5 landmarks we could start using instead of the Suspension Bridge
Posted on: 06 May 2024The Clifton Suspension Bridge is the most famous landmark in Bristol – but is it too famous?
Atop the Avon Gorge sits one gorge-geous bridge – the masterpiece of Isembard Kingdom Brunel, one that Bristolian babies are born innately knowing the name of: The Clifton Suspension Bridge.
You can see the bridge on everything from murals, to local emblems, logos, festival posters and...well, everything. It’s a good bridge, don’t get me wrong, but is anyone else starting to roll their eyes when yet another organisation tries to use the bridge to co-opt some Bristol identity?
Surely there must be more we can draw on as a city than just one large bridge? Listen up, designers: here are our ideas for what might make a good alternative for a Bristol icon.
The Bearpit
The Bearpit is a Bristol classic, and it sits a lot more centrally than the bridge – after all, how often are you in Clifton? It’s full of history and controversy, with reasons for all sorts of factions to lay claim to it. It is, however, just a sort of hole, which makes it a bit hard to depict. There is Ursa, the former mascot of the pit, but it has since been removed. Hm. Next!
Turbo Island
Okay, this is a sure-fire win (get it?). Turbo Island is an icon that true Bristolians will surely recognise – this isn’t just a landmark for tourists (in fact, there’s even something of an elaborate prank to try and convince tourists that it’s a pleasant place to visit). It even represents Bristol – bohemian, free-spirited and rebellious; and also full of drunk people, piss and abandoned furniture.
Again, there’s a bit of a visual problem here – do you depict an empty slice of tarmac? Or perhaps the fire that burns there? It feels as though you might have to keep the fire burning eternally to do that, which is going to get expensive. Let’s keep trying.
Cabot Tower
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Ah, wait, no. Colonialism. Let’s not touch this one, lads.
Urban Tandoor
Maybe we should be putting our best face to the world with the Bristolian icon. Thanks to TikTok, perhaps the most famous face of Bristol these days are master parody merchants (and occasional Indian restaurateurs) Urban Tandoor.
The building itself isn’t the most recognisable, but perhaps the logo might work – or a picture of one of their most famous dishes? That said, we might be inviting some sort of corp-run dystopian state. As much as I like an Indian takeaway, I don’t want death squads knocking on my door if I fail to eat my quota of poppadoms.
Clifton Suspension Bridge
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This is a great one – a beautiful architectural landmark, steeped in Bristolian history, and a representative of Bristol’s status as “the place by the bridge”. This is sure to be a favourite to replace the...oh, wait.
I guess finding a good landmark is harder than it seems. Let’s stick with the bridge for now.
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Patrick is a filmmaker with so much Bristol in his blood the white blood cells are graffiti'd. Educated at the Northern Film School in Leeds, he’s returned home to be a Videographer and Reviewer for 365Bristol and BARBI. When he’s not messing about with cameras, he enjoys playing guitar, spending far too much time on tabletop RPGs, and being an awful snob about cider. Have a look at his work here, or get in touch at patrickb@365bristol.com.
