Crane 29’s Treehouse!

Posted on September 19, 2017 by corwinb

This summer, Crane 29 has borne an unusual addition. The veteran crane has been host to a luxury ‘treehouse’, where you can stay overnight.

The treehouse is being run by Canopy and Stars.

Here are a few photos from the official website.

Here is what it looks like from the outside:

THE WORLD’S FIRST TREEHOUSE ON A CRANE COMES TO BRISTOL’S HARBOURSIDE

Over the past three years, we’ve been secretly tending to a rather surprising seed of an idea. Canopy & Stars at Crane 29 – a glorious treehouse suspended high in one of Bristol Harbourside’s iconic cranes! We’ve taken all the goodness of the outdoors and put it into a cosy cocoon of calm in the heart of the city to create a surprising, sensory experience and a true natural high. The best bit? You can actually stay in it!

Although we’ve spent years collating our collection of the most unusual places to stay in the outdoors, this is our first ever treehouse in a crane, and, indeed, the first time you can fully experience a Canopy & Stars holiday in an urban environment. This low-impact build, supported by brilliant solutions from B&Q, is completely carbon neutral and built using sustainable materials. The treehouse will grace Bristol’s skyline for just four months. As the first leaves drop from the trees in late September it will disappear but not before leaving the world a little greener. We’ll be donating all profits from the treehouse to Friends of the Earth.

-Canopy and Stars

More photos from the night shoot

Posted on April 9, 2017 by corwinb

Alistair Grieve took these great photos at the recent night photo shoot with Portbury, and has kindly given permission for them to be reproduced here.

You can see all of Ali’s photos on his smugmug site.

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M Shed in Miniature

Posted on March 12, 2017 by corwinb

I managed to get down to the Nailsea Model Railway Exhibition today and snap some photos of John’s lovely EM gauge (1:76 scale) model of M Shed.

The layout has Portbury and Henbury complete with the passenger train (much of which was scratchbuilt), as well as the Ruston and Larry, and the steam crane (which is motorised!).

Crane 29’s Facelift

Posted on March 11, 2017 by corwinb

Crane 29 has now had its restored window panelling and glazing replaced. Very nice it looks, too!

Night Shoot with Portbury

Posted on February 19, 2017 by corwinb

Last night the BHR was host to another of the popular photo charters organised by 30742 Charters and M Shed Museum.

This time it was a night shoot on the quayside, where Portbury shared the limelight with the museum’s Bristol lorry.

Here’s a video posted by Martin Creese on the 30742 facebook page:

and a couple of snaps from the evening from the same page:

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Bathurst Basin – Then and Now

Posted on February 9, 2017 by corwinb

The Bristol – Then and Now facebook page is well worth following if you have an interest in Bristol’s history. Many interesting bits and pieces to be found, including quite a bit of info and pictures on the harbour, and the railways of Bristol.

Roger Baynton posted these images and description today:

Bathurst Basin, view of bridge, engine house and Ostrich Pub.
The 1870s saw the opening for freight services of the Bristol Harbour Railway which ran from Temple meads under St Mary Redcliffe Church to emerge at Bathurst Basin by the Ostrich pub (seen here) and then on to Wapping Wharf
The railway crossed Bathurst lock on a steam-powered bascule (lifting) bridge on the site of the present footbridge, before continuing to Princes Wharf.
The Ostrich Pub in Guinea Street predates 1775. Sorry to contradict an attractive Bristol urban myth but the chamber at the back of the entrance passage, whilst hewn out of the sandstone cliff does not connect to the adjacent Redcliff caves. An whilst I’m in bah humbug mode, the Redcliff caves were not used for ‘storing’ slaves and probably not for smuggling their principal function being to provide raw material for Bristol’s once buoyant glass trade. But that is another story…..

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Photo credit goes to Roger Baynton.

TBT – Ashton Gate Station – 1970s/1980s

Posted on November 3, 2016 by corwinb

RMweb user Kevin aka Rivercider has tracked down some photos of the then-closed Ashton Gate Station site, with Ashton Meadows sidings on the BHR in the background.

This one is from flickr user emmdee and shows an 08 shunting the yard.

Flickr user Blue_Pelican_railway uploaded this one dated 1977, showing that the warehouse on the right has now had its rail connection severed. Nature is starting to take hold of the platforms.

Blue_Pelican_railway also uploaded this shot from May 1984 with a Billy Graham train in the foreground, and a BR Class 37 in the yard. The engineers depot was still in use at this time. The growth of surrounding foliage in the intervening years is evident.