About

A visit to Bristol isn’t complete without a trip across the multi-award-winning Clifton Suspension Bridge. As well as being a sightseeing must-see, the iconic bridge has a Visitor Centre where tourists, families and locals alike can learn when, how and why Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s first bridge was built.

The Visitor Centre is run by a team of friendly volunteers who are happy to share the secrets of Clifton Suspension Bridge’s history with you. Hear about its construction, learn how suspension bridges work, discover unusual objects from the Clifton Suspension Bridge collection and find out how the bridge is maintained today.

Bridge Tours
Tours of the bridge take place every Saturday, Sunday and bank holiday throughout the year. Meet the friendly volunteer tour guides at the Clifton Toll Booth on the Bristol side of the bridge and hear how and why the bridge was built, why the design changed so many times and many more of the bridge’s secrets. Free tours last 45 minutes to 1 hour and are suitable for a family audience.

Hard Hat Tours
The Clifton Suspension Bridge Hard Hat Tour is a one or two hour experience which is suitable for groups of up to twelve people. During the tour, you will learn about the construction and discovery of the huge red brick abutments which support the bridge towers before donning a hard hat and high vis jacket and exploring two of the twelve vaulted chambers inside the Leigh Woods abutment. Tickets for public tours are available from Easter to October.

Family visits
Two buggy lockers are available at the entrance to the venue. A family toilet is available. It is equipped with baby change facilities and a step to reach the sink and toilet. There is a children’s bannister on the main staircase. A lift is also available. 

A range of children’s activities are available including imaginative drawing, a magnetic game and a weighbridge. The venue is breastfeeding friendly.

Accessibility

There are two disabled parking spaces next to the Leigh Woods toll booth which blue badge holders are welcome to use – postcode BS8 3PA. The Visitor Information Centre is situated just next to blue badge spaces and it and the bridge itself are all on one level. The bridge is 214m or 712ft long.

The Visitor Centre welcomes trained guide, hearing, and assistance animals. If you plan to visit with an assistance animal other than an assistance dog, please get in touch 7 days prior to your visit so that the team can best accommodate you.

Although the majority of the displays are text-based, volunteers are on hand every day to answer your questions about the bridge and talk to you about the exhibition. A set of tactile images with braille labels and a set of large print images with labels in written English are available in the Education Workshop, next to a table and chairs.

The exhibition has a large amount of visual content – information and images. A portable T-Loop is available at reception.

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