Cabot Tower in Brandon Hill

How I discovered that there was a tower where you could see all Bristol is a quite funny story. At that time, I had been living in Bristol for 4 months and a friend from university was visiting. It was her who told me there was a tower in Bristol where you could see the whole city from. In my defence, I must say I was living in Horfield and living in Horfield you are practically not living in Bristol. Now, everytime somebody comes to visit me, to climb up Cabot Tower has become a must.

Cabot Tower is located on a hill in the heart of the city. Brandon Hill is a popular picnic spot with beautiful panoramic views over the city and Harbourside (Read the post about Harbourside). The oldest park in Bristol is a natural reserve and it is open all times. There is limited parking in the roads around the park and the nearest parking is the West End Car Park. There are many accesses to the park: Great George Street, Jacob Wells Road and Berkeley Square. 

Cabot Tower was built between 1896-1898 in commemoration of John Cabot's famous voyage from Bristol to the continent of North America 400 years earlier. The red sandstone tower was designed by William Venn Gough, a Bristolian architect. It was shut in 2007 after crackers appeared in the tower. Investigators said that "the supporting ironwork had badly corroded which had in turn affected the brickwork" (Source), but the tower opened in 2011 and has been opened since.

The best thing of the tower is that you can access to it for free everyday between 8am and half an hour before dusk (dusk is 9.20pm in June). There are two balconies in two levels, which you can access climbing very narrow, steep and twisting steps. If you don't find anybody coming down on your way up, everything will be fine. If you do, take a deep breath and allow some space for those who are coming down. 

Once you get to the top, the panoramic view is amazing. Your eyes will reach from Cabot Circus in Broadmead to the Suspension Bridge in Clifton and from Ashton Court to the residential area in Horfield. You can also check the direction and distance to your home city.

OTHER INTERESTING POSTS ON THE BLOG

• Wills Memorial Building - Tower Tours:
  http://greatlittleplacecalledbristol.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/wills-memorial-building-tower-tours.html

INTERESTING LINKS

• Cabot Tower and Brandon Hill (City Council Website): http://www.bristol.gov.uk/page/leisure-and-culture/brandon-hill
• Cabot Tower (Wikipedia): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabot_Tower,_Bristol

Perfect Spot for Ballooning

Yesterday, we saw the first mass balloon ascent of the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta 2013 from the best spot possible: Brandon Hill. 

Located on hill close to the city centre, the park is steep and divided into informal gardens, a small natural reserve and open grassland.

It was not a packed as I thought it would be. Just in case, we arrive earlier than 6pm and there were only 10 people waiting for the balloons ascent. So, we sat on a bench and waited. We don't even need to mention that the mass ascent was late, for some reason. Children started to feel impatient, "Mom, where are the balloons?" and suddently, they started shouting very excitedly as soon as they saw the first balloons appear in the distance. "Here they are!!"

We were lucky. Yesterday's ascent was the "Special Shapes Launch" and the wind pushed balloons towards us. We saw all kind of balloons lighting up the sky. Underwear-shapped balloons, Playmobil princesses, Scottish FA cup, Panasonic giant batteries, dragons... Hot air balloon design has no limits!

If you don't feel like going to Ashton Court, Brandon Hill is a great place to see the balloons and even the fireworks.