You can cross the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol on foot for free. The bridge is open 24 hours a day.

It connects the Clifton district with Leigh Woods and spans the River Avon at a height of 75 metres.

For a photo of the whole bridge, stop at Observatory Hill on the Clifton side before crossing.

The best spot to photograph the Clifton Suspension Bridge

• Observatory Hill is a free viewpoint on the Clifton side. Before the toll booth, turn onto the footpath leading to the Clifton Observatory. From the slope below the building, you can capture both towers and the ravine in a single shot
  • Location on the map
• Giant’s Cave has a viewing platform set into the rock face. From the Clifton Observatory building, you descend 130 narrow steps to reach it. Admission costs 3 gbp for adults and 1,50 gbp for children aged 4 to 14
  • Prices and opening hours at the Clifton Observatory
• At the Cumberland Basin lock chambers at the western end of the harbour, look westwards along the river. From there, you’ll see the bridge between the rocks from river level.

For an evening photo, come at dusk. The lighting highlights both the towers and the bridge’s chains and remains on until midnight.

The terrace of the White Lion pub, next to the Avon Gorge by Hotel du Vin, also offers a view of the bridge. If you’d like a view from your room, choose a room facing the gorge when booking.

Crossing the bridge, the museum and guided tours

Footpaths run along both sides of the carriageway, and the distance between the towers is 214 metres. You can cycle across the bridge on the carriageway free of charge. Allow about an hour, not including the journey from the city centre, for the return trip across the bridge, the view from the hill and a short visit to the museum.

The Clifton Suspension Bridge Museum is located just beyond the bridge on the Leigh Woods side. The museum, which tells the story of the bridge’s construction, has free entry and is open daily from 10.00 to 17.00.

• Information on visiting the museum
• Guided tours of the bridge depart at 14:00 on weekends and UK public holidays from the toll booth on the Clifton side. They are free, with a recommended donation of 5 gbp
  • Bridge tour dates and bookings
• The Underground Vaults tour takes you up a ladder into two vaulted chambers inside the abutment on the Leigh Woods side. Tours run from Easter to October. The Underground Vaults Visit costs 16 gbp for adults and is open to children aged 7 and over. Please book in advance.
  • Tickets for the vaults beneath the bridge

If you are driving across the bridge, you will pay a fee of 1,50 gbp at the toll gate before entering the bridge. Payment can only be made by contactless card.

Walking circuit under the bridge

On the ‘Over and Under’ circular walk, you’ll also see the bridge from directly underneath. From the museum, walk down Burwalls Road to the entrance to Leigh Woods and continue through the woods down to the river.

Follow the path along the Avon, passing under the bridge, and make your way back up through Nightingale Valley. There are steep sections and steps along the way.

How to get from Bristol city centre to the bridge

• Takebus no. 8 from The Centre (C7) in the city centre, opposite the Bristol Hippodrome theatre. From Bristol Temple Meads station, board at the Temple Quarter Campus (T10) stop by the east entrance. Alight at Clifton Village. It’s about a 10-minute walk to the bridge from there. When returning to the city centre, get off at Baldwin Street (C13).
• It’sa 40–45-minutewalk from the city centre, and there’s a steep climb along the way. If you take the bus up, you can walk back via Wellington Terrace and Granby Hill to the harbour at Cumberland Basin. From there, continue along the waterfront to the city centre.

A few minutes’ walk from the bridge is The Rodney Hotel in the centre of Clifton Village. There are cafés and restaurants right in the vicinity.

Brunel’s Bridge and the chains from London

The bridge was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Following his death, the construction was completed by engineers John Hawkshaw and William Henry Barlow, and the bridge was opened in December 1864.

As you cross, take a look at the iron chains from which the bridge is suspended.

Some of the links originally formed part of Brunel’s old Hungerford Bridge across the Thames in London.

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