Thanks everyone for your input.
While I agree that Bath is lovely, and each of us has been to Bath in the past, on this particular day Bristol is where we have to be, so we are looking forward to exploring a place we might not otherwise have explored. 
All of these items looks interesting, and thanks in particular to **Stealth_Bragg **for the suggested itinerary that incorporates some of the suggestions in the thread.
Quick question - is Temple Meads something other than the train station?
I am currently composing a potential list of things to see, eat, drink, do, mapped as a walking itinerary Stay tuned so you can judge my choices!
Bristol has what may be the steepest street in the world! (Certainly steeper than that pretender in New Zealand.)
So, if you like useless trivia, go there. 
Sorry, yes Temple Meads is the train station. The ferry ride there and back is nice though taking you past the old Courage brewery site amongst other things.
There is an old and a new station at Temple Meads, the old one is a Brunel era “wide gauge” job and they used to run markets and fairs there but it’s just a car park now unfortunately.
I hope you see balloons!
Ooo, me too. Is Bristol known for ballooning?
I work in Bristol, lived there for a few years and currently reside in a nearby town. Some excellent suggestions already, I’ll just comment on a few posts.
It is indeed zider country, but you’ll find plenty of good real ale (and lager from Europe and round the world) as well. In addition to the pubs already mentioned there is The Three Tuns (a very short walk from the cathedral), The Ram (Park Street), The White Lion (Park Street), The Albion (Clifton) and many, many more - nicest of these is probably the first one, the others cater more for the student crowd but the beer was good in all of them last time I went.
Agreed from what I’ve heard, though I’ve never been - be aware though that it is a 20 minute drive from the centre of Bristol (there are buses as well which will take more like 30 minutes and are probably about that frequent as well) so it’s more of a day trip than go there for a couple of hours - you’re better off with some of the other suggestions based on your timescale, I think.
Not eaten at the Corrie Tap but their cider is indeed excellent, it’s called “Exhibition” and legend has it that it is so strong (rumoured to be 7.5%) that they’re not allowed to sell it by the pint, it comes in halves. You can always buy 2, though :). From experience I doubt it’s quite as strong as claimed (though it’s certainly possible), but it certainly packs a punch and you won’t want more than a pint of it at lunchtime if you plan on perambulating in a straight line the same afternoon.
I believe the body was found near Failand which is a few miles out of town, the other side of the suspension bridge from the city. So not quite the same as the woods and parkland referred to, which is most likely The Downs.
There was a recent (somewhat fictionalised) TV drama about the libelled ex-teacher Christopher Jefferies, he did indeed successfully sue a number of newspapers for libel and obtained substantial damages - good for him. Since then he has returned to relative obscurity, no doubt to his relief.
Rather. It’s the home of Cameron Balloons, which according them is the world’s largest hot-air balloon manufacturer. There is an annual balloon fiesta but it’s held in August so you’ll miss that. However, if the weather is clear and not too windy there is a very good chance you’ll see one or two drift over the city if you keep a lookout for them.
Other than the above, Stealth_Bragg suggests a great itinerary but it looks to me like lunch needs to be further up the list, if you agree then you could do worse than The Bristol Ram or the The Three Tuns mentioned above, both have limited but well-done menus based around gourmet burger-type things. Alternatively there are several cafes on Park Street, or places nearer the water on the non-S.S. Great Britain side - there’s not much on the other side apart from the ship itself. I work in that area of the city so feel free to ask if you have any more questions.
To me, that isn’t bad at all, you arrange to catch a bus to be there at opening, spend a few hours at the property, catch the bus, and are back in Bristol for lunch - but I live in a place where its half an hour to get anywhere to do anything interesting - and if I’m going to do things, I do them. Plus, I like old houses and it doesn’t look like there is tons to do in Bristol other than look at some scenery.
Another bristol resident dropping in…
If I were planning a day in Bristol, I would do something like this:
On Arrival, grab a taxi from the station and ask to be dropped in Clifton Village. Wander around the picturesque Regency streets with attractive shops and admire the very impressive 150 year old bridge across the dramatic gorge. The Albion is a lovely old pub ideal for a coffee, pint or lunch, depending on the time of day.
I would then wind my way by foot down the steep hilly streets and find myself at the SS Great Britain at Bristol Harbourside, another Brunel masterpiece and the largest ship afloat when it was built. From here you can wander along the harbourside, visiting the M Shed (a museum of Bristol industrial and social history) and the Arnolfini Gallery (a large modern art gallery on the quay). There are numerous pubs, old and new, in this area, including the old one you have already highlighted.
From here you can walk to the indoor market, St Nicks, and also visit the ‘arts’ quarter of Christmas steps, an ancient steep alley way which leads you to lots of arty and crafty shops at the top.
Walk, or taxi, back to the station and you’re done.
I’m starting to get the picture of how hilly Bristol is.
I like the idea of a taxi to the suspension bridge and walking back toward the city center. I had though the suspension bridge was further out from the center, but it’s only about 2 miles from the bridge to the SS Great Britain. I walk that far before breakfast every day. If it’s mostly downhill that’s nice too
Yep, really hilly! But it’s also a very compact city, with open countryside visible from many places.
The city centre itself isn’t very attractive - it was bombed to death during the war and unsympathetically redeveloped afterwards, but it has a fascinating history as a centre of industry, and trade with the new world (including slaves, it should be noted).
Blackbeard the pirate reputedly was born near the harbourside, and many of the old pubs claim to be smugglers’ dens from the same period. The traditional ‘ooh-arr’ pirate accent is Bristolian.
“I left my home in Bristol
With a sword and pistol”
Hilarious and catchy song from Horrible Histories about Blackbeard the Pirate:
Are you advising us to learn this song and sing it while in Bristol? 
Couple of significant historic religious sites if that takes your fancy…
The New Room, built by John Wesley, is the oldest Methodist building in the World. It’s sandwiched these days in the middle of a modern shopping mall.
St Mary Redcliffe, not far from Temple Meads Station is an 900 year old Gothic masterpiece, built by shipping merchants as a place to pray for the safe return of their cargos. Described by Elizabeth I as ‘the fairest, goodliest and most famous parish church in England’.
Only if you’re there on Talk Like a Pirate Day.
We need a pirate smillie on this board.
It is entirely downhill, given the bridge spans the gorge about 300ft above sea level, and the ship is, er, at sea level :). I would budget £15 for a taxi from Temple Meads to the bridge, it may be slightly less. A good alternative is the number 8 or 9 bus which is £1.50 each.
We’re back! We had a lovely day in Bristol. We mostly walked around, looked at the outside of things and stopped at pubs.
What we did:
Clifton Suspension Bridge
Ale & cider at the White Lion, and stared at the bridge from the terrace(though not the one mentioned by Dead Cat)
Ale & cider at Llandoger Trow
Ale & cider at the Hatchet Inn
Ale & cider at the Albion
Walked around in the area of SS Britain - so much busier than I was expecting based on Google Street view
The outside of St. Mary Redcliffe was very nice looking
St Nick’s Market for browsing and pies & mash at Pieminister
Walked around Clifton a bit
Saw some really nice street art / graffiti including a Banksy
Brandon Hill and feed the squirrels though they had no interest in our crisps because someone was leaving them peanuts
Cabot Tower (only one of our party went up - the rest are leery of heights and scary staircases)
Admired the outside of the Hippodrome
We regret that we saw no balloons
Glad you had a good time - I’m another Brizzle resident (seem to be a few of us), and think the city has a lot more fun and life to it than that dusty period-piece, Bath.
I used to do karaoke down The Hatchet - marvellous boozy times.
The hot-air balloons don’t come out much until summer really.