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SS Great Britain, Bristol

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In 1835 Isambard Kingdom Brunel was planning a railway to link Bristol and London, the Great Western. Then with typical exuberance he decided to build liners to take people from Bristol on westwards across the Atlantic to America. Following his first ship, the Great Western, the Great Britain was launched in 1843. This vessel had an iron hull, and was one of the first to be driven by a propeller. I've read in the past that Great Britain was the first ship to use the screw propeller, but this is not true. Brunel studied the small experimental steamer Rainbow before building his own ship. It is a measure of the great excitement that surrounded Brunel's projects that misconceptions about them sometimes arise.

On her fifth voyage, in September 1846, the Great Britain ran aground on rocks in Dundrum Bay, Ireland, after misreading lights on the Isle of Man. The iron hull allowed the ship to survive and to be refloated. But the accident bankrupted the Great Western Steamship Company. Great Britain was sold to Griggs, Bight and Company, and used on their route to Australia, until 1882, when she was sold again. In 1886 Great Britain ran aground in a storm off the Falkland Islands. The rusting hulk was eventually rescued from Sparrow Cove near Port Stanley in 1969, and towed back to Bristol, where she was restored. This is the ship that can now be seen in Bristol's Dockyard Museum. There are tours of the ship, with a choice of four audio guides, each with a different theme.

Address: SS Great Britain, Great Western Dockyard, Gas Ferry Road, Bristol BS1 6TY

Opening Times: The museum is open from April to October 23rd 10am to 5.30pm, last admission 4.30pm. From November to January it is open 10am to 4pm, last admission 3pm. During February and March open 10am - 4.30pm, last admission 3.30pm, and from 24th to 31st October 10am - 4.30pm. SS Great Britain is closed 24th - 25th December and January 11th.

Directions: The museum can be found in Gas Ferry Road, Bristol. If you come in from the M5 you will pass under Brunel's Clifton suspension bridge. Click here for an interactive road and satellite map centred on the SS Great Britain.

Access: the ship and dry dock are fully accessible to wheelchair users. Some of the cabins on the ship are too small for standard wheelchairs, but wheelchairs can be hired that can reach all areas. Sign language video guides are available, and there is an induction loop at the Ticket Office and in the shop. Audio guides with orientation directions are being developed for visitors with sight problems.

Contact:

telephone: 0117 926 0680

infoline: 0117 929 1843

e-mail: admin@ssgreatbritain.org

web: www.ssgreatbritain.org