h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

That's a nice tower.

Maybe I'll go back for sightseeing later, as there seems to be too much to take in on this visit.

oh and they built Concorde there...

http://www.mfs-ltd.co.uk/bin_1/Bristol-Concorde_500.jpg

Cabot tower is fab.

We're also a short hop to such sites of interest as Stanton Drew stone circles (a mere couple of miles out of the south of the city. Takes about half an hour from north of the city to actually arrive at the stones, and that's if you go straight through the middle!)

And the buildings around the city cenrte are stunning, too. Little nooks and crannies like Christmas Steps and Saint Nicholas' Market (a thriving market still, six days a week, seven in the run to xmas) which has the large brass 'nails' still standing in the street and of course all the commerce and exchange buildings are still gorgeous.

The Commercial Rooms is now a chain pub but they have done a lovely job of looking after a wonderful building and the women's loos are to die for. Huge room, studded leather chairs, lovely woodwork.

Even the bannisters are pretty

But just wandering around the docks is fascinating, and the Buttery is always good for a bacon sarnie and a coffee

Also, bristol is so GREEN. trees, parks, patches of lawn, fields. I mean, I live in a small village which has fields and a motorway on one side and a valley on the other which the Frome runs through. It's three miles from the city centre but we have terraced orchards below our house, a tawny owl in the woods, badgers and woodpeckers...

I love how it's rare in bristol to be beyond easy reach of some countryside and you can nearly always see the green hills surrounding it

That sounds wonderful!

You mentione d some stone circles. Were they done by Druids? Are there Druid guides to explain everything?

Oh thank you Robyn (nostalgia moment) I forgot Christmas Steps


http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bbc.co.uk/bristol/content/images/2004/07/20/203_street_203x152.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bbc.co.uk/bristol/content/articles/2004/07/12/christmas_steps_feature.shtml&usg=__YoQCbCrywqloNxPlyB9zVREhBz8=&h=152&w=203&sz=8&hl=en&start=12&sig2=s1yIqYs0NgOG07XaJowClg&um=1&tbnid=x0F_SFGorIhEKM:&tbnh=79&tbnw=105&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dchristmas%2Bsteps%2Bbristol%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26rlz%3D1C1GGLS_enES307ES307%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1&ei=rEumSorZEpyMmwPpnqDNDw


And it is not so far inland to get to Avebury and Stonehenge. You could do a quick fly-by, Paul. I'm sure Pierce has a helicopter or some flying machine aboard The Blood. You'd be back in time for lunch.

Nobody's sure about the stanton drew circles. They are supposed to be the guests of a wedding that were turned to stone at dawn on the sabbath after being tempted into partying right up to the sabbath by the devil who was one of the musicians...

The devil gets all the best tunes

Anyway, there's three circles (well, four actually although one is thought to be somewhat unrelated and isn't as accurate). One smallish one of large stones and one massive one of large stones in the main field, a much smaller one (20' across maybe?) of small stones up ina higher field, and then there's the Cove which I believe is three stones which are in the Druid's Arms' pub garden. I think the stones were there first.

Some archeaology suggest there may have been a larger labyrinthine woodden post 'henge' around and among the largest circle.

It's an English heritage site and there's an honesty box at the gate and opening times are dusk till dawn which is not unreasonable considering it's effectively out the back of a tiny village cul-de-sac. There are usually sheep grazing the site.

even ?

Of course!