Day 5 - 8 Bristol

22 - 25 July 2014

Day 5
On the train
The train ride from Oxford was easy. There was a transfer but everything was running on time. I saw my first nuclear power plant though:

It's pronounced noo-coo-lur

The ride went past Bath and I could see why quite a few people had recommended it; it looked interesting. More on Bath later.

Proof I was in Bristol

Invisible hostel
I'd marked my map with 3 hostels that were all close to each other so I jumped on another train from Bristol station to take me to them. The problem was, none of them were there. I checked on the net and, for one of the three, apparently there are two streets with the same name in Bristol and the hostel site marked the wrong one on the map. I gave up on the other 2 hostels because they didn't have great reviews, I couldn't find them either and the area seemed a fair walk from the centre of town. After a 2 mile walk I found the Rock n Bowl hostel and checked in.

Quorn

In the supermarket they had a section of this fake meat stuff and the pictures on the box make it look pretty nice. They lied. I had a cottage pie and it might've tasted exactly like one with real meat but it still wasn't any good.

Day 6
Exploring
Today I went for a walk and found some street art.

Street art

More street art

And more art

I also saw two interesting signs:

I imagine it like cow tipping but with flies

Such a British (polite and proper) way to phrase it

And a stereotypical Aussie bar:

Looks like a fair dinkum bar

Then I found my way to a park.

Brandon Hill Nature Park

Which had a nice tower that was free to climb and gave a great view out of the city.

The tower I climbed in Brandon Hill Nature Park

The stairwell in the tower had this take on the coins in the fountain thing, which seems to be popular:

People throw change in the vents in the tower stair well

The top of the tower is a decent height:

At the top of the tower

...and gives some excellent views out over Bristol.

View from the tower in the park

View in the other direction from the tower in the park

After the tower I followed the trail through the rest of the nature park and saw some art:

Art... I think

...and some little forest friends, who weren't shy:

Friendly squirrel

Cute squirrel

After the park I followed the river to go see the suspension bridge but on the way I found a D-shackle I liked.

Sucks when there's no-one to hold the camera, but I made do

I also saw a jetty that looked like a bit of an OH&S problem.

Possibly not the safest jetty

Then I got my first look at the bridge.

Still no-one to hold the camera

There was only one thing to do; climb up the hill to walk on the bridge. There was a good view point part way up the hill.

Panorama of the bridge from the view point

Gotta prove I was there. Thanks to the bench that took the photo for me.

You get a good view from the bridge although the river looks a bit dry.

View from the middle of the bridge. Not much water in the river

This picture obviously doesn't show it but from this vantage point, you can visibly see the bridge bouncing.

The bridge

And a silly one.

Where's my 200mm spanner?

After walking all over the bridge I was still in a climbing mood so I went to the park above it for some more photos. Probably looks like I wanna have this bridge's babies eh?

Panorama of the bridge from above

At the park above the bridge

Then it was back to the hostel where I met my new room mate, an American guy and had a bit of a chat.

Mr Wolf
In the evening my American friend and I were invited to go out to a local club with a group of people from the hostel. This club is called Mr Wolf's and we had an amazing night. There was a band up first followed by some DJs who played a mashup of rap, reggae, drum and bass and probably some other stuff. Everyone had a great dance even if it was a bit of a sweat box.

Day 7
Bath
Today my American mate and his Welsh friend, who joined us at the club last night, went to Bath for a day trip.

The reason Bath has it's name. Roman baths

It had a unique feel because all the buildings in the town are the same colour.

A street in Bath. Note all the sandstone

I had a giggle at some of the interesting street names.

Funny street name in Bath

And this dude.

The spongebob christmas tree (aka pizza) in Bath

We had a walk around and relaxed in one of the parks for a bit. Once we couldn't ignore our rumbling stomachs, we headed for a place called Grillstock for a drink and a burger.

At Grillstock in Bath with my Welsh and American friends.
I was happy, I just wasn't ready for the photo.

After Bath we caught the train back to Bristol where the Welshman, who was a Bristol local, took us to a bar on a boat that served local ciders.

The (first) cider I had on the boat bar. Intense colour.

We then went to a place called The Canteen, a student bar, then grabbed a kebab for dinner before going for one last drink at a bar called Start The Bus.

Day 8
Lazy
The hostel doesn't serve breakfast so I went to the supermarket to get some milk and cereal. I only needed a small milk and I literally ended up a pint sized milk *giggles*. I spent the morning working out which train to catch to Cardiff and talking to some of the long term-ers in the hostel.