Explore Bristol’s maritime past at Docks Heritage Weekend 2019, with events for all ages at Underfall Yard, M Shed and SS Great Britain. This annual event celebrates the important story of Bristol’s historic Docks, which were the centre of the city’s trade for centuries. Eclipsed after the 1920s by Avonmouth Docks, the last regular trading ship departed in1974 and the Docks were closed to commercial shipping in1975. Since then the Harbour has been regenerated into the leisure, residential and business centre that we see today.  This special weekend offers a taster of yesteryear with fun and engaging activities for [...]

Underfall Yard’s exhibition of photographs of Bristol Harbour in the late 1970s by Jem Southam provide a unique and definitive portrait of the harbour on the eve of its transformation from a place of industry and work to one of leisure and recreation. One of Southam’s first major projects, the photographs were published in The Floating Harbour: A Landscape History of the Bristol City Docks (1983) and majority of the works are being exhibited for the first time. Underfall Yard Trust is delighted to welcome Jem to discuss the exhibition and share his experience of photographing the harbour at [...]

Underfall Yard is delighted to be taking part in the first ever Bristol Photo Festival this summer. From 18th of June until late summer, an outdoor exhibition will display a series of photographs of Bristol City Docks in the late 1970s by Jem Southam which provide a unique portrait of the harbour at a time of rapid change. One of Southam’s first major projects, the photographs were published in 1983 in The Floating Harbour: A landscape history of Bristol City Docks and the majority of the works will be exhibited for the first time. The Bristol Photo Festival grew [...]

Thanks to a recently installed webcam, people from around the world can now enjoy the stunning view of Bristol’s historic Floating Harbour from Underfall Yard at the click of a button. The webcam project is part of the Trust’s wider effort to allow visitors to remotely engage with Underfall Yard and Bristol Harbour. In future it is hoped the live feed will help promote the Harbour as an attractive and bustling visitor destination. Working with Skyline Webcams, an Italian company that specialises in providing live webcam footage of interesting and iconic sites around the world, Underfall Yard Trust installed [...]

Underfall Yard and Café have now reopened, and Bristol Ferry services and tours will resume from May 17th. To mark their long-awaited return, you are invited to join Underfall Yard Trust and Bristol Ferry for a free virtual tour of Bristol’s historic Floating Harbour and Underfall Yard. The Virtual Tour will take place on Tuesday April 17th at 1.30p.m. Departing from Castle Park, we will explore the Harbour to discover the people, places and events that shaped its development from the medieval period to the present day. Underfall Yard is an important reminder of Bristol in its heyday as [...]

On 9th of April at 12 noon you are invited to join Underfall Yard Trust to experience the Harbour Scour and explore 'Brunel's Other Bridge' from the comfort of your own home. The visit will begin by considering the Harbour Scour which is an essential part of Bristol's silt management system. Taking place on a fortnightly basis, the Scour sees Cumberland Basin emptied at low tide while the main part of the Harbour remains full. At the appointed time sluice gates are opened between the Harbour and Basin to clear silt from the Harbour. The force of water rushing [...]

In January 2021 Underfall Yard Trust began offering virtual tours of the yard. Initially intended to be a temporary measure, the Trust has decided to continue to offer virtual visits alongside traditional in-person visits. The tours have been an excellent way of allowing Underfall Yard to continue to tell its story and engage with the community during lockdown and since January, nearly 600 people from Bristol and around the world have ‘visited’ the yard to discover its history, experience its ambiance and see its unique collection of history machines in action.   The tours allow visitors to discover the [...]