Medieval Bristol: A Self-Guided Audio Tour

Pass through the last surviving fragment of Bristol's medieval wall and spot the portcullis groove still visible in the arch overhead. Walk in the footsteps of Elizabeth I, who processed on horseback through this very gateway during her royal visit to the city.

Admire the grand façade of this 18th-century exchange, built to serve Bristol's booming merchant trade. Step outside to find the famous bronze nails on the pavement, where merchants once settled their deals on the spot — giving rise to the expression "paying on the nail."

Explore one of Bristol's oldest and most atmospheric trading spaces, tucked beneath the arches of the historic city centre. Stroll through stalls and covered passages that have drawn merchants and market-goers to this spot for centuries.

Climb this narrow, cobbled medieval stairway lined with timber-framed buildings that lean overhead as you ascend. Discover the layers of history packed into one of Bristol's most evocative and unchanged streetscapes.

Seek out the surviving remains of Bristol Castle's Great Hall, all that is left of a 30-acre royal fortress that once dominated the city. Stand in the open parkland and imagine the scale of the stronghold that shaped Bristol's medieval power.

Cross the River Avon on the site of a bridge that once carried five-storey houses, a chapel, and a thriving community above the water. Hear the remarkable story of a cow that survived being swept into the Avon when the original structure collapsed.

Gaze across the floating harbour that made Bristol one of England's most powerful trading cities and a hub of the Viking slave trade long before the 18th-century trade began. Walk the waterfront where merchants, sailors, and contraband once moved freely between ships and city.

Step inside one of Bristol's rare surviving Tudor interiors, with its richly carved oak room dating back to the 1590s. Explore a building that has witnessed the city's transformation from Elizabethan prosperity to Georgian reform.

Enter a perfectly preserved merchant's townhouse and come face to face with the intimate details of 18th-century Bristol life. Discover the lives of both the wealthy sugar merchant who owned it and the enslaved people whose labour funded its construction.