Avon Stories

Every two years the Bristol Harbour Master's office runs a salvage auction, of boats that, for one reason or another, they need to remove from the Harbour. All the proceeds go into the maintenance of the Harbour, and it's a chance to buy a boat for what's likely to be a fraction of the usual cost.

I talked to the auctioneer, Graham Cockle, about what's in the 2018 auction, and more about why it's on. If you want to have a look at the boats yourself, there are public viewings on each February weekend - more details and links on how to bid, as well as photos, on my website:

https://avonstories.com/2018/02/06/avon-stories-podcast-18/

The Underfall Yard sits at the western end of Bristol's Floating Harbour, a cluster of Victorian redbrick buildings, reminding us of the Harbour's industrial history.

Join me as Sarah Murray, the Underfall Yard Trust's Community, Learning & Volunteering Manager, took us for a tour around the Yard, and told me about the history and engineering on the site, as well as how they balance running a heritage and leisure site in an important working environment - as well as telling me her favourite things about her job.

Links & photos of things we talked about on my website:

https://avonstories.com/2018/01/30/podcast-17-underfall-yard/

Bristol's New Cut was built to enable River Avon to be turned into the fixed-height Floating Harbour, to try to keep Bristol as one of the most important ports in the UK, while the tidal river would be diverted through a huge trench.

Now, the Cut is an urban nature reserve, a green corridor that's home to a wide range of flora and fauna. Roy Gallop took me for a walk along the river, and told me about the history, nature and future of the Cut, and how the Friends of the Avon New Cut have worked to celebrate and protect it.

Links, photos and maps that go with this podcast are on my website, https://avonstories.com/2018/01/11/podcast-16-avon-new-cut/

The Cumberland Basin to Ashton Gate road system is this confusing tangle of roads passing above and below each other. It's generally seen as a brutalist concrete nightmare, but back in the 1960s, when it was built, it was seen utopian and futuristic, full of exciting new ways to live in a city, with vibrant spaces and an urban park,, all designed by Sylvia Crowe.

Wendy Tippett took me walking through here, and told me about how the spaces would have looked in the 1960s, the design elements that are taken for granted these days, and why, ultimately, it failed.

Photos, a plan and links to historic photos on my website https://avonstories.com/2017/12/14/podcast-13-sylvia-crowe-wendy-tippett/

Image credit:

Sylvia Crowe Cumberland Basin Bridges, Landscape Plan.

Coloured up by Wendy Tippett, with our Avon Stories walk marked up in red line.

Ref. Landscape Report, Cumberland Basin Bridges & Ashton Gate Junction, April 1964, University of Bristol Library.

Ellen Southern is a vocal artist, whose Site Singing project includes visiting lesser-known heritage sites, and making vocal pieces responding to the spaces, alongside drawings, photos and writing.

I met Ellen when she was performing a piece under the Avon Bridge, as part of a walk, and I was delighted when she invited me to come and visit one of her sites, Over Bridge. This is a beautiful, abandoned bridge to nowhere on the River Severn in Gloucester, and we explored the space together, while she told me more about the bridge, and why she loves it.

Links to things we talked about, and photos, on my website:

https://avonstories.com/2017/12/07/avon-stories-podcast-14-ellen-southern/

Ben Barker has been at the heart community development work in the Bristol neighbourhoods of Southville and Bedminster for over 25 years, involved in everything from projects that look tiny and have no budget, right through to things like the Business Improvement District that has helped the local high streets remain vibrant.

I always enjoy talking to Ben, so I wanted to find out more about his approach, especially to areas like social isolation, and projects impacting on elderly and disabled people, including making the area more accessible.

Find links to the projects we talked about on my website http://www.avonstories.com

The graphic for this podcast is the Bedminster Toilet Map, and you can see the map here: http://www.linkagebristol.org.uk/uploads/files/bedminstertoiletmapA.pdf

Bristol isn't a city famous for links with the Romans, like Bath, but the Romans were here for around three hundred years, and built a port on the Avon, Portus Abonae, which became the town of Abona, now Sea Mills.

In this podcast, Gail Boyle, the Senior Curator for Archeology at Bristol Museums, told me about Abona, the other Roman sites in the city, and what we know about who the Romans in Bristol were, where they came from, and why they were here.

She told me about the Roman remains in Sea Mills and the Kingsweston Roman Villa, and how a lot of what we know is thanks to teenage archeology enthusiasts. She also told me what we can visit today, and I've included links and photos of what they look like on my website http://www.avonstories.com

Did you know that in the 1960s there was a plan to turn Bristol's Floating Harbour into roads, and it was only luck that prevented it?

Richard Holden worked in Bristol City Council's Planning department for 36 years, and told me about this and more of the good, the bad and the ugly of the Harbourside redevelopment, including current threats to the Harbour, and what we can do to help.

There are photos, a map, and a presentation by Richard on my site http://www.avonstories.com.

Picture used with kind permission of Richard Holden.

I met Richard White when I went on one of his Sweet Waters walks along the Avon, exploring the legacies of the Transatlantic slave trade.

This podcast is a walk we took down the Avon to the Black Castle pub, via a closed path and the weir that stops the Avon being tidal, and had all kinds of experiences along the way. We talked about his Sweet Waters project, how Richard uses walking and social media in his art practice, and what we saw as we went.

You can find photos we took and links to Richard's work on my website, https://avonstories.com/2017/08/08/avon-stories-10-richard-white/

The Bristol Avon Rivers Trust is a community-based charity that works to protect and improve the rivers and streams.

I talked to their Project Officer, Claire Hutchinson, about the challenges and issues facing the rivers, including the different forms of pollution, and what they, and we, can do to protect our environment.

You can find links to their work, including how to report pollution you see, on my website http://www.avonstories.com