Tour Highlights
The Georgian House
The Red Lodge
Avon Gorge
Blaise Hamlet
Georgian Clifton

A long history of merchant trading has endowed Bristol with some of Europe's finest architecture. This tour takes in some real treasures in the heart of the city and also suggests a number of magnificent homes and gardens within easy day touring distance.

It was in Bristol that much of the wealth of this region was built. Merchants traded in cocoa, sugar, tobacco and spices, and infamously in slaves. In the 14th and 15th centuries Bristol was England's second most important port and the city grew rapidly to accommodate the industry that grew up to manufacture goods
pouring in from around the world. As the merchants became wealthier they spent much of their money on fine town houses, building on the hills surrounding the old city and creating the exclusive new suburb of Clifton.

The Georgian House is a perfect example of a typical late 18th century town house (You may recognise it from the BBC's TV series 'A Respectable Trade'). Built in c 1790 for John Pinney a successful sugar merchant, the house is believed to be where the poets Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge first met, a meeting widely regarded as the most important encounter in the history of written English. The house is preserved and furnished much as it would have been in their time.

Allow 1 hour

The Red Lodge is a magnificent former lodge house to a once large estate that bordered the ancient city walls. Built in 1590 the house contains wonderful, intricately carved wood panelled rooms looking out on to an Elizabethan Knot Garden. For an unusual dinner the dining room in the Red Lodge can be hired for banquets.

Allow 1 hour

From the Red Lodge drive under the Clifton Suspension Bridge along the Avon Gorge. The gorge is the only habitat in the world in which you will find The Flower of Bristol, Lychnis Chalcedonica.

Make for Blaise Castle Estate. The house on this estate was designed by William Paty, the same man who designed the Georgian House. The park and gardens were designed by the landscape gardener Humphrey Repton. Today the house and estate are owned by the city of Bristol. and the house is a museum of 18th century everyday life. Of particular note is the castle, a folly perched on a hill overlooking a limestone gorge running down to the River Avon.

The nearby Blaise Hamlet is particularly famous. Once built as estate workers' cottages and now owned by the National Trust this wonderful little collection of cottages, each one different, is like a scene from Lilliput. Visitors may wander around the hamlet.

If your interests are very much in plants then Bristol University's Botanical Gardens may well be of interest. Four thousand species are cultivated in an attractive five-acre plantsman's garden. Glasshouses, herb garden, formal lily pond and extensive rockery are all planted with an educational theme. Viewing is by appointment.

Allow 1- 2 hours

A Walking tour of Georgian Clifton with a Blue Badge Guide would make an excellent add-on to this tour.


Touring Out

The following houses and gardens make perfect half or full day excursions from Bristol.

The Bishop's Palace
The Henderson Rooms, Wells, Somerset, BA5 2PD
Tel: (01749) 678691, Fax: (01749) 678691
Moated medieval palace with 14 acres of gardens including wells from which the city takes its name. Famous pair of mute swans that ring the gatehouse bell for food.

Bowood House and Garden
The Estate Office, Bowood, Calne, Wiltshire SN11 0LZ
Tel: (01249) 812102, Fax: (01249) 821757
E mail: enquiries@bowood-estate.co.uk
Web: www.bowood-estate.co.uk
Outstanding 18th century Robert Adam house with remarkable collection of family heirlooms including fine paintings and water-colours. 100 acre park landscaped by 'Capability' Brown with massive adventure playground for under 12's.

Caldicot Castle
Church Road, Caldicot, Monmouthshire NP26 4HU
Tel: (01291) 4200241, Fax: (01291) 435094
The Norman fortifications were fully developed by royal hands in the fourteenth century. Caldicot Castle offers the chance to explore the towers in a tranquil setting surrounded by a country park.

Corsham Court
Corsham, Wiltshire SN13 0BZ
Tel: (01249) 701610, Fax: (01249) 701610
Beautiful Elizabethan stately home with a warm and friendly atmosphere, housing one of the finest collections of Old Masters in private ownership in the splendour of a suite of Georgian state rooms.

Dyrham Park (National Trust)
Dyrham Park, Dyrham, Near Chippenham, Wilts SN14 8ER
Tel: (0117) 937 2501, Fax: (0117) 937 2501
E mail: wdygen@smtp.ntrust.org.uk
Web: www.nationaltrust.org.uk
A William and Mary house, set in 260 acres of parkland. Blathwayt collected fine textiles, Delft china, paintings and furniture, from his time in Holland, much of this is still here. New for 2000 will be the addition of nine domestic rooms from the 1850's.

Farleigh Hungerford Castle
Farleigh Hungerford, Near Bath BA3 6RS
Tel: (01225) 754026, Fax: (01225) 754026
Web: www.english-heritage.org.uk
Fourteenth-century castle ruins with a chapel containing wall paintings, stained glass and tombs. The crypt contains coffins of the early Hungerfords.

Longleat
Warminster, Wiltshire BA12 7NW
Tel: (01985) 844400, Fax: (01985) 844885
Web: www.longleat.co.uk
Longleat 'Lion Country' Safari Park, Mazes and Labyrinths, Stately Home and Gardens, Railway, Pets Corner, Safari Boats, Needlecraft Centre, Pleasure Walk, Restaurants and Historic Exhibitions.

Rocks East Woodland
Ashwicke, Chippenham, Wiltshire SN14 8AP
Tel: (01225) 852518, Fax: (01225) 852518
E mail: rockseast@btconnect.com
Web: rew@pisle.com
An idyllic woodland in the famous St Catherine's Valley with spectacular views. Remains of an historic woodland garden hidden for 200 years. Guided walks, trails and interpretation centre.

Rode Bird Gardens
Rode, Near Bath BA3 6QW
Tel: (01373) 830326, Fax: (01373) 831288
Over 1,000 birds from all regions and climates, many at liberty, in 17 acres of fine terraced grounds. Woodlands, lakes, flower gardens, steam railway, clematis collection, play area and pet's corner.

Wilton House
The Estate Office, Wilton, Salisbury, SP2 0BJ
Tel: (01722) 746720, Fax: (01722) 744447
E mail: tourism@wiltonhouse.com
Web: www.wiltonhouse.com
450 year old stately home of the Earls of Pembroke. Magnificent Inigo Jones State Rooms and world-famous art collection. Visitor centre with introductory film. 21 acres of landscaped parkland with huge adventure playground. Children's quizzes. Popular restaurant for group meals.