Half-Term Road Trip Part 1: Bristol

Students in the UK get a "half-term break", a week off, at the end of October. This was a great opportunity to get out and explore England and further afield. The first stop would be Bristol, in the south.
Wanting to look in nooks and crannies, and see the countryside at a slower pace than the bus or train allows, we decided to rent a car. We requested a small car, and an automatic: it would be difficult enough to drive on the left side of the road on narrow cobblestoned streets without also shifting the gears in a standard with the opposite hand! Unfortunately when we got to the rental agency, the car they had designated for us was broken down and so the only other automatic was.... an 8 passenger van! Stress. We decided to try it out, and with one of us navigating (and making sure we're on the left side) and one driving, we set out. I dreamed about crashes and scratches all night.

 

 

At least the boys had room to spread out their games and snacks, and a seat between them if they argued!

 

 



 

 

The driving went well, once we got used to the many roundabouts where we often had to  make split-second decisions about which lane to be in. There's a fair amount of "assumed knowledge" in the signage -- you have to sort of know where you are going. But the countryside was stunning, especially from the roadway. Even in late fall, it's still quite green, though we saw some nice fall colours as well.

 



 

 

Our first destination was Bristol, a port city of about 400,000 on the southwest coast, near Wales. We'd heard some great things about Bristol from Chris Short, and we were not disappointed. It's home to the excellent Arnolfini art gallery.

Bristol is bursting with character and maritime charm. There are ancient, twisting passageways, like the Christmas Steps, that are reminiscent of the merchants, adventurers, and pirates of yesterday.

 There is also a nice Newfoundland connection; Bristol is home to the Matthew replica that sailed to Bonavista for the Cabot celebrations in 1997. We also learned that the Bristol dialect has similarities with Newfanese, like "Where is the museum to?"

At the same time, some of the architecture has a contemporary edge to it.

 

At the M-Shed, a museum about Bristol's history and present, we learned about some of the cool folk who were from here, many of whom, like the graffitti artist Banksy,  have been unconventional and progressive thinkers and activists.

 

The only downside of the visit was the pouring rain and the difficulty of getting on and off the M-5 motorway without ending up in Wales. Still, we had a grand first day.

 

Next stop, Bath.