Pirate walk

I had somewhat mixed feelings when I saw you’d voted to send me on a Pirate Walk (www.piratewalks.co.uk/) of Bristol for this month’s England’s little adventure. My previous encounter with a pirate - a school fancy dress party, a pushy 10 year old, and a bowl of jelly – had not ended well. Shiver me timbers, indeed! But as my train pulled into Bristol Temple Mead station on a gloriously sunny summer’s day and I noticed a jolly looking chap, complete with pirate hat and Jolly Roger flag, waiting by the ticket gate, I knew I had an interesting afternoon ahead of me.

Peter the Pirate is everything you would want in a pirate walk guide; passionate, jocular, chatty and above all incredibly knowledgeable about Bristol’s history. Used to commanding the attention of sizeable groups on his walks, on this particular day I had him all to myself. As we sauntered from the station to our first point of call it was clear, from all the smiles and greetings, Peter has become something of an institution around Bristol.

Setting sail

As a preamble to the pirate tour he took me to St Mary Redcliffe, an impressive Anglican church, part of which dates back to the 12th century. Situated close to the quayside, it was here that many a pirate would come to say a final prayer before setting sail on such potentially long and perilous voyages. Breathless with dates and facts about St Mary’s, it struck me that the appeal of Peter’s tours was his ability to tailor a walk to a particular audience. My history lesson at St Mary Redcliffe was most probably down to the fact that we’d met at the railway station and it was on our way to Redcliffe Wharf.

But on this particular day, Peter the Pirate had more pressing plans for me, for as we reached the wharf there was considerable activity amongst the cobblestones and boat sheds. The Island Trust was all set to launch its new Pilot Cutter, the Pegasus and a sizeable crowd had gathered. As we waited on the quayside for the ship to launch, Peter regaled me with more pirate tales of marauding pressgangs and the mercantile beginnings of Bristol’s sea and slave trade.

A-hoy there maties

With the ship’s launch delayed, we decided to explore some of the quayside’s surrounding landmarks - first up was the Hole in the Wall pub, or as it was known in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, The Spy-glass Inn! Much of the book is set in Bristol and you can still see the lookout post with its eyehole and chair that was used to keep an eye out for the military pressgangs which operated around the docks.

Several “A-hoy there maties” later (much to the delight of some passing cub scouts) and we were off again, Peter shouting out nuggets of trivia, whilst pointing out various important landmarks, pirate flag trailing behind. Back on the wharf he drew my attention to some brightly coloured houses overlooking the harbour, more often than not the abodes of ships’ captains, whose inclination was to keep a close eye on their ships, wares and sailors. Though it might not be the thriving, bustling port of the 15th century, when John Cabot sailed his ship, the Matthew, to Newfoundland in 1497, you’ll still see a strong community of boat owners based around Bristol’s wharfs and quayside.

From Blackbeard's lair to America

After the Pilot Cutter launched, we fell into conversation with some of the local boat owners, who all knew Peter, and listening to their stories about Bristol gave me a real insight into its seafaring history. But we couldn’t stay long as we had an appointment at Blackbeard’s house up on the hill overlooking the harbour. As Peter the Pirate weaved his stories, we visited the house rumoured to be the Bristol address of pirate history’s most famous son. One of the most striking aspects of his walking tours is the sheer amount of information you absorb, from how the ships were loaded and the trade routes were established to why Bristol is known as “the Birthplace of America”! Brought to life as only true storytellers can manage, this is no dry and dusty history tour, but a couple of hours of intriguing and educational drama, in part due to the nature of the story, but largely down to Peter's sheer exuberance and personality.

So there it was: a remarkable city with a fascinating history, of which Peter the Pirate’s tales seem to just scratch the surface. As I made my way back to the station my head was spinning with the names of trade vessels and ship captains, of pirates and their secrets, and how Bristol had become the pirate capital of England all those years ago. Forget about Pirates of the Caribbean, for the real story and a great day out, take a pirate walk with Pirate Peter (www.piratewalks.co.uk/)!

Many thanks to Peter Martin (aka Pirate Peter) for my guided Pirate Walk.

To book a Pirate Walk contact Pirate Peter at his website or call 07950 566 483

Find out more about Pirate Walks around Bristol.

Discover where else you sent Pete on England's little adventures!