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Welcome to the
Avon
Throughout the west country, wherever the tracks of the railways lead and there are rivers or gorges to be crossed, it is difficult to escape the work of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. This is not to suggest that his work needs to be escaped from, for his constructions are among the finest to be seen in the country. Working, as he did, in the nineteenth century, he was responsible for laying out the Great Western Railway as it was then called. In order to do this he had many bridges to build and they remain today as a permanent reminder of the enormous skill and imagination this remarkable engineer displayed in both their construction and in the elegance of their design. A particularly outstanding example of this skill, the Clifton Suspension Bridge, may be seen soaring over the Avon Gorge, linking the lovely countryside of Somerset with the busy city that is Bristol. Brunel was not only a builder of magnificent bridges however. He was also a pioneer in the building of iron ships. In 1970, one of these iron ships, his masterpiece the 'Great Britain', was discovered derelict and in danger of breaking up, in the Falkland Islands, many thousands of miles away from its rightful home in Bristol where, in 184 3, It was launched by the Prince Consort. Eventually, after a quite incredible rescue operation, it was brought back to be restored, to the docks in Bristol where it may now be seen.
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For a thousand years Bristol has been an important commercial centre. From here in 1497 John Cabot set sail to discover Newfoundland and North America. Later, great sailing ships left Bristol with cargoes destined to be exchanged, in Africa, for slaves bound for the West Indies and America. They returned laden with tobacco, ensuring that Bristol should become a centre for tobacco trading in this country. It remains today an important part of the trading and industry of this, the commercial capital of the west of England.
Bristol combines old and new in pleasing proportions. One of the many cities badly damaged by bombing during the last war, much of it has been rebuilt. It now boasts an excellent new shopping centre, well laid out, and affording excellent facilities. Its links with the past are still retained however, and here, in Broadmead, may be found John Wesley's chapel, the oldest Methodist chapel in the world. Outside the eighteenth century Corn Exchange building is another link with history; the 'nails ' flat topped pillars on which merchants used to lay down their cash when making transactions and which gave rise to the expression 'paying cash on the nail' still In common use today.
For people in the southern part of the country Bristol has, since 1966, become notable as the 'gateway to Wales'. Yet mother bridge, this time the mighty Severn Suspension Bridge, has made this link possible. Convenient though this may be, it means that the city is more often by passed than visited. This is a great pity, for Bristol is well worth visiting for its own sake.
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