England Guide
Bristol, Bath and Somerset
Clifton Suspension Bridge
Opening time: Visitor Centre daily 10am–5pm
Price: Free
Address: Clifton
Website: www.clifton-suspension-bridge.org.uk
Clifton was once an aloof spa resort, and is now Bristol's most elegant quarter. The select enclave of Clifton Village is centred on the Mall, close to Royal York Crescent, the longest Georgian crescent in the country, offering splendid views over the steep drop to the River Avon below.
A few minutes' walk from the Crescent is Bristol's most famous symbol, Clifton Suspension Bridge, 702ft long and poised 245ft above high water. Money was first put forward for a bridge to span the Avon Gorge by a Bristol wine merchant in 1753, though it was not until 1829 that a competition was held for a design, won by Isambard Brunel on a second round, and not until 1864 that the bridge was completed, five years after Brunel's death. Hampered by financial difficulties, the bridge never quite matched the engineer's original ambitious design, which included Egyptian-style towers topped by sphinxes at each end. You can see copies of his plans in the temporary Visitor Centre, located at the far side of the bridge, alongside designs proposed by Brunel's rivals, some of them frankly bizarre.