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North and west of the Wills Tower extends Clifton , once an aloof spa resort, now Bristol's most elegant quarter. Clifton Village, its select enclave, is centred on the Mall, close to Royal York Crescent , the longest Georgian crescent in the country, offering splendid views over the steep drop to the River Avon below. A few minutes' walk behind the Crescent is Bristol's most famous symbol, Clifton Suspension Bridge , 702ft long and poised 245ft above high water. Money was first put forward for a bridge to span the Avon Gorge by a Bristol wine merchant in 1753, though it was not until 1829 that a competition was held for a design, won by Isambard Brunel on a second round, and not until 1864 that the bridge was completed, five years after Brunel's death. Hampered by financial difficulties, the bridge never quite matched the engineer's original ambitious design, which included Egyptian-style towers topped by sphinxes on each end. You can see copies of his plans in the Visitor Centre on Sion Place (daily: Easter-Sept 10am-5pm; Oct-Easter Mon-Fri 11am-4pm, Sat & Sun 11am-5pm; GBP1.90), alongside the other designs proposed by Brunel's rivals, some of them frankly bizarre. The three rooms here give the full background on the various competitions and the vicissitudes which accompanied the bridge's construction. Just above the bridge in Clifton, a small Observatory sits on an arm of Clifton Downs overlooking the gorge, and contains a working camera obscura (daily: summer 11am-5.30pm; rest of year 11am-4pm; GBP1). You can also buy a ticket (GBP1) for the 190-foot tunnel leading from here to the "Giant's Cave" set in the cliffs overlooking the gorge; it housed a Roman Catholic chapel in the fifteenth century. Both attractions may be closed in bad weather. Adjoining the Downs is Bristol Zoo (daily: June-Aug 9am-5.30pm; Sept-May 9am-4.30pm; ; GBP8.40), renowned for its animal conservation work, and also featuring a collection of rare trees and shrubs.
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