|
| |
|
bristol |
| |
|
|
|
South and west of Gloucester, the distinctive burr that is typical
of West Country speech is immediately audible in BRISTOL . Alongside it,
however, you will also hear the more strident tones of fast money and
big business which in recent years have combined to re-energize the
city's old commercial traditions. New technology, the arts and a vibrant
youth culture have also helped to make this one of Britain's most
cutting-edge cities, in the process generating some of the best
nightlife in the southwest.
Weaving through its centre, the River Avon forms part of a system of
waterways that made Bristol a great inland port, in later years booming
on the transatlantic trafficking of such goods as rum, tobacco and
slaves. In the nineteenth century the illustrious Isambard Kingdom
Brunel laid the foundations of a tradition of engineering, creating two
of Bristol's greatest monuments - the SS Great Britain and the lofty
Clifton Suspension Bridge. More recently, spin-offs from the aerospace
industry have given the city a high profile in the fields of
communications, computing, design and finance. Beneath the prosperous
surface, however, Bristol has its negative aspects - one of England's
highest homeless populations, some of the most notorious housing estates
and the highest proportion of cars to inhabitants. Nonetheless, it
remains an attractive city, predominantly hilly, and surrounded by
rolling countryside.
|
| |
|
