The view from Clifton Observatory
From the lawn above the eastern end the bridge and gorge line up in their best angle, and it costs nothing.
The bridge that became Bristol's emblem was never seen finished by the man who drew it. Isambard Kingdom Brunel won the design competition in 1831 at twenty-four; the money then ran out, the towers stood chainless for decades, and the deck was finally hung across the Avon Gorge in 1864, five years after his death. Even the chains have a backstory: they were salvaged from Brunel's own Hungerford Bridge in London when it was pulled down, so his last bridge was strung from the remains of an earlier one. The figure that sticks is the height, roughly 75 metres above the River Avon, with a main span of about 214 metres between two stone towers standing on either lip of the gorge. Walking across is free at any hour; cars pay a token £1 contactless toll that goes into upkeep. The footway takes a pushchair comfortably, though the parapet is high enough that small children see more if lifted. What locals know: the best view is not from the bridge but of it, from the lawn at Clifton Observatory on its knoll above the eastern end, from the Giant's Cave platform hanging off the cliff below it, or from Sea Walls on the Downs where the whole gorge opens up. On the Leigh Woods side, a small free museum opens daily 10:00–17:00 with models, a short film and original artefacts; half an hour covers it. Free volunteer-led bridge tours (a £5 donation is suggested) meet at the toll house on the Clifton side at 14:00 on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays and finish at the museum. The rare experience is the Hard Hat Tour: an hour inside the vaulted chambers hidden in the abutment, whose existence was only rediscovered in 2002. It costs £16 a head, runs April to October on selected days, must be booked in advance, is for ages 12 and over, and involves a vertical ladder and a low, dripping corridor, so not one for the claustrophobic. From central Bristol the number 8 bus runs from Temple Meads to Clifton Village in about 25 minutes, then it is a five-minute walk. Walking up from the centre is doable but a steady climb of around 40 minutes. The museum has no car park; street parking in Clifton and Leigh Woods is pay-and-display. In summer, Clifton Village and its cafés fill with holiday visitors; in winter the light is gone by around four, but the bridge is lit at night and in fog or floodlight it is worth the trip on its own.
From the lawn above the eastern end the bridge and gorge line up in their best angle, and it costs nothing.
An hour inside vaulted chambers hidden in the abutment and unknown until 2002; book ahead, ages 12 and over.
Floodlighting turns it into a line of light over the black gorge, and the early winter dusk shows it as well as any summer evening.
Bridge Road, Leigh Woods, Bristol BS8 3PA
Not on its own; crossing takes a quarter of an hour. But it is the best thing in Bristol if you are passing through on the way to Bath or Cornwall, and two hours cover the bridge, museum and the Observatory viewpoint.
Not for young ones: minimum age 12 and height 1.2 m, with a vertical ladder and a low, damp corridor. For ages 7 and up there is a gentler Underground Vaults Visit (£16 adults, £10 children); otherwise the free museum and the free weekend tour suit families better.