I'm just back from a day in Bristol. The main reason for going was training on copyright which is not the most riveting of subjects, but I learnt a fair amount. The best part of the trip, though, was the opportunity to indulge in a favourite pastime of mine: wandering the streets of a strange city with only a cursory glance at a map.
It's a risky strategy, especially if, like today, there's a particular place to be and a particular time to arrive there, but I was on my own so I could explore as much as I wanted and if I ended up going the long way round (which I did), then it was only me who suffered.
There's a lot going on in Bristol in the use of digital technology, which I find exciting, though I saw no evidence of it today. Back in the 1980's, I had a hankering to live and work in Bristol, though I had no rational explanation for that desire, so perhaps I would have got involved in the current developments. I never went there in the end, but I'm very happy with the way things turned out, so I have no regrets.)
I hadn't realised that so much of the city is based around the docks and waterfront, though perhaps my route accidentally emphasised it: boats, swans, marinas, even a ferry service up and down the river. The SS Great Britain is moored there too, and I had a vague intention of having a glance at it, but never made it that far.
At lunchtime, we went to the nearby Cabot tower, built to commemorate John Cabot who set sail from Bristol on his journey to Newfoundland in 1497. The tower is at the top of a hill and commands fine views of the city (apparently), but it was closed.
So there were a few plans that didn't work out, but I enjoyed the day anyway, and I took some photographs for a particular purpose, which I shall write about sometime soon...
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2 comments:
Odd that you say that you were thinking of living in Bristol. So was I. It became a bit of an alternative centre for the music indsudtry at one time, infact it still is in someways. Band like Goldfrapp, Tricky, Portishead, massive attack were all sort of based round there and I thought it would be a good creative place to be. But then Stoke can be a good creative place to be too. And who knows where we'll end up. Look forward to seeing the images Alec.
I also like that wandering the streets thing - just seeing where you feet take you.
I haven't been to Bristol since 1975 (last time was to see BB King play) - but you have prompted to me to go back, I bet it will have changed a fair bit.
Hope you got some good pics.... Txxx
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