It was a mild morning as we again walked down to the restored quayside area this time to partake in the excellent interactive experience that has the SS Great Britain as its central theme.
The GB is a magnificent and beautifully restored (170 years old) Brunel designed ship kept in a temperature controlled dry dock.
It saw over100 years service and covered 1 million nautical miles before laying as a wreck for 30 years in the Falkland Islands
Its design for its time was outstanding with a thin plated iron hull and the ability to operate under power or sail !
In 1970 a salvage company returned her from the Falklands to Bristol to the cheer of thousands of locals.
The ship itself took many immigrants to a new life in Australia and in particular serviced Melbourne during the gold rush of the 1850`s.
A tour through the ship showed the stark difference in passage type with first class afforded a degree of comfort while steerage class were jammed in confined areas and beds about 1/3 the width of today's beds
We spent quality time with Angela and Simon before departing back to Honiton for a Sunday dinner with the family and a big game of cards with this time Rita taking home a brick load of 2P pieces !
Thx Angela and Simon for organising the weekend - we Luv Yuz !
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