LASTWORD Tried


tested


Bristol has been named Museum Destination of the Year 2018. Samantha Mayling visited three top attractions to find out why.


Avon calling


According to the Luxury Travel Guide Awards, tourists seeking the best city for museums should head to Bristol. I was there for the Showcase South West trade event, so visited three of Bristol’s best museums to find out what’s new for 2018. First was Aerospace Bristol,


just off the M5 and next to an enormous shopping complex at Cribbs Causeway, called The Mall – itself a coach trip destination. This £19 million museum on


the historic Filton Airfield tells the story of Bristol’s aerospace industry. It starts with Bristolian businessman Sir George White who witnessed the Wright brothers’ aircraft flying in 1903. He established an aircraft factory at Filton in 1910 and there have now been more than 100 years of aerospace production at the site. Exhibits include vintage


biplanes, helicopters and satellites but the star of the show is Concorde Alpha Foxtrot, the last Concorde to be built and the last to fly. You can pretend you are an


A-list 1970s celeb as you step onboard the iconic supersonic aircraft, imagining you can sip champagne while flying at twice the speed of sound – reaching New York from London in just three-and-a-half hours. The quote which struck me as


I left the hangar was: “There have been more US astronauts than BA Concorde pilots.”


SS Great Britain


Next on my itinerary was SS Great Britain, dubbed the world’s first great ocean liner when built by


TravelGBI | February 2018


Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1843. The museum brings her


Victorian history to life, and tells the remarkable tale of how she was salvaged from the Falkland Islands and returned to her original dry dock in 1970. It’s fascinating to go below decks


and see the cramped conditions for third-class passengers – in contrast to the plush conditions for first- class travellers. You can also view the hull of the ship in the dry dock – complete with the revolutionary steam-powered propeller – and you can go aloft in the rigging, between April and October. Next month sees the opening of


Being Brunel, a national museum and visitor experience alongside the ship. The £7 million attraction has seen a major redevelopment of derelict dockside buildings, enabling visitors to learn about Brunel’s life and times. The Grade II-listed Drawing


Office, where Brunel and his team Where to stay


Mercure Bristol Brigstow Hotel in Bristol’s city centre is close to Saint Nicolas Market, The Old Vic, Cabot Circus and the Harbour. Its restaurant Buttermilk and Maple is inspired by the Australian cafe scene, with a New York twist – and local produce. accorhotels.com


WIN! Five pairs of


tickets to a Royal Horticultural Society Garden of your choice to be won!


devised the SS Great Britain, has been refurbished so visitors can see what it would have looked like in the 1840s.


We The Curious


My third museum was the newly renamed We The Curious – previously At-Bristol Science Centre – in the heart of Bristol’s historic Harbourside. With the Showcase South West


networking workshops taking place on the top floor, it was an ideal opportunity to try the hands- on exhibits below, covering topics as varied as DNA, food, illusions, space and animation. It was a big hit with the


primary school pupils who were visiting – and I came face-to-face with Morph, from the Aardman Animations studios in Bristol. If you are visiting Bristol in


2018, it’s worth noting the city will host Gromit Unleashed II – a public arts trail with more than 60 giant sculptures of Aardman characters Wallace and Gromit plus their arch-enemy Feathers


McGraw (July 2-September 2). visitbristol.co.uk aerospacebristol.org


NEXT MONTH � IN FOCUS


London & the Home Counties


British Tourism & Travel Show preview Gardens and Country Homes


� FACE TO FACE Royal Horticultural Society director general Sue Biggs discusses garden tourism


� IN THE SPOTLIGHT Entertainment news from venues and theatres across Britain


� TRIED AND TESTED Previewing the new exhibition at Bletchley Park


NEXT ISSUE MARCH 5, 2018


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