll have, but regardless here’s a list of what I might attempt (to which I will keep adding).

Clifton Suspension Bridge: Finished in 1864, the bridge is 1,352 ft/412 m long, and stands 331 ft/101 m above high water, spanning the Avon Gorge. The central span is 702 ft/214 m and it looks absolutely stunning, especially when the tide is in or at night when it’s illuminated. It’s also one of the cheaper attractions, in that you can walk or cycle across it for free and it’s only £1 by car or motorcycle.

The bridge is based on a design by the famous Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel (there was an earlier Thomas Telford design) but Brunel was already five years dead when the bridge was completed. A lack of funds had continually delayed the completion of the bridge until 1864.

William Henry Barlow and Sir John Hawkshaw modified and improved Brunel’s design and completed the bridge, but Brunel is definitely responsible for the towers and the abutments that support the towers. You can take a hard hat tour of the vaults hidden in the abutment on the Leigh Woods or west bank side of the Avon. The existence of these vaults had been long rumored but only recently rediscovered.

You can get a great, free view of the bridge from the Clifton Observatory and enjoy a cup of tea or ice cream at the cafe. Or pay £4 to access the camera obscura and the Giant’s Cave, which opens onto a viewing platform on the limestone face of the Avon Gorge. Also on Observatory Hill, which is a pleasant green space, you’ll find the remains of an Iron Age hill fort, although you’ll be forgiven for thinking it’s just a hill.

If you cross the bridge west to the Leigh Wood side, you can also find Stokeleigh Camp, yet another hill fort that’s inside the national nature reserve. The ramparts of this fort are a little easier to identify. The road from the bridge, the B3129, also will take you to Ashton Court Estate, once the wealthy home of the Smyth family but now an 850-acre park owned by the city of Bristol and a new home to a museum, golf course, deer park, mountain trails and even the adorable Ashton Court Model Railway, with trains big enough to ride on.

Avon Gorge: The gorge is the Avon’s path to the Bristol Channel and is a stunning sight, seen either from the suspension bridge or looking up from the A4, which follows the eastern bank of the river. National Cycle Route 41 also follows the river on the western bank, but I have seen a video that suggests the cycle path is only for the stout of heart who don’t mind mud.

A final way to tour the gorge is on the replica of the Matthew, which was Italian explorer John Cabot’s ship. Cabot, financed by Bristol investors, found the coast of North America in 1497. You’ll find the Matthew next to the M Shed in the floating harbor. The Matthew is free to visit at its berth but you can also book a cruise of the floating harbor or sail up the Avon Gorge passing under the Clifton Suspension Bridge. The Matthew is open from 10 am—4 pm Tuesday to Sunday, March—November; and 10 am—4 pm Saturday and Sunday, December—March. It is open on bank holiday Mondays. An adult harbor tour is £12 and an adult Avon Gorge trip is £40.