United Kingdom observation tower
Clifton Observatory, Bristol
You can see 72 km from here, looking north.
Calculating the panorama…
Drag to turn around. The relief is drawn 2.2 times taller so the ridges can be read; far ridges are paler, as in the real air.
The view
Up to 72 km away.
Calculated on the relief one degree at a time, up to 250 km, with the curvature of the Earth and the refraction of the air: what stands above the horizon from here.
Our own rating, from the relief and the climate only: open horizon (35 points), how far you see (25), sea and named peaks in view (20) and clear months (20).
- 72 kmFarthest ridgelooking north
- 100%Open horizonof the circle where the horizon is below your eyes
- 105Peaks in viewnamed summits that rise above the relief in front
- 93 mAltitudeabove the sea, at the highest point of the viewpoint
The 105 peaks you can name from here
From west to east as you turn around: height, distance and direction. Each one links to its guide on Peakyas, our mountain atlas.
From the relief only: buildings, trees and haze are not in the model. On a hazy day you see much less; 250 km is the limit of our calculation.
The sun
The best sunsets are from April to May, in July and in September.
When the sun really disappears from this viewpoint — behind the relief or into the sea — and in which direction, on the 15th of each month, in local time.
- Jansouth-west12 min before the sea-level sunset20%
- Febwest10 min before the sea-level sunset21%
- Marwest8 min before the sea-level sunset25%
- Aprwest6 min before the sea-level sunset30%
- Maynorth-west8 min before the sea-level sunset30%
- Junnorth-west10 min before the sea-level sunset29%
- Julnorth-west10 min before the sea-level sunset30%
- Augnorth-west6 min before the sea-level sunset27%
- Sepwest6 min before the sea-level sunset30%
- Octwest8 min before the sea-level sunset24%
- Novsouth-west10 min before the sea-level sunset19%
- Decsouth-west10 min before the sea-level sunset18%
- Time: when the sun goes behind the horizon you see from here.
- Minutes: how much earlier the relief hides the sun.
- %: share of clear sky that month (NASA, 2001–2020).
The highlighted months are the clearest. Golden hour starts about an hour before.
The place
Clifton Observatory, Bristol.
Observatory in Bristol, England
Clifton Observatory, Bristol is an observation tower in United Kingdom, 93 m above the sea.
On a clear day the farthest ridge you can see is 72 km away, looking north.
105 named peaks rise above the relief in front; the most prominent is Pen y Fan (886 m), 73 km away.
The horizon is open, below your eyes, over 100% of the circle.
The skies are clearest from April to May, in July and in September.
Get there and stay
- Going upCheck the opening hours before you go: towers and decks close in bad weather.Official site↗
- Enneyweverscampsite · 4.1 km · 11 within 10 km
- 3 Berkeley Square Guesthouseplace to stay · 1.4 km · 124 within 10 km
- Bristolnearest town · 2.1 km in a straight linePlaces to stay in BristolBooking.com · sponsored link↗
- Bristol Airport (BRS)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 10 km in a straight lineCar hire at BRS airport (Bristol)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided tour, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The viewpoint and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the viewpoint, with what OpenStreetMap shows nearby.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- 51other viewpoints within 5 kmGoram's Chair, Grotto and 49 more
- 4named peaks within 5 kmBrandon Hill, Coombe Hill, Ashton Hill and 1 more
- 12marked trails within 3 kmMonarch's Way, Frome Valley Walkway, Samaritans Way South West and 9 more
- 45shelters and huts within 5 km
- 568car parks within 3 km
- 5visitor centres within 5 kmAshton Court Visitor Centre, General Enquiries, Station Reception and 2 more
- 621restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- 11campsites within 10 kmEnneywevers, Bristol View Glamping, Brockmead Scout Camp Site and 8 more
- 124places to stay within 10 km3 Berkeley Square Guesthouse, Ibis Bristol Centre, Rock N Bowl Hostel and 121 more
- cable car and funicular stations within 5 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
In our other atlases
What you see from Clifton Observatory, Bristol, and what is near.
Everything around this viewpoint — mountains, water, forests, birds, caves and the night sky — in the family's atlases.
Peakyas28 mountains within 25 km
Lakeyas4 lakes within 15 km
Forestyas5 forests and trees within 15 km
Canyonyas2 canyons within 20 km
Cavernyas10 caves within 20 km
Riveryasthe river nearbyFigures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap, GBIF). Links open when each site is online.
Photographs
The view, as people saw it.
Other viewpoints nearby.
Clifton Observatory, Bristol
United Kingdom
- 62Viewyas Score
- 72 kmFarthest ridge
- 105Peaks in view
- 93 mAltitude
Cabot Tower
United Kingdom · 1 km
- 62Viewyas Score
- 71 kmFarthest ridge
- 76Peaks in view
- 70 mAltitude
Beckford's Tower and Museum
United Kingdom · 18 km
- 66Viewyas Score
- 94 kmFarthest ridge
- 207Peaks in view
- 233 mAltitude
Aust Cliff
United Kingdom · 16 km
- 66Viewyas Score
- 98 kmFarthest ridge
- 27Peaks in view
- 25 mAltitude
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q7075453) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Sun | J. Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms |
| Peaks in view | Peakyas (Wikidata, CC0) |
| Panorama and altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-90 / GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Clouds | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Sister atlases | Peakyas, Islandyas, Lakeyas, Forestyas, Canyonyas, Cavernyas, Riveryas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit caves
Every cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Visit 
dark skies
Where the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Visit 
viewpoints
Every viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.You are here
birdwatching
Every bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.Visit forests
Every forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Visit