Family / Things to do
Things to do for free with kids in Bristol this summer: Bristol Castle
The skeleton of a monkey was uncovered by archaeologists in Castle Park in 1970.
The bones were found at the bottom of some steps that were originally a way for defenders within Bristol Castle to spring a surprise attack.
The steps are called a sallyport which was connected to to the castle via a tunnel. Despite the walls of the keep being around 25 ft thick, now only a few fragments of the once mighty fortress remain.
is needed now More than ever
The entrance to the sallyport remains locked but let your eyes adjust to the gloom and look down the steps – photo: Martin Booth
The ruins of the once mighty keep of Bristol Castle – photo: Martin Booth
See if you can find the arrow slits once used to defend the castle from attackers coming from the direction of the River Avon – photo: Martin Booth
The ruins of the keep can be found in one corner of the park having later been incorporated within a Victorian ironworks.
The castle held an enviable defensive position and arrow slits within a wall once overlooking the original course of the River Avon (now the Floating Harbour) can still be found beside the small path next to a water source heat pump.
Bristol Castle’s former moat – photo: Martin Booth
Castle Ditch Bridge spans the last visible part of the castle’s moat which still flows underneath some nearby roads and buildings before joining up with a section of the underground River Frome near Harvey Nichols.
Find the best view of the moat and its disappearing act from a footpath accessed off Queen Street in the shadow of Castle Park View tower, now Bristol’s tallest building.
All of what we have discovered so far of the castle has been underground. But there is one remarkably intact surviving fragment of it above ground in what is now the Vaulted Chambers, which recently sadly closed as a cafe.
The clue is in the name: the building is thought to have originally been the entrance to the castle’s great hall.
Take a walk around the hidden corners of Castle Park and the Old City with Martin Booth: www.yuup.co/experiences/explore-bristol-s-quirkiest-corners
This story is an original chapter from ‘111 Places For Kids in Bristol That You Shouldn’t Miss’ by Martin Booth with photographs by Barbara Evripidou, available now from all good bookshops
Main photo: Martin Booth
Read next:
- The hidden river flowing underneath Bristol city centre
- Things to do for free with kids in Bristol this summer: bridge swings
- Things to do for free with kids in Bristol this summer: Look Up, Look Down
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