A Historic City With a Scientific Mind
Bristol School trips will find a city that is a real enigma, from the harbour to the science parks, Bristol is packed with incredible history and continues to be a hugely innovative location to live, work and study.
Over the years Bristol has been instrumental in the invention of some fantastic products and iconic brands including mobile phones, super computers, chocolate bars and Ribena. The city has been instrumental in pioneering many breakthroughs in nature documentaries, while former Chancellor of Bristol university was the first British woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize for science.
It is also a major destination for TV shows with many of the BBC’s biggest shows having been partially filmed or edited her here including Only Fools & Horses, Casualty, Dr Who and Planet Earth.
Hotels for Bristol School Trips
Homestay Hostel
Includes: Fully Equipped Kitchens, Free WiFi, Lounge, Luggage Storage, Laundry Facilities, TV, Lockers, PlayStation 3, Blu-Ray Player
Hampton by Hilton
Includes: Gym, Free WiFi, TVs, 24hr Reception, Luggage Storage, Air Conditioning, Meeting Rooms
Clifton Down Hotel
Includes: WiFi, Restaurant, Cafe, Private Walled Garden, 24hr Reception, Luggage Storage, Laundry
ART
GEOGRAPHY
HISTORY
ECONOMICS
SCIENCE
Cheddar Gorge
As Britain's biggest gorge, Cheddar Gorge features dramatic 450ft cliffs, ancient stalactite caverns and a unique network of caves. This world-famous site has been declared an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which is easily seen from the impressive lookout tower with 360 degree views of the surrounding landscape.
The gorge was formed by torrents of water created by the melting of glaciers at the end of the Ice Age. This rush of water cut through the limestone rock, forming the rare formations that can be seen today. Gough's Cave, one of Cheddar's largest caverns, is also the site where Britain's oldest skeleton was uncovered in 1903.
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M-Shed
Set on the city's famous floating harbour, the M-Shed houses Bristol's varied history under one roof, featuring dynamic exhibits detailing the city's time in the WWII blitz, Bristol's dark part in the transatlantic slave trade, and prehistoric discoveries. Other displays demonstrate how Bristol life has changed to the present day, and how this remarkable city continues to evolve through sport, culture, industry and creativity.
For school trips Bristol's M-Shed, named after its old port designation is a must and was opened in 2011.. In its first year of opening, the museum welcomed 700,000 visitors, and to this day houses 3000 examples of Bristol city stories and artefacts.
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Stonehenge
The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Stonehenge has stood for approximately 5000 years. Today the site offers interactive guided tours, explaining the mystery behind the stones, recreating a Neolithic burial and investigating replica artefacts. English Heritage also run expert-led workshops on the business of heritage and tourism from the iconic site.
Stonehenge is unique in nature, and has been the site of various archaeological finds with some artefacts dating back to Roman Britain. One theory is the stones began life as a burial site, before taking on ritual significance to Britons during Roman Occupation.
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We The Curious
At-Bristol opened at the turn of the millennium as part of a National Lottery funded project to regenerate Bristol's historic floating harbour. Since then, the two-floor science centre has welcomed over 4 million visitors, and features the latest multimedia technology to bring our world and universe to life with one-of-a-kind experiences like the UK's only 3D ultra-high-definition planetarium.
The centre also features educational exhibits and live science shows, highlighting how science is moving our daily lives forwards in ways we might not expect. These include Move It, Curiosity Zone, Flight Zone and The Tinkering Space, a creative environment focused on invention.
Get a quoteA City of Art, Nature and Technology
This is a truly fascinating city that spans so many subjects. Guerrilla street artist Banksy learnt his craft in Bristol while controversial artist Damien Hurst also grew up here. Other artistic minds were either raised or sculpted in the city such as author JK Rowling, Hollywood legend Cary Grant and Oscar winner Nick Park, Bristol school trips can still tour Aardman Animation’s studios, home of Wallace & Gromit. Bristol has also been critical in a number of major scientific breakthroughs and we haven’t even mentioned engineering yet!
Bristol school trips will find the city has a darker history, heavily bombed during World War II much of the rubble was removed and transported to New York and used there to build up parts of the city. Bristol was also a major player in Britain’s slave trade from the 1600s to the 1800s. It was also the birthplace of many pirates including the infamous Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard, his home and one of his early hiding places can still be visited within the city’s harbour.
School Trips Bristol Facts - Did you know...
- Bristol has funny bones. No seriously, Russell Howard, Bill Bailey, Mark Watson, Stephen Merchant, Lee Evans and Ian Holloway are all from Bristol.
- Wallace and Gromit are brought to life at Bristol’s Aardman Animations
- The first chocolate bar was created in Bristol by Fry’s Chocolate
- John Cabot sailed from Bristol in 1497 to help discover America
- The Bristol Old Vic is the second oldest theatre in the UK and opened in 1766
- Approximately 25% of the world’s nature documentaries and produced in Bristol
- Bristol University’s drama dept has some fine alumni including Simon Pegg, Miranda Hart, David Walliams, Matt Lucas and Emily Watson
- Moon Dust collected by Neil Armstrong was sent to the University of Bristol to be checked for signs of life
Places to go, people to meet...
Great Bristol Locations
- Bristol Museum & Art Gallery
- Mshed
- Georgian House Museum
- Red Lodge Museum
- Aardman Animation Studios
- SS Great Britain
- Clifton Suspension Bridge
- Bristol Zoo
- Blaise Hamlet
- Arnolfini
- Blaise Castle
- Bristol Old Vic
Famous Bristol Residents
- Stephen Merchant
- Russell Howard
- Banksy
- Damien Hurst
- JK Rowling
- Judd Trump
- Masie Williams
- James May
- Tony Benn
- Cary Grant
- Carol Voderman
- Edward Teach (Blackbeard)
- Edith Claypole
- Nick Park
- WG Grace
- Dorothy Hodgkin
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