When you want a cultural centre, build your own

The city of Bristol in the UK was once a major shipping and industrial centre, but it is now more known for culture, museums and the arts. There’s one part of town that has had more to do with that than any other.

A completely artificial island built in the early 19th century to split the River Avon and create a system of docks and quays, Spike Island was for a long time a precinct of shipping and trade. But post WWII, as the world changed, these were phased out and it started on the route to be being a cultural and living centre. Attractions of the area include Spike Island Artspace, a collective of artists' studios located in a former tea-packing factory, M Shed, the museum of Bristol, Brunel's SS Great Britain, preserved in the dry dock in which she was built and CREATE Centre, also in B Bond Warehouse, an ecological art exhibition and Ecohome.

You can even see surprise attractions such as Banksy’s The Girl With a Pierced Eardrum street art installation. that has been there since 2014 and sits behind an anonymous building in the area.