Clifton Observatory, Camera Obscura & Giant's Cave
About
A converted windmill on Litfield Place in Clifton, right by the Suspension Bridge, now housing a working camera obscura that projects a live image of the gorge and bridge onto a viewing table, one of very few still working in Britain. A tunnel from the observatory leads down through the cliff to St Vincent's Cave (the Giant's Cave), which opens onto a small ledge with a dramatic close-up view straight down the gorge. It is a small, slightly eccentric attraction rather than a major one, and pairs naturally with a bridge crossing.
Photos
Highlights
- ✓One of Britain's few remaining working camera obscura installations
- ✓The Giant's Cave tunnel opening onto a gorge-side ledge
- ✓Right beside the Suspension Bridge on the Clifton side
Tips
- →Open 10:00-17:00 April-October and 10:00-16:00 November-March, last admission 15 minutes before close.
- →Call ahead for current ticket prices; they were not confirmed from a reachable source during this build.
- →Combine with the Suspension Bridge crossing and Sea Walls viewpoint.
Best Season
More Attraction Activities
Clifton Suspension Bridge
Brunel's 1864 suspension bridge across the Avon Gorge. Free to cross on foot or by bike; only cars pay the £1 toll.
Brunel's ss Great Britain
Brunel's restored 1843 ocean liner, afloat in the dry dock where she was built, with a glass sea letting you walk beneath the hull.
M Shed
Bristol's free social history museum on the Harbourside, in a real dockside transit shed, now home to Banksy's Grim Reaper.