Brunel's SS Great Britain
Brunel's SS Great Britain
5
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Step back in time when you board Brunel’s SS Great Britain. Discover the true stories behind the ship that changed the world. Experience the sights, sounds and smells of life on board for Victorian passengers and crew. Descend under water below the glass ‘sea’ to touch the world’s first great ocean liner.
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
5.0
8,118 reviews
Excellent
6,627
Very good
1,299
Average
132
Poor
39
Terrible
22
Fotheringay
London, UK68 contributions
Mar 2023
Absolutely brilliant attraction, genuinely worth the entrance fee (12 month pass) weaving near 360 degree access to this historic ship with a museum dedicated to IK Brunel himself
The dry dock - with very effective glass water (and a bit of rain!) allows the visitor to get up close and personal to the underside of the boat, it's rudder and 'revolutionary' screw propeller - pun very much intended. The history and distanced traveled literally before your eyes.
Then follow the clear signage to enter the first part of the museum witch included artifacts of varying levels of interest and the fascinating story of the hulks final return to Bristol from The Falklands. Access to the ship itself is at every deck level with recreations of the sights, sounds smells and voices of every class of passenger and crew who would have sailed her. The attraction makes an excellent job of appealing to all ages with this.
On completing the onboard tour (and for anyone so included there is the chance to book a climb of the rigging!) follow the guidebook again into a shed depicting Brunel's world on and off engineering sites. My personal favorite being a Malkovich like film inside IKB's mind.
The attraction is obviously popular with school parties, but as there is no one 'official path' and a good amount of space, even on onboard, it is possible for the schoolchildren to enjoy their experience without it impacting anyone else.
Allow 1.5 hours minimum for this, I did almost double.
The dry dock - with very effective glass water (and a bit of rain!) allows the visitor to get up close and personal to the underside of the boat, it's rudder and 'revolutionary' screw propeller - pun very much intended. The history and distanced traveled literally before your eyes.
Then follow the clear signage to enter the first part of the museum witch included artifacts of varying levels of interest and the fascinating story of the hulks final return to Bristol from The Falklands. Access to the ship itself is at every deck level with recreations of the sights, sounds smells and voices of every class of passenger and crew who would have sailed her. The attraction makes an excellent job of appealing to all ages with this.
On completing the onboard tour (and for anyone so included there is the chance to book a climb of the rigging!) follow the guidebook again into a shed depicting Brunel's world on and off engineering sites. My personal favorite being a Malkovich like film inside IKB's mind.
The attraction is obviously popular with school parties, but as there is no one 'official path' and a good amount of space, even on onboard, it is possible for the schoolchildren to enjoy their experience without it impacting anyone else.
Allow 1.5 hours minimum for this, I did almost double.
Written March 26, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mark C
London, UK25 contributions
May 2023 • Couples
We thoroughly enjoyed this experience. We paid the extra £5 for the guided tour with a staff member portraying Isembard Brunel. This tour provided so much context regarding the relevance of Brunel and the English shipping trade. The dockyard tour and the ship itself is wonderful. Also your general admission ticket is valid for 12 months and you can enter as many times as you wish in that year. Everything unless it is behind glass is able to be handled and there are many interactive elements including the Dockyard under the ship. Awesome day.
Written May 29, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Steve T
Coventry, UK88 contributions
Mar 2023 • Friends
I can honestly say this Ship/ museum is worth every penny of the entrance fee. The guide at the entrance advised us to follow the route by following the numbers in the guide leaflet. I don’t want to spoil anybody’s experience by giving to much away. I will say when you go on board the ship it’s worth checking out each cabin, kitchens etc and don’t be surprised if you get a sense of smell in each area. We spent 4 hours there and so glad we never rushed through anything. It’s a must see if you are visiting Bristol
Written March 8, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Blackth0rn
Bristol, UK1,323 contributions
Dec 2022
Firstly, I would like to make it clear that this review relates specifically to the “Victorian Christmas Weekends” that they are currently running, not the ship as a whole. On that basis, the whole thing was pathetic. Their website gives us a very misleading impression of what to expect, and whilst it may perhaps be technically accurate, using terms like “dockyard transformed into a winter wonderland” creates a very different impression to what you actually find.
Admittedly it doesn’t explicitly state this, but we had expected some sort of Victorian street scene with perhaps plenty of stalls to purchase something (which would of course have provided them with another income stream). What we did get was a shanty band, who were ok I suppose, but that was basically it. That was confined to one corner, with the rest of the dockyard pretty much unchanged. There were a handful of Victorian characters lurking around, including Brunel himself, whilst the “falling snow” was a thin stream of particles ejected from a couple of nozzles on the roof. This created small patches of “snow” a few feet wide – nothing like the entire blanket covering shown in their picture. There was a small shack selling mince pies and mulled wine, but that had shut up shop long before their advertised closing time, so we didn’t get to try it. Contrary to their website, there was no sign of Father Christmas, so it’s a good job I didn’t bring any kids along with expectations of seeing him, whilst the “Christmas greenery” was a few odd branches of holly or whatever dotted around the place. It really was a joke.
As I said, this review is for the Victorian weekend only. The tickets allow you free return within a year and I will come back to visit the museum and ship and will leave a separate review for that when I do. But if you’re tempted to go because of the Victorian weekend – Don’t!
Admittedly it doesn’t explicitly state this, but we had expected some sort of Victorian street scene with perhaps plenty of stalls to purchase something (which would of course have provided them with another income stream). What we did get was a shanty band, who were ok I suppose, but that was basically it. That was confined to one corner, with the rest of the dockyard pretty much unchanged. There were a handful of Victorian characters lurking around, including Brunel himself, whilst the “falling snow” was a thin stream of particles ejected from a couple of nozzles on the roof. This created small patches of “snow” a few feet wide – nothing like the entire blanket covering shown in their picture. There was a small shack selling mince pies and mulled wine, but that had shut up shop long before their advertised closing time, so we didn’t get to try it. Contrary to their website, there was no sign of Father Christmas, so it’s a good job I didn’t bring any kids along with expectations of seeing him, whilst the “Christmas greenery” was a few odd branches of holly or whatever dotted around the place. It really was a joke.
As I said, this review is for the Victorian weekend only. The tickets allow you free return within a year and I will come back to visit the museum and ship and will leave a separate review for that when I do. But if you’re tempted to go because of the Victorian weekend – Don’t!
Written December 6, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you very much for your feedback. We are sorry you felt misled by the description on our website.
We are careful to provide an accurate representation of our offer. We did not have, or promote, any market stalls for guests to purchase from, although we do have a variety of bespoke gifts in our shop. The nightwatchman’s hut in the dockyard was selling mulled wine and mince pies from 11am to 5pm, and these were then available in the café until the site closed at 6.30pm.
Old Father Christmas in his traditional green robes was present in the dockyard through the whole day apart from three short breaks so we are sorry to hear you missed him. He was joined by Mr. Brunel and approximately fifteen Ragged Victorians in both the dockyard and the Ship. We’ve received excellent feedback for our Victorian characters, including Old Father Christmas, so we are sorry to hear that you missed him.
As you’ve mentioned, your ticket lasts for a year, so we hope to see you again very soon and that you enjoy your next experience with us.
Written December 9, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
94heleng
Bristol, UK36 contributions
May 2022
Living in Bristol you don’t really see the tourist attraction available. However for a wedding anniversary treat we decided to spend the day being a tourist in our city! The Brunel SSGreat Britain is a must for visitors or residents of Bristol.
The ticket means you can return for free for a year from purchase so very cost effective. The guides, some are dressed in period costumes are very friendly and informative. We had a personal guided tour of the dry dock that was fascinating. There are plenty of interactive parts to keep children occupied from designing a ship, draw a circle on a rocking railway carriage to being inside Brunel’s brain!
It was a very enjoyable half day experience
The ticket means you can return for free for a year from purchase so very cost effective. The guides, some are dressed in period costumes are very friendly and informative. We had a personal guided tour of the dry dock that was fascinating. There are plenty of interactive parts to keep children occupied from designing a ship, draw a circle on a rocking railway carriage to being inside Brunel’s brain!
It was a very enjoyable half day experience
Written May 12, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tony H
Cardiff, UK153 contributions
Jul 2022
A major part of our British history and how well they have done it. Firstly it is not cheap especially for families this is I consider the downside, however saying that, your ticket does last a year, so you can come and go as you want in the year, so guess that's not too bad.
After parking in the carp park, follow the signs to the SS Gt Britain, there are loads of staff available to talk with and give you information, there is also loads to see and photograph here. remember though school trips are held here, so you may be going in with a load of children instead of a quiet viewing. You do have to book tickets, I don't think you can just turn up, it is good that way mind, as you can more or less go straight in to the museum.
Give yourself time to study all the things there because there is a lot. The underside of the ship is amazing to see especially with the rust holes clearly visible. Go through the museum and upstairs to go on board the top deck of the ship, for an additional fee you can with harness climb the rigging. The deck is vast and there are many points where there are doors allowing you to go down in the lower decks, and these are amazing, the work that has been done is phenomenal, you just have to see it and there is so much of it to see, i was very impressed by all of it, and look when your are in the base of the ship to see the cargo and the holes in the metal of the ship.
I don't want to say too much, as I said you have to see it for yourself to really appreciate everything. But do talk to staff, their information is superb.
We did go on a hot day and it was nice to have am ice cream and cold drink on the site.
Well recommended place, and we will be going back in the near future.
After parking in the carp park, follow the signs to the SS Gt Britain, there are loads of staff available to talk with and give you information, there is also loads to see and photograph here. remember though school trips are held here, so you may be going in with a load of children instead of a quiet viewing. You do have to book tickets, I don't think you can just turn up, it is good that way mind, as you can more or less go straight in to the museum.
Give yourself time to study all the things there because there is a lot. The underside of the ship is amazing to see especially with the rust holes clearly visible. Go through the museum and upstairs to go on board the top deck of the ship, for an additional fee you can with harness climb the rigging. The deck is vast and there are many points where there are doors allowing you to go down in the lower decks, and these are amazing, the work that has been done is phenomenal, you just have to see it and there is so much of it to see, i was very impressed by all of it, and look when your are in the base of the ship to see the cargo and the holes in the metal of the ship.
I don't want to say too much, as I said you have to see it for yourself to really appreciate everything. But do talk to staff, their information is superb.
We did go on a hot day and it was nice to have am ice cream and cold drink on the site.
Well recommended place, and we will be going back in the near future.
Written August 19, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dizzydi
19 contributions
Jul 2022
As other reviews have said, the staff are very engaging. 'Brunel', himself was to be found in the restaurant area of the ship. Not only did he give interesting details of 'his' life, but also answered questions in character. You take the tour at your own leisure. Tickets are then valid for a year after. So, you can return as often as you like. Lovely views of the harbour. It's very warm walking around the underside of the ship due to the protective environment needed.
I would like to compliment the staff at the gift shop too. I bought the usual commemorative fridge magnet. But the guy behind the counter didn't just bag it up. He knew all the details of when the picture was taken. The potted history was well worth the cost of the magnet. Well done. Feels like the people who work here enjoy what they do and aim to make sure you get the most out of your visit.
I would like to compliment the staff at the gift shop too. I bought the usual commemorative fridge magnet. But the guy behind the counter didn't just bag it up. He knew all the details of when the picture was taken. The potted history was well worth the cost of the magnet. Well done. Feels like the people who work here enjoy what they do and aim to make sure you get the most out of your visit.
Written August 15, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TJL9
Bonsall, UK41 contributions
Feb 2023 • Family
We visited with our kids aged 10 and 8 and found the overall experience very enjoyable. The ship was incredible and the way the history is told is very well done for all ages. The kids loved seeing all the different decks which were brilliantly dressed (including real smells to make it more realistic!) There were interactive exhibits which were great and overall we really enjoyed the visit.
The only downside was the cost of food in the cafe which was ridiculous, equally the gift shop had the usual rip off goods. This is very common in these type of places but why do this? It can spoil a lovely visit when the kids want a souvenir but everything is so expensive for what it is - the Brunel Bear was £18.50. If it was cheaper surely they would sell more, yes at a lower margin but overall make more money and make the wider experience better. Sorry rant over…the main thing is the ship is amazing and for that reason five stars!
The only downside was the cost of food in the cafe which was ridiculous, equally the gift shop had the usual rip off goods. This is very common in these type of places but why do this? It can spoil a lovely visit when the kids want a souvenir but everything is so expensive for what it is - the Brunel Bear was £18.50. If it was cheaper surely they would sell more, yes at a lower margin but overall make more money and make the wider experience better. Sorry rant over…the main thing is the ship is amazing and for that reason five stars!
Written February 23, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
gus.4469@gmail.com
5 contributions
Feb 2023 • Family
Family Party in the Hayward salon for a 90 birthday party.
Great team of young crew from hospitality team that made the whole party a dream.
3 course meal was excellent and the choose and quality superb.
Included in the rate was a guided tour of the ship and museum from none other than IK Brunel himself.
All the guest enjoyed the immersive experience and I can’t disagree.
Highly recommend this great venue for a party.
Thank you SS Great Britain.
The Mackenzie Family
❤️
Great team of young crew from hospitality team that made the whole party a dream.
3 course meal was excellent and the choose and quality superb.
Included in the rate was a guided tour of the ship and museum from none other than IK Brunel himself.
All the guest enjoyed the immersive experience and I can’t disagree.
Highly recommend this great venue for a party.
Thank you SS Great Britain.
The Mackenzie Family
❤️
Written February 18, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
anonymous-aylesbury
Aylesbury, UK77 contributions
Apr 2022
Fascinating visit to a wonderful old ship, which brought the past to life and gave a very good feel for the conditions passengers endured on board the ship. We're not normally 'museum people', and wondered about spending almost £20 each to enter, but we really enjoyed it and after spending about 4 hours in the ship and accompanying exhibitions (plus a coffee break in the cafe!), we came out feeling it was good value for the money!
The staff were all very friendly and helpful. We very much enjoyed having a long talk with one of the volunteers, Russ, down in the dry dock, who explained to us about the conservation, and how important (and costly) it is to keep the hull of the ship at a very low humidity to preserve it. His knowledge, passion and enthusiasm shone through, and my husband in particular very much appreciated his explanations of the technical details of the conservation work.
We were also interested to learn more about the life of Brunel and all his many other projects, too - what an amazing man.
The staff were all very friendly and helpful. We very much enjoyed having a long talk with one of the volunteers, Russ, down in the dry dock, who explained to us about the conservation, and how important (and costly) it is to keep the hull of the ship at a very low humidity to preserve it. His knowledge, passion and enthusiasm shone through, and my husband in particular very much appreciated his explanations of the technical details of the conservation work.
We were also interested to learn more about the life of Brunel and all his many other projects, too - what an amazing man.
Written May 8, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Are there toilets nearby?
Rach
Stalybridge, UK65 contributions
Theres toilets on site at the museum.
Drew-Diligence
East Midlands, UK1,043 contributions
Can you get public access to just walk along side it from the pavement. Or is access totally sealed off via a pay booth of some kind. Not needing to go on board.
Christopher T
Whitland, UK185 contributions
You have to pay the entry to go onto the wharf and or alongside.
It's well worth the admission fee
Post code of this car park
PhilipBritt
Bristol, UK40 contributions
see 646jenny's answer
Is it dog friendly
Mike H
Deddington, UK17 contributions
I would guess it is ok for assistance dogs but it is limited for space.
Oxlady2014
Oxford, England, United Kingdom5 contributions
Can we hire a buggy of any sort from you as my husband has a few problems getting around
Thelma M
Northampton, UK34 contributions
Sorry I was a visitor there, try asking the venue
nearlyfifty4
Salisbury, UK37 contributions
I an coming on a coach trip. Just wondered what else is in the area with in walking distance please
Edward Milligan
Poole, UK146 contributions
The Zoo and Aquarium are OK, Clifton Suspension Bridge and Clifton. There’s the Riverside and Docks area and there is a big shopping complex.
Celia
Longhorsley, UK15 contributions
Is this attraction suitable for someone using a disability scooter please?
paulsevans1971
Sheffield, UK63 contributions
There are lifts, but it would be advisable to phone the box office before you plan to go, as not all of them are big enough to carry a mobility scooter.
GarryJL
Bristol, UK11 contributions
Is it suitable/safe for a 3 year old?
harveyKent
Kent71 contributions
Yes if well supervised. Decks can be slippery when wet. A nice day out.
Brunel's SS Great Britain (Bristol) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go
Frequently Asked Questions about Brunel's SS Great Britain
- Brunel's SS Great Britain is open:
- Sun - Sat 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
- We recommend booking Brunel's SS Great Britain tours ahead of time to secure your spot. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. See all 5 Brunel's SS Great Britain tours on Tripadvisor
- According to Tripadvisor travelers, these are the best ways to experience Brunel's SS Great Britain:
- Guided Walking Tour Suspension Bridge Clifton Splendour & City. (From $25.33)
- Bristol Harbourside Self-Guided Walking Tour (From $11.39)
- Bristol Self Guided Audio Walking Tour (self distanced) (From $6.95)
- Bristol’s Darkest Secrets Tour (From $16.46)
- Brunel Guided Tour in Bristol (From $22.16)
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- Restaurants near Brunel's SS Great Britain:
- (0.13 mi) Chai Shai Kitchen
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