The Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol, Guida per visitatori e cosa fare nei dintorni

The Clifton Suspension Bridge is the elegant road and footbridge that spans the Avon Gorge in Clifton, Bristol, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It hangs high above the river and the wooded cliffs, and it has become the best known symbol of the city. Seeing it from the gorge edge, and from the streets around it, is one of the classic things to do in Bristol.

The story behind it

Work on the bridge began in the early 1830s, but money problems stalled the project for years. Brunel died in 1859 and never saw it finished. His fellow engineers completed it, and it opened in 1864, a few decades after the first plans. During construction, workers and materials crossed the gorge in a basket known as a suspended traveller, hauled along on ropes high above the river.

The bridge has its share of strange tales. In 1885 a young woman named Sarah Ann Henley jumped from it and survived. Her skirts are said to have slowed her fall, and she landed on the soft mud of the riverbank below. Down in the gorge there is another piece of history: the Clifton Rocks Railway, a water-powered funicular built into the cliff. During the Second World War the BBC used it as a bomb-proof emergency base, and today a volunteer trust works to preserve parts of it.

What to look for

• The two stone towers at either end, which hold up the chains and frame the view along the gorge.
• The sheer drop to the River Avon below, best appreciated from the pavement as you cross on foot.
• The steep, wooded sides of the Avon Gorge, with Leigh Woods on the far bank facing the terraces of Clifton on the near one.
• The cliff face down towards Hotwells, where the old Clifton Rocks Railway was cut into the rock.

Tips for your visit

• Allow 30 to 45 minutes to walk across, take photographs and look back at the view. Add more time if you want to explore the nearby paths.
• Walking across is free for pedestrians. Check current details if you plan to drive over.
• Late afternoon and early evening usually give the best light on the gorge, and the bridge is lit after dark.
• Clifton Village, with its cafes and shops, and the Clifton Observatory on the downs are close by. Check current opening hours for any attraction you plan to enter.

See it on a quest

The quest Waterfront Bristol: The Views & History passes the bridge as one stop of a longer walk through the area. You reach each place on foot, the app tells you about it as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle based on what is in front of you. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group. You can start whenever suits you, with no guide and no set departure time.