Trip Day 30 – Cardiff – Bristol

A sunny day greats me as I head out to explore Cardiff, as I am staying directly opposite the castle it is here that I go first, the castle has been changed multiple times and has become a bit of a folly but it is still an interesting building to walk around. It backs on the Byte park which is a lovely expanse of open grassy spaces and tall trees, this park use to belong to the castle and it is nice to see that it has been retained. It is lovely walking around looking at the changing colours of the trees and flower beds as squirrels scamper about hiding acorns.

After a short drive down the A4 over the Severn bridge it is on to Bristol. Bristol is a larger place than I expected and has a nice feel to it. After a bit of searching I manage to find the SS Great Britain and I find that there is a walking trail to the Clifton Suspension bridge, what’s more I get to park all day for 1.10 bargain. The SS Great Britain is 11 pounds to see and I was thinking this was a little steep, that is until I started to look around, the ship is in full dry dock and you can walk down into the dock to see the underneath of the ship. They have sealed the ship at the water line and dry dock with glass, this has water on it and make it feel like you are under water when down in the dock.

The walk to the Clifton Suspension bridge is all up hill and I am knackered by the time I arrive, it was a half hour walk but the pains in my calves leave me as the bridge stretches out before me. I am surprised to see there is a 50 pence toll for cars on the bridge, but pedestrians are free so a lap across the bridge is called for.

Bristol hotels all seem to think they are in Wales as they have doubled the prices of there rooms while the Ryder Cup is on so I decide that the 18 miles to Bath is the best bet for a better hotel. Bath is a maze of streets and finding a hotel is quite hard but I manage to find one, so hopefully tomorrow the rain will allow me to have a look around before settling in.