Underfall Yard is the base for the Harbour Master and the Docks Engineer, and is home to maritime businesses including boatbuilding, marine engineering and metal working. A walk around the harbour or a trip on the Bristol Ferry will drop you off close to the working yard (and a few lovely pubs).
As part of your visit you can see the old industrial pump room: large electric engines which powered Bristol’s hydraulic network for over 100 years. On a working day you will see the workshops still in use to mend and maintain the vessels and harbour: these are not open to the public but a walk around the harbour pathway gives you a real insight into the working life here on the water. There are interactive displays in the Power House Visitor centre, which give a fantastic lesson in how the water levels in floating harbour were maintained.
Did you know?
To stop the Harbour silting up three large pumps pressurise water and distribute it around the harbour; this same hydraulic network also supplied power to cranes, swing bridges, lock gates and sluices in the dock.