SS Great Britain, Brunel's ship

The SS Great Britain is the ship designed by the great engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel and launched in Bristol in 1843. It was the first ocean-going ship with an iron hull and a screw propeller, and at the time it was the largest ship in the world: an invention that changed shipping for ever. After an adventurous life and decades of neglect in the Falkland Islands, it has returned to the dry dock where it was built, and is now one of the most award-winning museums in the United Kingdom.

History

In the 1830s Brunel, already famous for the Great Western Railway between London and Bristol, imagined extending the journey to New York with a steamship. After the Great Western, a wooden ship, he designed a revolutionary vessel: iron hull, screw propeller instead of paddle wheels, and a gigantic steam engine. The SS Great Britain was launched on 19 July 1843 in the presence of Prince Albert, and in 1845 it crossed the Atlantic to New York.

After running aground in Ireland and a period of difficulties, the ship was adapted to carry emigrants to Australia: between 1852 and 1875 it made dozens of voyages, taking around 16,000 people to a new life. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of their descendants live in Australia today. Converted into a sailing ship for cargo, in 1886 it was damaged in a storm off Cape Horn and took refuge in the Falkland Islands, where it was used as a floating warehouse and, in 1937, scuttled in a bay.

In 1970 a group of enthusiasts organised an extraordinary operation: the ship was floated onto a pontoon and towed more than 12,000 kilometres across the Atlantic to Bristol, where on 19 July 1970, exactly 127 years after its launch, it returned to its original dock.

What to see

The glass sea and the hull

The dry dock is covered by a sheet of glass with a thin layer of water, the "glass sea", which from above gives the impression that the ship is floating. Below, you go down into the dry dock and walk around the iron hull, where a dehumidification system keeps the air dry to stop the rust. From here you can see the huge propeller and the riveted 19th-century iron plates up close.

On board

On the deck you walk among masts, rigging and skylights, and you can climb the rigging in a harness on the "Go Aloft" activity. Below deck the spaces have been recreated as they were on the voyages to Australia: the elegant first-class dining saloons, the crowded steerage cabins, the galleys, the surgeon's room and the engine room with a working replica of the engine. Sounds, smells and figures bring life on board to life.

Being Brunel

Next to the ship is Being Brunel, a museum devoted to the engineer, with his drawings, notebooks, instruments and the story of his most famous works, such as the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol and the Great Western Railway. There is also a dockyard museum.

Practical information

The museum is open all year, except over Christmas. The ticket is generally valid for a year. The visit is family-friendly, with interactive activities for children. Opening times and prices are published on the official website.

Getting there

• By train: from London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads in about an hour and a half; then on foot along the harbour (about 30 minutes) or by harbour ferry.
• By air: Bristol Airport is about 30 minutes away.
• In town: the ship is in the historic harbour, a short walk from museums and bars.

Nearby

• The Clifton Suspension Bridge, another Brunel masterpiece, over the Avon Gorge.
• Bristol harbour with the M Shed museum and the We The Curious science centre.
• The Roman and Georgian city of Bath, 15 minutes away by train. See also Bristol.

Tips

• How long: at least two and a half to three hours for the ship and museums.
• When to go: all year round; it is a perfect visit even in the rain.
• A tip: start in the dock beneath the glass sea to grasp the size of the ship, then go on board.

SS Great Britain on the map

Nearby