Exploring the SS Great Britain with Kids: Bristol Days Out

The SS Great Britain is a museum ship and former passenger steamship, which was far in advance of her time. She was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the Great Western Steamship Company’s transatlantic service between Bristol and New York. Her maiden voyage was in 1845 and she sailed the seas for many years.

Bristol is not too far from us but we’ve never visited the SS Great Britain before. More fool us! The Brunel Museum is a recent addition. When we were invited to visit the SS Great Britain and Being Brunel Museum as a family we weren’t too sure what to expect. On a beautifully sunny day we set off for Bristol. Read on to find out what we thought of the SS Great Britain on our family visit.

EXPLORING THE SS GREAT BRITAIN WITH KIDS

UNDER THE SEA: THE DRY DOCK

We started by heading through the Dockyard and down under the ‘glass sea’ to the Dry Dock to see the ship’s original iron hull. It is truly impressive to see the sheer size of this magnificent ship. The SS Great Britain was scuttled and sunk to the bottom of the sea in the Falkland Islands in the 1930’s. Here she was left to rust and rot. It wasn’t until 1970 that she was rescued from the Falklands. At the time it was feared she wouldn’t last six months as her hull was so corroded. She now attracts 175,000 visitors every year after extensive and ongoing restoration. A complex system of dehumidification now endeavours to keep the ships hull in the best possible condition.

LEARNING ALL ABOUT THE SS GREAT BRITAIN: THE DOCKYARD MUSEUM

Next we headed into the Dockyard Museum to find out all about her adventure filled life carrying the rich and famous as a luxury ocean going liner. It was fascinating to read accounts by passengers and crew members of voyages undertaken by this magnificent ship. There are also many artefacts from the ship itself, from ship’s bells to graffiti carved by the crew. Within the Dockyard Museum are a number of activities for children – steering a ship towards the sun with a huge ship’s wheel, dressing up in Victorian costumes and finding the cat on a cross-section of the ship.

Just before we boarded SS Great Britain we had to choose a character we wanted to be from 36 different boarding cards. We followed in their footsteps, with incredible facts and activities based on the ship’s records and personal diaries. Within our group we had a captain, the ship’s doctor, a first class passenger and a crew member.

ONBOARD THE SS GREAT BRITAIN

It was then onto the ship itself where you can explore both the upper and lower decks. Dressed with flags and ready for departure, just as she looked at her launch in 1843, she is a splendid sight. The deck space was divided into different areas for passengers travelling first, second and third class. Only passengers travelling first class were allowed to cross a white painted boundary line into an area behind the mainmast specially reserved for their use.

Downstairs the Promenade Deck which was a playground for the passengers who were able to pay for first class, luxury travel.

Steerage, also known as third class, is where most passengers lived during the voyage to Australia. It was the cheapest accommodation and located on the lower decks in the forward end of the ship. Accommodation was certainly cramped as everyone was in together!

The boys were very engrossed seeing, hearing and smelling how the passengers and crew travelled below decks. Every last detail has been thought of – a rat being chased by a cat in the galley, the ships doctor performing a very realistic procedure complete with antiseptic smells and horrible smells being emitted from the toilets in the crew quarters.

The whole attraction is very interactive and hands on for kids. There is also plenty of space for them to explore freely.

GO ALOFT: CLIMBING THE SHIP’S RIGGING

The highlight of our day was next with Go Aloft. For an additional £10 (free for children between the ages of 10-17 years) you can experience how sailors used to feel climbing the rigging to the crow’s nest at a height of 23 metres above the deck. If you’re brave enough you can venture out onto the yardarm!  It’s a brilliant experience and one that we recommend. The minimum age to climb is 10.

We went through the safety briefing and got harnessed up and then it was time to climb.

The boys went first so I as able to take photographs down below. Two people can climb at a time on either side of the ship, ending up at the same point – the crow’s nest, 23 metres up.

The climbing of the rigging is quite easy, but was the edging out onto the yardarm is pretty scary! The boys declined but i managed to get about halfway across before my legs started to shake and it was time to turn back. It’s a real thrill and the views from the top are amazing too. As a bonus the boys thought i’d done super well to get across the yardarm!

EXPLORE BEING BRUNEL

We had only a very short time in here as we’d spent so long exploring the ship and going aloft. We could have spent much longer exploring the six new galleries and 150 exhibits which highlight the achievements of one of the world’s greatest engineers, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Our plan is to return at another time to do this museum justice. The museum illustrates all that Brunel achieved, the Clifton Suspension Bridge, the Thames Tunnel and Great Western Railway to name a few, but also the realities of his life, that he was a chain smoking workaholic and insecure doubter, who hated his short height.

There are lots of opportunities to get hands on, riding replica railway carriages, a Top Trumps style game themed around his biggest projects and the opportunity to step inside his brain (literally!) to see the world through Brunel’s eyes.

The museum gives a fascinating insight into the man himself. A brilliant innovator and artist who was also a cigar chain-smoking workaholic who wasn’t a particularly nice person!

MORE ON VISITING SS GREAT BRITAIN AND BEING BRUNEL

Pay once and return as many times as you want within one year. Adult tickets are £16.50 and children tickets are £9.50. Under 4’s are free. If you purchase your tickets online you save 5%.

Go Aloft is an additional £10 but children between 10-17 years old are currently free. Minimum age to climb is 10 years.

The attraction (including the ship itself) is fully accessible for children in pushchairs and wheelchair users with wide entrances and lifts.

READ ALSO: A Day Out at the Historic Harbour of Charlestown in Cornwall

Disclosure: We received free tickets to visit SS Great Britain and Being Brunel in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own and those of my family.