People will have the opportunity to find out just what happens when they visit the dentist for a filling. On Wednesday 6 October a live demonstration with the ‘drill ’ takes place at Bristol University’s new Clinical Skills Laboratory as part of the new University Autumn Tours Programme. The ‘patient’ will be a training simulator, a life-like head and mouth, that the Dental School uses to train future dentists. The state-of-the art laboratory was opened in March this year and is the most up-to-date of its kind in the country. The tour costs £4.
One of the University’s most popular visitor venues is also opening to the public this autumn. On Saturday 11 September, Burwalls House, the gothic red-brick building at the top of Avon Gorge, will be open for a guided tour to explore the long history of the site. Visitors will see some of the remnants of banks and ditches dating from 150 BC when an Iron Age fort stood close to the Leigh Woods side of the Suspension Bridge. You will also be brought up-to-date on the history of the present house, built in 1872, now the Burwalls Residential Centre for Continuing Education. The tour, costing £7.50, will end with a cream tea.
The programme also includes an evening tour of the Botanic Garden. The tour, on Saturday 11 September, costs £3.50.
Joan Lewis, University Tours Organiser, said: “Most people know that the Botanic Garden at Leigh Woods is relocating, so we are particularly pleased to offer people an opportunity of enjoying this lovely resource while it is still at this site.”
Map-lovers will be interested to see the wealth of topographical material held in the Special Collections of the University’s Library, while the literary-minded can indulge their passion over two walks that cover Bristol’s literary heritage. For Jurassic Park fans there will be a talk and a tour about the University’s latest research on thecodontosaurus antiquus, or the ‘Bristol Dinosaur’, and for those who remember Bristol during World War II there will be a talk about the American presence in Bristol, held at The Holmes, where General Omar Bradley finalised his D-Day plans.
Other popular tours in the new programme include: the Oxbridge look-alike, Wills Hall in Stoke Bishop; Goldney Gardens and Grotto; Clifton Hill House; Old Baptist College; Royal Fort House; Will Memorial Building; Victoria Rooms; the Theatre Collection; Churchill Arboretum, and a walk covering the work of Bristol’s great architect, Sir George Oatley.
Places on the tours must be booked and paid for in advance.
Ways to book:
- Contact Joan Lewis, Tours Co-ordinator at joan.lewis@bristol.ac.uk
- or fill out the application form in the University’s Autumn Tours brochure
- or visit the University website and download an application form
Copies of the Autumn Tours Programme brochure can also be obtained by calling 0117 928 7157.
The Tours Programme is arranged by the University of Bristol’s Public Programmes Office whose main aim is to strengthen the links between the University and the people of Bristol and to increase the University’s capacity for local engagement.