Tag: Harbourside

6658. Cumberland Basin

Amy Hutchings, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2025
Amy Hutchings, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2025

I have been aware of this piece by Amy Hutchings, a Bristol artist, for at least a couple of years, but until recently I haven’t got up close and paid attention to it, which is my loss really. The line drawing piece was originally much pinker, but some of the colour has bleached out by many days of sunshine on this exposed spot.

Amy Hutchings, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2025
Amy Hutchings, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, January 2025

The beautifully illustrated piece depicts a scene from the floating harbour and incorporates several local landmarks as well as some small boats. Amy Hutchings has a lovely touch, and although I am not aware of other street art pieces, she has a fabulous Instagram account which is well worth a visit. I am kicking myself that it has taken me so very long to acknowledge this perfect piece of Bristol art in the middle of Cumberland Basin.

3942. The Pump House

At the western end of the floating harbour on the north bank is a pub called the Pump House, a place I have walked past a hundred times but never been in, which probably reflects the fact that I am not much of a pub person, not because I don’t like pubs, but because I have got out of the habit, probably since having children.

Inkie, The Pump House, Bristol, August 2021
Inkie, The Pump House, Bristol, August 2021

Inkie painted this fabulous commission around the same time as he painted his ‘I can’t get you out of my head’ piece for Upfest 75×75. You often see this with Inkie, that when he is in town, he will paint several walls over a few days, before returning to London.

Inkie, The Pump House, Bristol, August 2021
Inkie, The Pump House, Bristol, August 2021

This wall is an absolute gift for Inkie who is known for both his ‘signwriting’ skills and his stylised portraits of women with stunning hair. This whole piece is embellished with some beautiful patterns and flowers and is a ‘must see’ wall for anyone walking the Harbourside circuit. Good on the Pump House for tapping into and supporting Bristol’s fine tradition of celebrating street art and street artists.

Thursday doors – 5 December 2019

Doors 90 – Bristol doors on a Harbourside walk

Another quick one this week. A selection of doors photographed during a lunchtime walk a week or two ago. The Harbourside area is made up of a mixture of old warehouses, boat yards, Victorian residences and rather expensive new builds. It is a fascinating area and just to make it extra good, you are only ever a stone’s throw away from the water.

Here we go…

Two red doors, the Harbourside, Bristol, November 2019
Two red doors, the Harbourside, Bristol, November 2019
Red door, the Harbourside, Bristol, November 2019
Red door, the Harbourside, Bristol, November 2019
A rather grand entrance, the Harbourside, Bristol, November 2019
A rather grand entrance, the Harbourside, Bristol, November 2019
Boat Yard door, the Harbourside, Bristol, November 2019
Boat Yard door, the Harbourside, Bristol, November 2019
Ugly, sad door, the Harbourside, Bristol, November 2019
Ugly, sad door, the Harbourside, Bristol, November 2019
Somewhere there is a door, the Harbourside, Bristol, November 2019
Somewhere there is a door, the Harbourside, Bristol, November 2019

More doors from Bristol next week – maybe…

Meanwhile, please go take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.

 

by Scooj

Thursday doors

Doors 58

Something a little different this week. I have had trouble with door inspiration, call it door writer’s block if you like, and didn’t even manage a post last week, so made a big effort this week to go out and damn well find some doors.

Salvation came in the unexpected form of Bristol Harbour Railway rolling-stock doors (I guess they all count). BHR is a heritage railway which runs for about a mile alongside the floating harbour from the M Shed to the Create Centre (a renovated former tobacco warehouse) passing by the SS Great Britain en route.

The railway operates two steam engines, Portbury (1917) and Henbury (1937) that carry people along the Harbourside during the summer for that nostalgic smut, smoke and steam experience – a must for young families.

On the sidings just beyond the M Shed (a Bristol science/heritage museum) there are several of these wagons in varying stares of repair. Most have doors:

Thursday Doors, Bristol Harbour Railway, January 2019
Thursday Doors, Bristol Harbour Railway, January 2019

This red wagon is no longer operational and has been converted into a little cafe.

Thursday Doors, Bristol Harbour Railway, January 2019
Thursday Doors, Bristol Harbour Railway, January 2019
Thursday Doors, Bristol Harbour Railway, January 2019
Thursday Doors, Bristol Harbour Railway, January 2019

Two sets of doors for the price of one

Thursday Doors, Sulphuric Acid Only, Bristol Harbour Railway, January 2019
Thursday Doors, Sulphuric Acid Only, Bristol Harbour Railway, January 2019

OK, so no doors on this one but it is a stunning sulphuric acid tanker and its very recent renovation was completed on my birthday a couple of weeks back.

Thursday Doors, Bristol Harbour Railway, January 2019
Thursday Doors, Bristol Harbour Railway, January 2019

I think this one might be a guard’s wagon.

So, that wraps it up for this week. Plenty more great doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0

by Scooj

Thursday doors

Door 38

Cabot doors 002 29 June 2018

This week I thought I’d take you on a little tour to one of the very special places in Bristol, Cabot Tower on Brandon Hill. The Thursday door is a bit of an excuse really to share something that lies behind the door, so door specialists had better lower their expectations. To all those who are keen to know who discovered the coast of North America in 1497, read on…

Cabot doors 025 29 June 2018

Cabot Tower was built in 1897/98 to commemorate the fourth centenary of John Cabot’s (Giovanni Caboto) discovery of the coast of North America under the commission of Henry VII of England. John Cabot set out from Bristol on the 2 May 1497 on The Matthew with 18 crew members and made landfall in Newfoundland on 24 June that same yesy. What a voyage that must have been on this tiny ship.

Cabot doors 003 29 June 2018

There are several plaques on the outside of the tower that offer some historuical context.

Cabot doors 005 29 June 2018

This is the foundation stone.

Cabot doors 006 29 June 2018

Ok, so here are some doors… this is the rather underwhelming door immediately inside the tower – I expect it was once the kiosk, but now the tower is un-manned and permanently open to the public. The steep spiral staircase starts to the left.

Cabot doors 008 29 June 2018

Another door, this one without glass, opens out at the first stage with three balconies looking out to the South, West and East.

Cabot doors 010 29 June 2018

The reason for climbing the stairs is to take in the breathtaking views of Bristol. This is looking south and the building with the green roof immediately after the park is where I work.

Cabot doors 011 29 June 2018

Zooming in a little to the South West you can see I. K. Brunel’s SS Great Britain in its permanent dry dock. The little cottage just at the stern of the ship is the building that Brunel worked from.

Cabot doors 014 29 June 2018

Another of Brunel’s extraordinary landmarks, the Clifton Suspension Bridge, can be seen to the West and spans across the Avon Gorge, through which Cabot would have sailed all those centuries ago.

Cabot doors 020 29 June 2018

Serendipitously, the modern replica of Cabot’s Matthew was motoring around the floating Harbour, just as I reached the top of the tower. It is a very small boat to be crossing the Atlantic in.

Cabot doors 021 29 June 2018

Then to the door back down…

Cabot doors 023 29 June 2018

And the slightly tatty and scary stairwell.

 

by Scooj

More doors at: Thursday Doors – Norm 2.0

112. Millennium Parade

One of the unintended consequences of developing the Bristol harbourside has been the erection of hoardings in front of unrented retail spaces. Being Bristol, these would have been magnets for graffiti of all kinds. It would appear that the developers commissioned Cheo, a prolific local artist, to paint the hoardings to brighten up the area, and to prevent others from scrawling.

Cheo, Millennium Parade, Bristol, December 2015
Cheo, Millennium Parade, Bristol, December 2015

This four panel mural tells a story of a giant squid and pirates; a suitably nautical theme for Bristol.

Cheo, Millennium Parade, Bristol, November 2015
Cheo, Millennium Parade, Bristol, November 2015

People seem to take these murals for granted. Every time I go to Millennium Parade I watch, and I have never seen anyone stop to look at the art although I am sure they are conscious of it.

Cheo, Millennium Parade, Bristol, December 2015
Cheo, Millennium Parade, Bristol, December 2015

As always Cheo has plastered the panels with his trademark bees.

Cheo, Millennium Parade, Bristol, December 2015
Cheo, Millennium Parade, Bristol, December 2015

7/10

Boat

 

In the shadow of

Brunel’s finest, but worthy

of such company.

 

by Scooj

Unintended consequence

 

Discarded fast-food;

a gull, impatient, gorges.

Speared from the inside.

 

by Scooj

I saw this unfortunate gull today at the Harbourside in Bristol. It left me feeling conflicted. Gulls are a bit of a nuisance and will raid the bins to satisfy their opportunistic lifestyle, and in doing so often litter the surroundings. However, this is not a nice predicament, and I am left wondering if things will turn out ok.