Copyright: Jurgen Brauer, Augusta, Georgia, USA

An annual academic conference, usually held in North London, was held this year in Bristol, UK.  The River Avon flows through Bristol. The improbably named engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel built a fantastic suspension bridge across the river.  It was completed in 1864. 

The bridge towers 245 feet (75 meters) above water level. No wonder the Samaritans care. Any fall would be deadly. 

The suspension works are massive. Each of the bolts on the tresses is about the size of a human head.

A view from above to the river Avon down below.

A view from across the gorge overlooking typical English country side.

Even academics enjoy relaxation and a glass of post-conference beer.

I arrived at the conference site half a day early and took the opportunity to visit the Bristol Zoo and Gardens.  Small in scale but well designed, I spent a pleasant few hours walking the grounds. Above, the pitcher plant, a meat-eating species that traps insects in the pitcher, dissolves them, and absorbs the nutrients.

A pelican.

A silverback of the western lowland gorilla species (from West Africa). In fact, the Bristol Zoo has an ongoing convservation partnership program with counterparts in Cameroon). This silverback is described as very gentle, but to me he seemed a bit depressed and lonely and entirely out of place.

This sizeable bird stands on an even more sizeable and sturdy leaf.

The gardens were in full bloom.

A leaf insect photographed from its underside.

A handful of spider, literally.

Lovely grounds and garden.

A prairie dog.

A stork.

A seal.