Happy Birthday Isambard

Two views of Bristol's Clifton Suspension bridge built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and finished in 1864 5 years after his death.

I know both of these views. The first one travelling down the Portway from the Hotwells direction you pass under the bridge on the way to the M5 and my home. By day imposing and majestic, at night it is lit by a million small lights which give it an enchanted look at you stare up into the sky above.

The second view is from the top and I travel over this each August on my way to visit Bristol Flower Show on Durdham Down. I pay my 20p and marvel at the countless cars, carriages and people who have passed this way and dare not look at the distant ground below.

I love this bridge. To me it is a part of the experience of going to Bristol and marks the point when I know my journey is ending. I pass it every trip and greet it like a friend. Amazing to think that the designer was only 24 when he won the competition to design a bridge to cross the Avon gorge from Clifton which was at that time a small village outside Bristol itself. Had it been completed sooner it would have been the longest single span road bridge in the world. Three minutes after passing under the bridge (traffic permitting) another of Brunel's triumphs can be seen across the Cumberland Basin, the SS Great Britain in it's own dock. I see this across the water as I drive along Anchor Road.

2006 marks the bi-centenary of Brunel's birth and Bristol is celebrating this: today marks the launch of the festivities.

http://www.brunel200.com/

Happy birthday Isambard and thank you for such brilliant designs.

Photos courtesy of Ade Broom 2003 and huntleyhedworth.com.