Bristol venue for my public speaking courses
Engineers’ House, The Promenade, Clifton Down, Bristol BS8 3NB
Getting there
By train
Bristol Temple Meads is the main station, about three miles away. (Please don’t get confused with Bristol Parkway) The number 8 bus runs every 15 minutes from the station through the city centre and stops directly outside Engineers' House. A taxi from Temple Meads costs around £8-£12.
By car
Sat nav postcode: BS8 3NB. The venue has parking on site but it fills up early. If you arrive later, Engineers' House can provide a day permit for parking on the road - there's a £25 deposit to ensure the permit is returned.
Bikes
Bike racks are located at the front of the building
Engineers House
https://www.makevenues.co.uk/engineers-house-bristol
Engineers' House is a Grade II* listed neoclassical building on The Promenade in Clifton. John Betjeman called Clifton "one of the most elegant and beautiful places in England." Mostly you will see a training room of course but if have time after the course, it’s a pleasant place to be.
The house was built in 1831 for Charles Pinney, who was elected Mayor of Bristol that same year - and found himself in office during the Reform Bill riots, when crowds took to the streets demanding parliamentary reform. He reportedly had metal shutters fitted to the upstairs windows. The house survived. In the 1890s it became a high-class finishing school for girls. It has been a conference and training centre since 1957, when it was acquired by the Engineering and Allied Employers' Association - which is where the name comes from.
It's a great space and friendly people
Bristol is where both of my careers started. I edited The Spark magazine here for fifteen years, and this is where I started teaching these courses. It has a special place in my working life.
access note
My usual training room is on the first floor, if you have access issues, let me know and I can move rooms to a more accessible one
Hotels
Several people on the course have stayed at the Rodney Hotel and recommended it. It's close to the venue and well placed for Clifton.
Other options nearby: the Avon Gorge Hotel has great views over the gorge. 9 Princes Buildings is a B&B close to the Suspension Bridge. 3 Berkeley Square is a little further into town and gets good reviews.
I don't stay in Bristol myself so these are recommendations from others rather than personal experience - apart from the Rodney, which comes recommended by people on the course.
The area
The world famous Clifton Suspension Bridge is about 15 minutes walk. Brunel designed it, Bristol built it, and it has been crossing the Avon Gorge since 1864. If you have never been to Bristol before, it’s an absolutely essential visit.
Bristol has long been a city with a particular kind of independent spirit. It's home to Sustrans, the Soil Association, and Triodos Bank - organisations that quietly changed how Britain thinks about cycling, food, and money. It's where The Spark magazine ran for 25 years. It's where the BBC Natural History Unit makes its world-famous nature series (they have to go on location to find the animals!) . It's where Aardman Animations makes Wallace and Gromit. And it's where Banksy put his work on walls before the rest of the world caught on. That combination of values, creativity and stubbornness feels very Bristol.
The Downs are right on the doorstep of Engineers’ House. Bristol's great open commons, sitting alongside the gorge. In Bristol, you go up to the Downs! The word comes from the Old English 'dun', meaning hill.
It's consistently voted one of the most desirable cities in Britain to live in. Bristol is a city worth exploring but it takes a little getting to know - your fellow course participants are often a good source of tips.
The official visitor site at visitbristol.co.uk is also worth a look before you come.