Pilgrimage to Filton

[JLucy]

In a very roundabout route to the Concours on Sunday I will be stopping off at Filton tomorrow, Friday. I understand tours of the factory are not possible, which is a pity but understandable. Looking on Google Earth it seems that the factory is now sited in an anonymous industrial estate, and presumably is not on the same site as the original 30's-looking building as appears in some old photos of early Bristol Cars times.

Are there any interesting areas with a Bristol Cars history accessible in Filton?

James

[Kevin H]

James,

I don't know the answer to your question, but I think it is a great shame that they don't allow factory visits/tours. I'm aware of the excuse that they do defence work there but I find that hard to believe nowadays. Even if it were true I'm sure the whole factory isn't taken up with defence activity!

Kevin

[Markus Berzborn]

I think the factory is simply not in a condition which befits such expensive cars, from the point of view of most people today.
I presume it just looks like a large manufacturing workshop.
In fact, from outside it does.

Regards,
Markus

[seanmcs]

According to one informant, if you just turn up, and act polite,
maybe you can get in a peek.

Sean

[408Berlin]

Last year I tried to make a visit to the factory and I also received the answer that visits are not possible. I guess we would be all shocked how poor everything looks like - I guess its not looking clean and nice like some Ferrari garage - I guess it looks more like a 3rd class workshop somewhere in the suburbs...!! If I would manage the factory I would do much more concerning customer relations......Hans-Jörg

[browning l]

Originally Posted by seanmcs

According to one informant, if you just turn up, and act polite,
maybe you can get in a peek.

Sean

I certainly would not count on this being the case.

We picked up a renewed '79 603 there last October (see photo here Bristol Cars - Owners and Enthusiasts Forum - browning l's Album: Bristols seen, Owners met - 13-16 October 08), and, from the very first conversation with Toby Silverton before I ever met him in London, throughout the car selection and buying process, and on through the work and pickup process, he made it very clear that no tours were possible. I had no reason nor right to argue the point.

The only interior space we saw was in the room where the completed car awaited us, and a brief trip into an office area to pick up some documents.

Why run the risk of being turned away disappointed, when a simple phone call to 0117 979 9444 will provide you with an answer?

As for the reasons for no tours, that's really Toby's business, isn't it? I don't see where we have the right to question how he runs his business.

[Peter.Kent]

I've been there (collecting an unwieldy replacement bonnet skin). There is not much to see. There is a big spares store, a paint shop, and some very shabby offices. It's a bit of a bind getting there and I wouldn't go out of my way. I have copied this from the website: "Please note that, regrettably, a tour of the factory itself is not possible as the new car design, development and military contracts areas are all open plan and part of the general production areas. One day we hope to have premises that will allow customers to see the coachbuilt quality of Bristols during construction and renovation."

[jimfoz]

You may recall the robbery they had there a couple of years ago when a lot of the heavy machinery was stolen. The local BBC news did a small report and a video was posted on the internet. It showed some of the factory areas - not very exciting and was like any dingy backstreet garage albeit with expensive cars being hand built.
I can understand why they don't show people around as it won't meet some people's expectations, especially when you compare it to the sterile production facilities at Rolls Royce etc.

From Google Earth it does look like a warehouse - I think a cherry red Blenheim is parked next to a disabled parking space outside. What ever happened to those low 30's buildings you used to see pictures of new 412's and 603's parked outside - it looked like it needed a lick of paint in those 1970's photos? Have they relocated entirely to this warehouse?

[Ashley James]

We manufacturer hi fi and sell it all over the world, it's
comparatively expensive, it has a devoted following and owners club
as does Bristol Cars, which means that we too, get lots of enquiries
from people wishing to visit, however we're very busy and it's not
always convenient to see people, so we have to turn most away.
Perhaps it's the same for BCL.

Ash

[browning l]

Originally Posted by jimfoz

You may recall the robbery they had there a couple of years ago when a lot of the heavy machinery was stolen.

Not heavy machinery stolen, as reported, but some dies for stamping parts from sheet metal according to Toby when I asked him about it...

Toby told me they never could get the news people to understand the difference.

[browning l]

Originally Posted by Ashley James

We manufacturer hi fi and sell it all over the world, it's
comparatively expensive, it has a devoted following and owners club
as does Bristol Cars, which means that we too, get lots of enquiries
from people wishing to visit, however we're very busy and it's not
always convenient to see people, so we have to turn most away.
Perhaps it's the same for BCL.

Ash

Facilities visits are always time-consumming for staff, and consequently expensive.

Here in Kentucky, most of the area's horse farms where mares are bred and foaled, and stallions stand, thoroughbred horse farm tours are almost none-existent now, primarily for this reason. Visitors demand the tour be led by a knowledgable person; such persons usually have a heavy load of responsibilities to carry out.

In our manufacturing business, we had tours, but exclusively for customers, not for the general public.

Each business has to set its own standards.

We visited the RR-Bentley Crewe plant in the early 2000s. In essence, all we saw was some of the paint line and some assembly...no true manufacturing.

[Markus Berzborn]

Originally Posted by Ashley James

We manufacturer hi fi and sell it all over the world, it's comparatively expensive,

Good example.
Let's take Kondo or other small manufacturers of very expensive hifi equipment - the premises are nothing but workshops stuffed with measuring devices where a few people are busy soldering components.
And after all - why should it be anything more?

Regards,
Markus

[JLucy]

Sorry, didn't mean to start a controversy about whether the factory is open
to tours - I just read what it said on the BCL website and accepted that it
wasn't. As it says on the website, it sounds like it is something they want
to make possible one day.

I am more interested in whether any of the Bristol history at Filton is
visible. I'm guessing the original premises are somewhere on the BAC site,
to which I will not get access I'm sure.

It sounds like my visit to Filton will be brief. Many years ago I looked
around the manufacturing area for Concorde, another magnificent product of
Filton!

James

[Markus Berzborn]

A question to local residents: Does the current location of the factory belong to Filton at all or rather to Patchway? Or is Patchway a part of Filton?

Regards,
Markus

[browning l]

Originally Posted by Markus Berzborn

A question to local residents: Does the current location of the factory belong to Filton at all or rather to Patchway? Or is Patchway a part of Filton?

Regards,
Markus

It is actually located in Patchway, north of Filton, and just east of the A38.

Take a look at this.

Bristol Cars Filton UK - Google Search

[TLF799R]

Originally Posted by Kevin Howard

James,

I don't know the answer to your question, but I think it is a great shame that they don't allow factory visits/tours. I'm aware of the excuse that they do defence work there but I find that hard to believe nowadays. Even if it were true I'm sure the whole factory isn't taken up with defence activity!

Kevin

I heard rumours that very small orange people had been seen through a half open door ...

And have you ever noticed that Toby has a secret liking for wearing top hats???

Perhaps they will run a competition to tour the factory - all you have to do is find a golden ticket in the glove compartment of your new Bristol...

Philippa

[Richard]

Facilities visits are always time-consumming for staff, and consequently expensive.

On a totally different scale to BCL, at Airbus in Hamburg which is where I used to work (after my time in Filton), works tours have been outsourced to a local travel company. They run about 8 tours per day of 20 people each in either English or German. Guides are retired Airbus employees ( I am one) and in a 2.5hr tour by foot you are shown a short introductory film and then given a tour around the assembly line for Single aisle aircraft (A320 family) fuselages and the final assembly line. At present the A380 is not include in this but maybe at a later date will be.
We have many groups of aeronautical enthusiasts visiting from the UK and most are agreed that this is one of the best visits to a large aircraft assembly plant available.

Sorry that was rather off topic.
As far as visits to BCL are concerned I can fully understand that if the company is or was involved in contract work for the MOD then there will be requirements to provide a restricted area into which only authorised people are allowed. So the reluctance to show visitors around is fully understandable.
The other question was about the original location of BCL. This was on the opposite of the A38 road to Filton House, a site which is now occupied by shops etc. I believe that none of the original buildings still exist but am open to correction.

Regards
Richard

[Peter.Kent]

Having been there, I was dissapointed not to recognise it on Google. P

[JLucy]

Thanks to all those who replied.

As it turned out, I got there on Friday afternoon to find the factory closed
- they don't work on Friday afternoons apparently.

Not long after my visit a power steering hose burst on my Beaufighter - all
the full lock work in a multi-storey car park finished it off I think. This
made it rather a shame the factory wasn't open!

It's a pity that the original offices are no longer in existence. I would
have liked a photo of my car in the place so many publicity photos were
taken. I'd like to think it was progress, but replacement by a row of shops
doesn't sound like progress to me.

The best view of the factory that I could find is on Microsoft (aka Bing)
maps:

http://www.bing.com/maps/default.asp...8889~-2.589077
&style=h&lvl=17&tilt=-39.8228919304618&dir=88.6377400339028&alt=907.4128 9945
0399&cam=51.529181~-2.603212&scene=42837400&phx=-0.2384424188792&phy=-0.1185
95158678623&phscl=6.95703125&where1=BS34%205TB&enc Type=1

It takes a little while to load but is much better than Google Earth for
this area. The blue gates to the lower left of the picture form the main
entrance and have a small sign next to them saying 'Bristol Cars'.

James