M Shed and its cranes
A free city museum with historic boats moored outside and 1951 cranes that still swing on selected weekends.
Water that neither rises nor falls, in a city with one of the highest tidal ranges on earth: that is the trick behind the name Floating Harbour. Until the early nineteenth century Bristol's ships settled onto mud twice a day whenever the River Avon drained away, so the engineer William Jessop dammed the river with locks at Hotwells and Netham and cut a two-mile bypass, the New Cut, so that vessels stayed afloat at all tides once the scheme opened in 1809. What remains today is a long, still stretch of water covering about 28 hectares in the middle of the city, lined with stone warehouses, old cranes and quays that have become the best walk in Bristol. Commercial shipping left in the 1970s for the docks at the river mouth, and rather than rotting, the quays were brought back to life from the 1980s onwards until they became the city's main leisure quarter. On the south bank sits the free M Shed museum with its historic boats and 1951 electric cranes that still swing on selected weekends; towards the western end lies the SS Great Britain; opposite is Millennium Square with Bristol Aquarium and the We The Curious science centre, both squarely aimed at children. Moored near M Shed is the replica of the Matthew, the little ship in which John Cabot sailed from Bristol to North America in 1497. Walking is free at any hour and the quaysides are flat and pushchair-friendly almost throughout, but the full loop round the water is about 7 km, so do not plan the whole thing with small children. The best stretch runs from Pero's Bridge, whose horn-shaped counterweights help the two leaves lift for passing boats, to Wapping Wharf, a quarter of shipping containers converted into small restaurants and cafes; then hop onto one of the yellow-and-blue Bristol Ferry boats that call at a string of landing stages around the harbour. A single hop costs a few pounds and an all-day ticket roughly ten to fifteen, and it is the easiest way to reach the SS Great Britain without wearing out the children. One caveat deserves plain words: the northern end around Watershed and Canons Road turns into a loud bar strip after dark, so make this a daytime or late-afternoon visit and keep away from that side at night. If you happen to be here in mid-July, the annual Harbour Festival is free, draws around 200,000 people with tall ships and on-water displays, and is also the most crowded weekend of the year. In winter the harbour is still handsome, but darkness falls before five and the museums shut at four or five, so keep the programme short. Bristol Temple Meads station is a flat fifteen-minute walk away.
A free city museum with historic boats moored outside and 1951 cranes that still swing on selected weekends.
A hop-on service around the harbour and the easiest way to reach the SS Great Britain with children.
The finest stretch of the walk, from the horned bridge to the shipping-container food quarter.
Harbourside, central Bristol, BS1
The harbour is free and fills half a day by itself; the SS Great Britain is a separate paid ticket and is closed on Mondays. With school-age children it is worth paying for; with babies or on a short visit, stick to the walk, the free M Shed and a ferry ride.
Yes for a daylight walk, but darkness falls before five, the wind off the water is cold and the museums shut early. The ferries run a reduced timetable. Plan for the afternoon, not the evening.