About

Discover the story of Bristol’s most loved landmark! Bristol's world-famous Clifton Suspension Bridge was designed by the great Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, though he never lived to see his creation finished in 1864. A visit to Bristol isn’t complete without a trip across the Clifton Suspension Bridge. A sightseeing must-see, the iconic bridge also has a free museum and award-winning tours programme.

On a guided tour, your groups will hear about the competition to design the bridge, a project plagued with problems and how the end result differed from the original design. They’ll tell the group about Brunel and his family, explain how a suspension bridge works and how people crossed the gorge before it was built. The group will hear some amazing stories about the people who used and maintained the bridge and the things we do in winter to keep it working! Tours include Bridge tours and Vault tours. 

Key selling points for groups

• Free space for group leader/coach driver.

• Visits to just the museum are free and have no minimum or maximum group size. 

• Complimentary meet-and-greet introduction for groups.

• Invoice after visit.

• Tours that suit your groups pace. There are plenty of places to sit along the way. Please let the guides know in advance if there is anything they can do to make your visit more comfortable.

Useful information for the travel trade

Group booking procedures 

• Dedicated contact for bookings (Emily Larsen, Front of House and Marketing Manager)
• Advised time on site is 15 minutes (quick photo shop) – 3 hours (bridge tour, vaults tour, museum visit), or any duration within that suits the group's schedule. 
• Refunds and Cancellation

Group sizes and event capacity 

• Minimum of 15 and a maximum of 250. Tours of the caves are a maximum of 60. 

Rates and pricing 

• 20% off RRP for all paid activities, free meet-and-greet introduction for all bookings, guaranteed travel trade rates.

Coach access and parking 

• Nearest coach drop-off bay is on Observatory Road near the junction with Bridge Road (nearest postcode BS8 4AW), about 150 metres from the bridge. Important to note that coaches cannot cross over the bridge. 

Sustainability

• Green Tourism Bronze Award.
• Sustainability Policy

Exclusive offering 

Special interest tours: The opportunity to learn about the aspects of the bridge or Bristol that the group has a particular interest in. Please ensure this is requested in advance. 

Private hire: private hire of the museum. Groups in the past have exclusively hired the museum space whilst they do the tours, this creates a more exclusive, uninterrupted experience which can include catering if required. 

Archivist collections session: Private session with the bridge archivist to look at items from our collection, including handling some items not usually available to the public. 

Bridge Master talk: highly exclusive and only offered under specific circumstances. Please speak with the attraction directly for further information.