About Bristol

Bristol is a city in South West England, 105 miles west of London, and 24 miles east of Cardiff, with an estimated population of 433,100. It received a Royal Charter in 1155 and was granted County status in 1373. It borders the counties of Somerset and Gloucestershire, and is also located near the historic cities of Bath to the south east and Gloucester to the north. The city is built around the River Avon, and it also has a short coastline on the Severn Estuary. Bristol features some of England’s finest countryside, from the regal Georgian architecture of Bath, to the honey-coloured houses and villages of the Cotswolds. Bristol's original Old City is laced with cobbled streets and winding alleyways which remain much the same today as they were hundreds of years ago.

The original town was listed in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 1051 as a port trading regularly with Ireland. Bristol-built ships were constructed using the finest materials and most skilled techniques due to problems with its geography and huge tidal ranges, and quickly became famous for their sturdy craftsmanship. Sailors visiting the port would comment on this, spawning the famous saying 'shipshape and Bristol fashion'.  Bristol was the starting point for many important voyages, notably John Cabot's 1497 voyage of exploration to North America.