
Explore the cosmos at this historic observatory featuring telescopes, interactive exhibits, and stargazing experiences for all ages.
Venue Type
Indoor & Outdoor
Typical visit duration
1-3 hours
Booking
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A fantastic, nostalgic return visit! We had a lovely, quiet visit here, having not been back since the kids were young. The Giant's Cave was great fun—offering amazing views out over the gorge and right up at the Clifton Suspension Bridge (though looking down through the floor grid was a little scary!). The camera obscura itself was fascinating; it was really cool seeing the live imagery of the surrounding areas projected inside the dark room while learning about some key Bristol history from the interesting facts on the walls. To round off the afternoon, we had a brilliant cream tea in the well-stocked café and sat outside, enjoying the amazing views looking down on the suspension bridge. A wonderful way to spend the day!
Well worth the visit. You get some amazing views for the bridge. The cave at the bottom is incredibly steep going down and the same way back. The helmets provided are essential if you are off average height or taller. It's a great view at the bottom but remember you have to go back up! The obscura is quite impressive too!
Amazing, amazing place. Top of the observatory is the camera obscura, a phenomenal piece of ingenuity offering 360 degree views of Bristol and the Clifton suspension bridge. The giants cave allows views of the bridge from within the gorge face, although it's ironically named since the access is steep, narrow and sometimes slippery, but 100% worth the effort. On top of all that, it only costs £5 for full access to the camera and cave, absolute bargain.
Brilliant experience with super helpful lady on reception. The camera obscurra was great and even though it was a bit overcast the images of the bridge were really clear. The cave is well worth the effort ( lots of steps) to get a fab view of the suspension bridge. Round off your visit with refreshments from the cafe, enjoy the company of Wallace and beautiful view.
It is British Architecture at its best. Had heard quite a lot about it so when the first place I visited was the bridge and the observatory. It's worth all the hype. One can walk on the bridge or enjoy the view from the garden next to it. When you see down from the bridge your eyes will catch hold of one of the most beautiful site with natural beauty and cars going by the side of the water body. The bridge is quite high so if you have height phobia be careful, although it's quite safe to walk on the bridge. To get a perfect glimpse of the bridge and beauty around it, walk up to the observatory and walk around the open area. There is a £3 ticket to go down through a very dark cave sort of place. I don't feel paying that price is worth however for curiosity sake one can obviously do it. Once done with praising the beauty from the observatory, don't miss to walk around Clifton village and check out the coold shops. A must visit place when in Bristol
Reviews last updated: 6 October 2026
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This venue was last updated on 6 October 2026
