Having negotiated the journey to Bristol’s harbour side, the first place explored was M Shed, a museum about Bristol’s history located in one of the old warehouses. This allowed us to learn about Bristol’s past connections, slavery, and migration, understanding how that has shaped Bristol in the present day. We then sat by the harbour side, taking in the sun glistening off the river, and completed a field sketch. Once finished, we carried out three final data collections before the end of the day (a derive, re-photography, local vs global) allowing us to have a little explore of Bristol. After some discussion of our findings, we headed back to the hotel to prepare for the following day.
The next morning, we walked to St Paul’s which was interesting to visit in real life as we had studied St Paul’s earlier in the year. As we navigated the area, we completed another three data collections (Place Check, Environmental Quality Survey, Mental Mapping: Fear of Crime) which also taught us how to collect our data on our phones to prepare us for our NEAs, using Survey123. We then headed to Cabot Circus, where we had a lunch stop whilst admiring this spectacular new shopping centre. Here we finished a further two data collections: I Spy a Stakeholder and Retail Value Survey. We compared our Retail Value Survey of Cabot Circus to The Galleries’ Retail Value Survey, which was an older shopping centre further into the City Centre. Unsurprisingly, Cabot Circus’ value was much higher, showing the effects of regeneration in the area. After a fun, but tiring day we went back to the hotel for our final night in Bristol.
Prior to leaving the trip, we each had individual chats with our Geography teachers about potential ideas for our NEAs. We explored the possible locations we were considering and data collections we could carry out, having rehearsed so many over the trip. Our fieldwork in Bristol brought to life our classroom learning and paved the way for future coursework and success in our Geography A Level studies.
Ellie W, Year 12
