Sunny Bristol

The last two days have been very interesting. I haven't had an opportunity to have a bit of a wander in Bristol for many years. I used to go there from time to time, when the AHRC was based just along the road from the bus station, but then it was either a matter of coming in by bus from the airport, or walking/taking a taxi across from Temple Meads. And then out again, sometimes after a one night stay in some soulless city centre hotel.

As I was staying in Clifton, I walked down this morning to the new premises of the Law School in Berkeley Square. Berkeley Square - notably lacking a nightingale - is one of several squares that have been tidied up, especially Queen Square which I walked through yesterday, which has had cars removed from it altogether. Bristol is, of course, still hilly, and after a lot of uphill yesterday initially towards the University and then across Brandon Hill and up Constitution Hill to Clifton, it was all downhill.

I walked down into the city after the conference, intending to get the bus to the airport. Having taken this photograph, I then realised that the bus stop I thought I would be using is out of commission because of roadworks. The same roadworks, combined with Friday night traffic, meant that although I picked up a bus soon afterwards in the bus station, we still hadn't made it out of the city centre more than half an hour later. What I should have done was head on foot out to Bedminster and there I would have been able to get a bus once it had exited the maze/car park that is the city centre road system. So I had to abandon ship rather dodgily in the middle of traffic and I found myself a taxi driver prepared to navigate some back roads out to the airport, so I got there in reasonable time. I think I'd still be sitting in the bus now if I hadn't acted promptly.

It's the weekend. Woohoo.