Parents Help in Bristol
Bristol is the largest city in the south west of England, with a population of approximately half a million. The city lies between Somerset and Gloucestershire and has been politically administered by both counties in part at various times. However, Bristol is historically a county in its own right and is properly entitled the City and County of Bristol.
Bristol is a series of pictorial tours designed to show both well-known and lesser-known aspects of Bristol, and to provide a few facts about this historic English city and county.
Its name comes from the Old English Brycgstow. That still a good description, and not just because of Brunel renowned Clifton Suspension Bridge. Bristol is a bridge to culture, experiences, landscapes, careers – and the future.
Bristol is a thriving modern city, effectively the capital of England West Country, with a long history that can be traced back a thousand years or more. Indeed it was the most important city in England outside of London until the early nineteenth century.
Today Bristol is a major financial and industrial centre, with the recent relocation of the Lloyds bank headquarters and the MOD Procurement department joining established companies such as British Aerospace and Rolls Royce. It also has the factories and research laboratories of high technology companies such as Hewlett-Packard and Due Pont. The University is currently setting up one of the largest Science Research Parks in Europe.
The arts are flourishing, with opera, film, ballet, galleries and music of every kind ranging from the classical to the modern. The Bristol Old Vic Theatre Company is based in the eighteenth century Theatre Royal, close to the Harbour. Nearby, in the City Centre, the Hippodrome offers regular seasons of opera and ballet.
In and around the city centre there are restaurants providing food associated with the cuisine of many nations. As well as the more usual French, Italian, Greek and Indian restaurants, there are some which specialize in Mexican, Malaysian, Indonesian, Thai and Japanese food, suiting all tastes and pockets.
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