UK Tourist Attractions

Cruise holidays are growing in popularity among Britons, as more and more people are finding budget airline flights to be more trouble than they are worth – literally. Statistics show that the number of holidaymakers departing on cruise ships from ports around the UK grew by nearly 25 per cent last year, with around 40 per cent of all cruises booked leaving from British harbors. Known as ex-Britain cruising, these numbers are only set to grow, especially as three ex-Britain cruise ships are due to be launched by British company Cruise & Maritime next year.

One source within the cruise industry believes that the number of ex-Britain cruises will grow in relation to the number of cruises that are booked to depart from overseas, i.e. fly-cruising. It is expected that as the industry grows, more companies will take their ships to more obscure ports around the UK, as demand for holidays dictates departure points. P&O cruises believe the main thing that holidaymakers want is convenience, and will have 128 ships leaving from Southampton.

Currently, those considering a cruise are most likely to book to go from major UK ports such as Dover, Southampton and Portsmouth, all of which are easily accessible via main roads and rail services. For those who don’t have their own transport, and prefer not to travel by train, P&O are able to offer their cruise customers coach transfers, with pick up and drop off points in 50 different locations around the country. So, the first thing to decide is where you would like to go, and how long you would like your trip to last. The world is most certainly your oyster.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel is one of Britain's most famous sons and as an engineer he is responsible for the creation of the Great Western Railway as well as numerous important tunnels and bridges including the Thames Tunnel and the Clifton Suspension Bridge.

However, Brunel also created a number of famous steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship – the SS Great Britain – which can be seen moored in Bristol's dry dock.

Bristol has many tourist attractions and the SS Great Britain attracts its fair share of visitors onto its decks. First launched in 1843, the SS Great Britain was the largest vessel of its time and the first to incorporate iron construction with a screw propeller into a single ocean-faring ship.

The SS Great Britain was constructed in Bristol's dry dock – where it resides today – and was launched in 1843. Originally designed to have a wooden hull, Brunel redrafted plans and adopted an iron hull after associates travelled to Antwerp and back aboard an iron hulled vessel.

SS Great Britain's original propulsion was to be via paddlewheels but after an encounter with the SS Archimedes – the world's first screw-propelled steamship, Brunel studied and developed the technology for use on the SS Great Britain. This led to the scrapping of paddlewheel propulsion for the ship, and despite the ship already being well into construction screw-propulsion was incorporated into the final design.

Despite launching in 1843, SS Great Britain wasn't completed until 1845 due to a series of delays caused by the constant redesigns and remained in Bristol harbour until 1844, as the redesigns had made SS Great Britain too large to pass through Bristol harbour's lock gates. After modifications the ship eventually took to sea in the following year.

As a passenger liner the SS Great Britain traversed a route between Britain and the United States and latterly between Britain and Australia before later becoming a cargo ship. After a fire on board in 1886 caused a navigational error, the SS Great Britain landed at Port Stanley in the Falkland Isles where it was found to be damaged beyond repair. It became a storage hulk for coal before being scuttled and abandoned in 1937.

In 1970, following numerous sizeable donations a salvage crew took the SS Great Britain back to Britain and Bristol dry dock where it all began.

Today, the SS Great Britain is a popular tourist attraction for visitors to Bristol where the sights, sounds and smells of life on board the vessel during its service years can be experienced and the ship's full history and that of its creator can be discovered.

Such is the popularity of the SS Great Britain as a tourist attraction that guests from numerous hotels in Bristol visit on a regular basis thanks in part to its free unlimited visits for a year following visitors' initial ticket purchase. Most hotels will also carry tourist information leaflets detailing not only the SS Great Britain but also other tourist attractions in and around the city.