Two Weeks Amongst The Brits -> History, Castles & Beer In Bristol, UK
During my student years I only spent around 3 years living in the UK, but in that short time there were many things I fell in love with and certain things I will never miss.
On the love side was English Pubs (they’re just not the same anywhere else), Double Cream (you haven’t lived until you’ve tasted real English cream), proper English gin (only in the UK), sticky puddings (of all types), strong cheddar (oh yeah!), roast Sunday lunch (drooool) and British summers (exquisite!). On the never miss side was just about every month of British weather outside of summer.
After 3 winters of bicycling on a frozen seat with unending head colds, interminable grey skies and never getting quite warm, I had an overpowering drive to get across the big pond to sunny California. The rest is history.
But my sister felt differently. She stayed in the UK after her studies, settled down in the SW of the country and eventually met the man she’s going to marry. Their cozy house in Bristol was where we all decided we were going to spend the holidays this year, complete with her fiancee’s side of the family, a boisterous pack of 4 brothers, 1 sister, kids and grandparents.
The entire affaire was an insanity of fun, interrupted only by the fact that both my father and I got debilitating week-long head colds (yeah, what a surprise). As an extended family we ate (copiously), drank (equally copiously) and since I was having such a good time I have pics of neither. However we also managed some other cool stuff which I did get around to capturing. So, if you’re ever lucky enough to visit this fine city, here’s what I recommend you get up to:
SS Great Britain
I first visited this fine old lady last year, but she was such an amazing experience I just had to go back. First launched in 1843 this ship was called “the greatest experiment since the creation” and was truly a modern marvel of her day. She was larger than any other ship of her time, built with an iron hull (which was ground-breaking), fitted with a 1000 hp steam engine and run by a screw propeller (never attempted before). She was so robust she stayed in service until 1933 and went through several life changes including carrying immigrants to Australia and cargo to the West Coast of America.
My sis, dad and I spent 2 hours of a rainy day walking through her museum, dressing up in period costume (they have a room dedicated for this on-site, sooooooooo cool) and walking the decks of the boat. Plus we were rewarded with a rainbow from her dock over the colorful houses of Hotwells right after the storm. A pretty spectacular day!
SS Great Britain -> Link HERE. Tickets are £14 for adults. Kids 4 and under are free. Tickets valid for re-entry for a year.
Bristol Cathedral
This fine cathedral dominates the center of Bristol with her majestic spires. Founded as an Augustinian Abbey in c.1140 (history goes deep this side of the pond), she expanded and renovated multiple times over the years. Her interior stonework is astounding especially when you consider it was all done by horse, hand and pulley, and her fine stained glass windows, although rather more “modern” than the stone are no less impressive.
On a grey, rainy day (what else?) sis, her fiancee, dad and I rolled downtown and took the tour offered each Saturday. We stayed dry and learned an impressive amount about both the Cathedral’s murky past and it’s equally progressive history (there’s quite a bit of fascinating feminist history here). A definite recommend!
Bristol Cathedral -> Link HERE. Entry FREE with tours offered each Sat 11:30am & 1:30pm (suggested donation £5)
Blaise Castle Estate
Blaise Castle was called a “folly” in her day and also “the finest place in England” in Jane Austen’s novel Northanger Abbey. Constructed in 1766 on 400 acres of land it sure is a magnificent place to take a walk on a stormy English day.
Once again dad, sis and I did the outing, wading through proper English mud (e’re present in the countryside) to admire her elaborate towers and the surrounding 19th century mansion & estate. This place feels like something right out of a novel and will transport you straight from busy downtown into a natural wonderland. Plus, it’s free and the grounds are off-leash dog-friendly (which y’all know just flutters my heart strings). THIS I could get used to!
Blaise Castle Estate -> Link HERE and HERE. FREE to visit.
The Beermuda Triangle
Back in my day you went to the pub for a pint of ale. There might have been a few ales on tap and maybe a scrumpy (if it was in season), but you drank what you got and you liked it. Of course I was 20’ish at the time so I was just happy if the beer was cheap and I had a few pals to down it with.
Fast forward 20 or so more years and things have certainly changed. The UK has gone through a beer revival and I’m here just in time to take advantage of it. There are now lots of CAMRA (campaign for real ale) pubs and craft brews are rapidly becoming the “in” thing. They’re not nearly as extensive as in the USA, but craft breweries here are serious and they’re making seriously good stuff.
In Bristol the best place to sample UK finest brew-art is a corner of 3 pubs (The Beer Emporium, The Famous Royal Navy Volunteer and Small Bar) on King Street known as The Beermuda Triangle. Here you can loose yourself in the wonder of sublime British craft brewing from heady IPAs, real Ales, solid Stouts and even (believe it or not) Sours.
On yet another grey, rainy day Pia, her fiancee, his brother, my dad and I hit 2 of the three, enjoying several hours of tasting flights at each spot. By far the best beer IMHO was at Small Bar (what a selection!) but probably the coolest atmosphere was the vaulted underground pub, Beer Emporium. In all we tasted around 18 beers, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed although my favs were probably the Buxon Double Axe IPA and the Left Hand Giant Red 5. If you come to Bristol and you’re into beer you cannot miss this place.
Beermuda Triangle Pubs -> Small Bar (HERE), Beer Emporium (HERE) and The Famous Royal Navy Volunteer (HERE)
Bristol Craft Breweries -> Click HERE and HERE
I’m down to my last day here in Europe after which I’ll shoot back cross-ocean to celebrate New Year’s Eve with hubby. It’s been one of the best Christmas holidays I’ve ever had (which is saying something, rain and all) thanks to the company of family and the gracious hosting of my sister and her other half. Cheerio UK, until we meet again…
Thanks for taking me along on your holiday. Felt like I was one of the family with your descriptions.
Safe travel and a happy New Years!
Thank you! I’ve had a blast here, but I’m looking forward to going home.
Nina
I’d wondered about craft breweries in Europe, but had not heard anything about it. Thanks for the enlightenment! It sounds really fun and tastefully interesting.
Welcome home to your warm weather, mobile lifestyle. Happy New Year to you and Paul! I hope you can bring in the new year with some of your favorite American craft brews. Salud! 🙂
Looking forward to hitting up a few of the 100+ craft breweries in San Diego when I get home this week. I think a good Alesmith Imperial Stout might be first on the list….
Nina
Being a pedantic Brit aircraft engineer, I should point out that CAMRA was formed when you were 4 months old; when we were living in the dire days of such gruesome gnat’s pee as Watney’s Red Barrel. Admittedly it could be bought for 1/2 (1 shilling and 2 pence) per pint (6p in modern £ speak).
“They’re not nearly as extensive as in the USA, …”
According to a Guardian headline 14 months ago:
” The UK now boasts more breweries per head of the population than any other country in the world, according to a new consumer guide which also reveals a significant swing to real ale among younger drinkers.
The Guide published by Camra reveals there are 1,285 breweries operating in Britain……”
And now for a shameless plug for a London micro-brewery run by some friends. http://anspachandhobday.com/products/ If you’re in London do try their The Porter. It’s as good if not yummier than the now defunct bottled conditioned (unpasteurised live yeast) Guinness which was withdrawn in the ’90s.
Sure can’t remember any CAMRA pubs in my time here, but it was formed in 1971. As for breweries I guess it depends what you consider a brewery and what you consider craft beer. Lots of the former, less of the latter. But it’s a booming business in both countries no doubt and I’m very happy to see it taking off to this extent in the UK. Cheers for the London brewery tip.
Nina
Although I’m no drinker nor pub-goer (though Kim is) I DO agree regarding Britain, I miss little there including the weather! As an ex-Brit now here in California I guess I’ve become spoiled about the weather, and now we moved up to Northern California I’m hating the ‘cold’ wet winter weather here, can’t wait for ‘Summer’. After we’ve got our house sorted out, I hope we can get back on track for our intended snowbird RV trips south for better weather in future winters!
I can’t deny the weather is tough (for me) here in the UK. I’ve been totally spoiled by CA sun.
Nina
Great post Nina. It does look like you had a grand time, I’m glad. The only thing I don’t agree with is that Hendricks Gin……. Safe travels and Happy New Year!
Oh Henricks is soooooo good, and just perfect with a slice of cucumber
But I can’t deny your gin & tonics are pretty snazzy too. Happy New Year to you, Dave and the doggies!
Nina
That was fun, Nina! A taste of England so soon after we visited Ireland made it sound almost familiar! Crafty brews have even made inroads against the famous Guinness there, and while I drank a lot of Guinness, Mo tried some of the craft ales and loved them. Such a nice family Christmas. So glad you have family to share it with.
I have to admit this is my first time tasting craft brews in the UK and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was super impressed at the variety and quality.
Nina
What a change of pace you had! Have a good flight home to drier warmer weather (hopefully). Looking forward to the resumption of wandering and fresh spirited blogging… I took a bit of a holiday sabbatical myself 🙂
Box Canyon Mark from Lovely Ouray Colorado… counting down the days till we blast off for Arid-zona.
Yeah it’s been nice to take on a slow blogging pace for the last 3 weeks. I’ll be ready to re-attack and get back into it by the time I get home. Looking forward to your AZ adventures.
Nina
Great post…so glad you had such a wonderful time with your family….the beers sound really good at lest the stout (I can see you now with those flights.)….have tried a few micro beers here in Mexico…safe travel across the pond and feel better…
There was a VERY good selection of stouts at Small Bar. Sadly, none of the barrel-aged samples were on tap while we were there (they do carry some), but the regular stouts we tasted held up well.
Nina
Sounds like a wonderful time with family in a beautiful place! Cathedrals are such spectacular places, and your pic of Bristol’s is stunning. So many of them took decades to complete, it’s wonderful they’ve been maintained. Safe travels back to the US. The Southwest is very chilly, but at least it’s sunny 🙂
I’m going to make a stand for British weather! (1) It gives us something to talk about (2) Endless, endless sunshine is just as monotonous as endless, endless rain (3) Escaping into a cosy pub on a cold, rainy evening beats escaping into an air conditioned bar when it’s 100 degrees outside any day of the week (4) we can dress up a lot more than just t-shirt and shorts (5) you can dress up for the cold until you’re warm, but there’s a limit for dressing down in the heat until you’re cool (6) Britain is never too hot nor too cold (7) bush fires don’t exist here (8) returning to a hot car (or RV) isn’t dreaded (9) sleepless nights due to cold can be remedied by snuggling up, sleepless nights due to heat are just simply awful and (10) it is raining today but will be different tomorrow. So there! Saying that, as the rain hammers the windows here in a flooded York, I wish I was in California! Happy New Year and travels to you both.
That’s quite a compelling list LOL. In fact your comment started a round table discussion here in the UK last night with everyone coming up with their own, quite hilarious support of British weather.
Nina
I swear, you missed your calling as a travel writer. Oh, that’s right, you ARE a travel writer. 🙂
Thanks for a bit of Bristol. Great pics as usual, and it would appear that you had a blast. I know you’re soft-peddling the fun factor so Paul doesn’t feel too bad. BTW, we totally enjoyed meeting Paul and his dad. For someone who “appears” the quiet man in your blog, we found Paul to be wonderfully outgoing.
Paul is a helluva guy (if I may say so without being {ahem} toooo biased) so I’m really glad you got to meet. He just likes to enjoy the ride and leave the travel blogging part to me. Great to hear that you got on so well!
Nina
Sure looks like you must have powered through that cold to have done all this. I agree with your loves and not so much but I’d add those great Cathedrals and Castles to the loves list. Devon clotted cream is near the top on my all time super love list. Those tasters are definitely eye candy. Give your sister thumbs up for nice work.
We did most of our sightseeing the 1st week we got here, right before we got the colds. That was lucky too, coz we haven’t been worth much since. Totally agree on Devon clotted cream…amazing stuff.
Nina
I’d like to explore some of those UK castles and a beer later sounds good too, but maybe just one or two. I’m a lightweight you know.
Happy New Year!!
I do love all the historic buildings in the UK…castles, cathedrals etc. You just don’t get that particular kind of history in the USA.
Nina
Glad you’ve had such a good Christmas! We love England and Scotland.
Ah yes Scotland. What a gorgeous place. One day I hope to RV around there (in a much smaller rig of course) and enjoy some of that great British summer weather. Maybe drive from pub to pub? Or from whisky distillery to whisky distillery? I think I could handle that!
Nina
So good to read about your wonderful Christmas across the country and ocean with your family:) Sounds like nonstop laughs and fun:) Enjoy welcoming the New Year with your hubby!
Happy New Year, Paul and Nina!!
We certainly had a blast, despite the last week of head colds. I’ve loved it here, but am also ready to be home in the RV.
Nina
cheerio .. that was a fun trip you had but bet you are happy to be back in your home on wheels! Have a very happy year end celebration and look forward to your next adventures in 2016.
Happy New Year to you and Paul! We are getting ready to head south from Alberta for our fifth annual winter RV adventures. We have been enthusiastically following your blog posts since we started and continue to glean insight on RV travelling with every post. We have one question about a post you did last year on some great lawn chairs you purchased. We can’t seem to find the post and are interested in buying more comfortable chairs as I now have major back issues and our current chairs just won’t work. If you have a minute could you please let us know more about your chairs? Thanks so much!
So, the lawn chairs we got not that long ago were the Zip Dee. I should point out that Paul loves (loves, loves) them, but I don’t really find them comfortable (we’re definitely at odds on this). I much prefer the rocking chair I got from Camping World last year. I’ve had other people try the Zip Dees and the general consensus is that men seem to like them, but most women don’t (if that helps any). They’re not cheap and there are no returns on these, so my advice is to see if you can find someone who has these and TRY them before you buy. Most Airstreams come with them, so if you have an Airstreamer friend, see if they have them.
Another chair you can look at, especially for back support, are the Strong Back chairs. I know Gypsy Journal likes his, and it seems to get generally good reviews. I tried one a while ago and liked the back support, but still prefer my rocking chair. This one is on Amazon so the advantage is you can always return it if you don’t like it.
Other than that, given you have back issues I’d actually recommend going to Camping World and just trying out a bunch of different chairs. Camping World has a decent selection & chair comfort is so individual. The only way to really “test” it is by sitting in different chairs and seeing how you feel.
Hope that helps!
Nina
Nina,
Have you visited http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2036
Looks interesting. It is on our list of things to see.
Luke
No, haven’t been there yet. It’s on our list too!
Nina
Great post and look like you had a great visit. Thanks for sharing. Always enjoy reading your posts.
Happy new year, Nina & Paul. May 2016 be filled with more wonderful and exciting experiences. Thanks for sharing your travels.