Bristol Open Doors Invites You to Explore the City This September
Bristol Open Doors has announced it will launch Hidden Bristol, three specially curated walking tours this September. Bristolians are invited to share their experiences of three of the city’s iconic themes. Tickets are on sale now
The walks, which will be guided through a personal audio tour will celebrate Vibrant Bristol, the Hidden Harbour and Temple Tales. Groups of up to 40 walkers will explore the stories of the city from 11th to 13th September 2020.
Anna Rutherford, Director at Bristol Open Doors explains;
“We have been busy on lockdown working with audio designers, artists and historians to create a living history of the city’s spaces, to be explored as socially distanced groups. Each Hidden Bristol tour already features characters from all corners of the city and we’re launching a three-week campaign to invite people to share their experiences and stories to add into the project.
“Last year over 40,000 people explored our city’s buildings, so this year we’ll be taking the event outside, giving each visitor a personal interaction with the city and its residents.”
The project is presented in partnership with Visit Bristol, Arts Council England and Historic England. It celebrates the city through the people who know it best, and invites Bristolians to add their voices to the story.
Recorded in Bedminster, Vibrant Bristol will explore if the city is better with colour and street art as a part of our identity. What’s your favourite Upfest mural? Which of the city’s street art invites you to respond? How does Jody Thomas’s Greta mural add to the city’s sustainable focus? The team invites you to share using the hashtag #VibrantBristol.
The Hidden Harbour is curated by city poet Vanessa Kisuule. In 2020 Bristol’s quayside drew the eyes of the world. Journey through 1,000 years of history from the Merchant traders and enslaved people. Featuring No. 10 Guinea Street, the spot where Edward Colston was plunged into the harbour, hidden caves and M-Shed docks, hear the stories of the harbour from the curators, the shakers and the history-makers of this radical city. The team invites you to share using the hashtag #HiddenHarbour.
The area we now know as Temple Quarter was given to the Templars to build Temple Church, the ruins of which form part of this tour. The surrounding parish was then called ‘Temple Fee’ and the Templar history becomes more apparent as we walk through the area with Temple Tales. This was once the seat of power for the city, but who holds that power today? Do you commute through Bristol's Victorian Temple Meads Station? IS it still the gateway to our city? Have you been dazzled by the iconic curved bridge at Finzel’s Reach lit up at night? The team invites you to share using the hashtag #TempleTales.
Tickets are on sale now for the three tours, at a cost of £10 for adults and £5 for children. The tours are suitable for explorers of all ages, all you need is a smart phone and headphones.
Head to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to share your stories with the hashtags #VibrantBristol, #HiddenHarbour or #TempleTales, or send your story via email to lucy.macdonald@architecturecentre.org.uk
