Show of Strength resume Bristol walking tours

Show of Strength resume Bristol walking tours

Posted on: 08 Oct 2020

The renowned theatre company are finally returning to the streets of Bristol.

 

Bristol's Show of Strength Theatre Company have officially restarted their programme of award-winning walking tours, inviting locals and visitors to learn the stories and secrets behind some of the city's most iconic areas.

 

Having been unable to operate during lockdown, the team have relaunched five tours for the Autumn season, with new safety guidelines in place to minimise risk to tour guides and attendees.

 

Outdoor theatre is certainly the way to go in 2020, and Show of Strength have been doing it for years - read on for a quick rundown of the walking tours operating between now and the end of the year.

 

 

Crime and Crinolines in Clifton | Every Wednesday at 18:00

 

One of Show of Strength's most eagerly-anticipated Autumn tours, Crime and Crinolines in Clifton reveals the extraordinary people behind the elegant facades in one of Bristol's most picturesque areas.

 

Discover fabulous buildings, scenery and stories, from a jilted bridesmaid's brush with death to a runaway Empress, the Georgian terrace that housed the Holy Grail and much, much more.

 

Starting and ending in the heart of the village, this one will alter your view of Clifton forever.

Show of Strength Autumn 2020.

Blood and Butchery in Bedminster | Every Thursday at 18:00

 

Home over the years to a man-eating lion, an infamous imposter, body snatchers, concrete coffins, hanging judges among many other things, truth really is stranger than fiction in Bedminster.

 

Commended as "the best walking tour I've ever done" by Weird Bristol, and "a gripping jaunt through the Bedminster underworld" by South Bristol Voice, Blood and Butchery expertly outlines the mysterious history of one of Bristol's oldest districts.

Show of Strength Autumn 2020.

Treasure Island Story Walk | Saturday 24 October - Sunday 1 November at 12:00 & 14:00

 

More than a few revered pirates passed through Bristol some time or another, and whether it was Long John Silver at his pub, The Spyglass, Squire Trelawney's stopover to work on The Hispaniola or the beginning of Jim Hawkins' well-documented adventures, many of them arrived in search of Captain Flint's buried treasure.

 

Full of pirates and buccaneers, hidden spy holes, dark secrets, dirty deeds and some of the worst pirate jokes you'll ever hear, Treasure Island takes things back to where they all began: the Bristol docks.

Show of Strength Autumn 2020.

Blood, Blackbeard and Buccaneers | Private bookings available

 

The relationship between Bristol and Edward Teach (better known as Blackbeard) is well documented, but few know the extent of the links between the city and one of the world's most famous and feared pirates.

 

Teach is thought to have been born in Bristol although no known records survive. New research in Jamaica has proved his Westcountry origins, however, and Blackbeard's emergence from the shadows couldn't be further from your average, rum-soaked Treasure Island tales.

 

Walk Blackbeard's old stomping ground as Blood, Blackbeard and Buccaneers separates the fact from the fiction, with a little help from Ted, the Bristol parrot.

Show of Strength Autumn 2020.

Shelley's Dark Secrets: Frankenstein in Bath | Private bookings available

 

It's the city's best-kept secret: much of Frankenstein, the book widely regarded as the first-ever piece of science fiction - was written in Bath. What even more people don't know, though, is that author Mary Shelley's life was every bit as gothic as the story she created. 

 

Frankenstein in Bath is a real-life tale of secrets and lies, suicides, concealed births, ruined reputations and false identities. Walk Mary Shelley's footsteps on the streets where she lived and wrote, and discover where - and why - she hid her dark secrets.

Show of Strength Autumn 2020.

Main Image: Zuleika Henry

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Article by:

Matt Robson

 

Editor - 365Bristol.com & LOUD Magazine
 

Matt is a Journalism graduate and writer, passionate about supporting Bristol music, art and independent business. Get in touch via email at matt@365bristol.com.