In 1970 my human saw the SS Great Britain being towed back to Bristol to the Great Western Dockyard, 127 years after first being launched from the same place. Over the last 50 years the ship has been restored; my human’s father-in-law assisted in the making of the replica engines. It is now a very interesting place to visit.

Passengers used to arrive at the dock by horse drawn carriage before boarding the ship.

I had a look around the dock yard and didn’t drink any dock water!

The dockyard is set up as a museum with lots of interesting old things that would have been around when the SS Great Britain was in use.

I didn’t get too close to the gunpowder.

There are piles of very very thick rope which make excellent hiding holes for small bears.

The ship used to carry up to 750 passengers.

I posed for a selfie in front of the bow.

Before going onboard we briefly visited the museum, we didn’t have enough time to look at everything. The tickets are valid for a year so the humans intend visiting again when they have more time to look at everything. There was time for me to try on a splendid hat similar to the type worn by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the engineer who designed the SS Great Britain.

I think I look rather dapper.

On boarding the ship I posed next to a warning sign then was blown over by the wind. That happens to me quite often as I was designed to sit not stand.

It was wonderful to view the harbourside from the deck of the ship, usually I am down low in the water in the kayak or walking along footpaths around the harbour.

A ship seems like a very odd sort of place to find a cow, but the voyages often took several weeks and the only way to get fresh milk was from live cows.

They also carried pigs, whose destiny was probably to be pork chops and pies. Poor pigs.

I spotted a hen too, whose duties would have been laying eggs. It must have been hard for the animals (and the people) when the sea was very rough.

I am glad I am not a cow

They took geese on board too.

Some parts of the ship were only accessible to people with first class tickets.

The steering wheel at the stern is much to big for a small Bear.

The ship’s bell is quite large too.

I wanted to see the cabins below so set off down the stairs to the lower decks.

In the first cabin I looked in the ship’s captain and another sailor were studying some navigation charts.

Further along the corridor I was able to go into a cabin. The bunk beds were very narrow, humans must have been much thinner 150 years ago.

I had a quick nap to try out the bed. It was just the right size for me.

Next I found a cabin with a barber working inside giving a man a shave.

The SS Great Britain has been restored so modern day humans can see what it was like on a ship in the 19th century. There are models of people doing things, sounds and smells to make it all seem almost real.

In the middle of all the upper deck cabins there is a large open space where the voyagers could walk about and socialise.

The ship’s doctor was busy in his surgery with a chap who had injured his arm.

The medicines used to treat illnesses were somewhat different to those used today.

In the dining salon I said ‘Hello’ to a first class passenger waiting for dinner to be served.

The first class passengers ate in style!

I went down another flight of stairs where I found the engine room. This is a replica of the flywheel that would have driven the propeller. This would have been powered by coal.

The toilet seemed quite comfy!

Probably only senior crew members and first class passengers would have used the bath.

Some military men were chatting in a cabin on the lower deck

In the bakery the bread looked very tasty.

Yum yum yum…

The food taken on board had to last for weeks, and they didn’t have fridges to help preserve it.

I asked the cook in the kitchen what he was cooking.

Fish head soup for the people travelling in Steerage who had the cheapest tickets.

Dessert on a silver tray destined for the first class passengers upstairs.

I was taken by surprise to see rats running around in the cupboards!

The amount of washing up must have been huge, and the kitchen workers didn’t have Marigold gloves to protect their hands.

This is the counter where the food was served up.

The Steerage passengers slept in bunks in corridors

I wasn’t tempted to try the food!

I heard a baby crying. A woman had just given birth in one of the cabins.

In the storeroom more rather unappetizing food.

You can go down underneath the ship to see the rudder. It is all kept in a controlled atmosphere to prevent the hull from rusting.

It must have taken a lot of coal to produce the steam to turn the enormous propeller.

On the way out I posed for a photo with a gang of Brunel Bears in the shop.

I really enjoyed my visit, there is lots to see and I think human children would enjoy the ship too. Hoping the humans will take me along when they go again!

For more information see https://www.ssgreatbritain.org/

Horace the Alresford Bear 29/5/23