Family / Things to do

Things to do for free with kids in Bristol this summer: Look Up, Look Down

By Martin Booth  Friday Aug 4, 2023

It’s often said that you can spot a tourist because they are the ones looking up at buildings. But everyone taking part in this architectural treasure trail needs to look up as well as down.

The aptly named Look Up, Look Down is like a giant jigsaw puzzle. Find the missing pieces of a pattern and the architectural features that inspired them.

Begin on Clare Street where it meets St Stephen’s Street to find on the floor a pattern grid with shapes missing from the dozen colourful squares.

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There are mythical creatures including a sphinx, unicorn and dragon; animals it’s unusual to find in Bristol such as a lion and an elephant; and symbols like a heart, a leaf and a scallop shell.

Each of the shapes missing from the pattern grid can be found among the historic thoroughfares of the Old City.

Leonard Lane follows the route of Bristol’s medieval city wall – photo: Martin Booth

So without giving the whole game away, the unicorn is on St Stephen’s Street close to a building on which is Bristol’s coat of arms, featuring a pair of the legendary beasts on either side of Bristol Castle and the Matthew.

Further down this same road is a drinking fountain featuring Queen Victoria, which was installed to celebrate her 40th birthday. Water was dispensed from a scallop shell under Victoria’s head.

Made from long-lasting thermoplastic, the trail by artists artists Sophie and Rob Wheeler was commissioned by Bristol City Council to celebrate the pedestrianisation of the Old City, and to create playful opportunities for people to explore the area and its history.

Take a walk around the hidden corners of the Old City and Castle Park 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

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