UC Goes West: A Trip to Berkeley Castle and Gordano Open Days

University of California Alumni, Parents, Students and Friends:

Join us for the first ever weekend of celebration of the University of California in the West Country and Gordano Open Days 2019.

There are a number of activities taking place over the weekend; guests are welcome to join for the whole weekend, or just Saturday or Sunday.

Check out all the events below and choose your package on the tickets page.

Please note accommodation must be booked individually.

Saturday 21 September 2019: Welcome Dinner

UC Alumni in the West Country and UC Study Abroad Students at The Ivy Clifton Brasserie (7:00 PM - 9:00 PM)

The University of California and the University of Bristol have had a partnership since 2014. Approximately 68 students have participated in these programs. This dinner will celebrate this partnership and the vitality of the University of California alumni community in the Bath and Bristol area. It will be the first ever official University of California alumni event in the West Country. Open to all UC Alumni, Parents, and Students.

Sunday 22 September 2019: Gordano Open Days & Berkeley Castle Tour

Join us as we day-trip around Bristol with stops at Berkeley Chapel in Portbury and Berkeley Castle!

The bus will pick up from Bristol Temple Meads Stations at 11:00am and return to the station at 6:00pm.

First Stop – Visit to the Berkeley Chapel, St Mary’s Portbury (11:30 AM – 12:15 PM)

Portbury Church has had links with Bristol Cathedral since the 1150's when it was given the patronage of St Augustine's Abbey (later to become Bristol Cathedral) built in 1148 by Robert Fitzharding. Fitzharding was given the title Lord Berkeley by Henry II.

Second Stop – Lunch at The Windmill Inn, Portishead (12:15 PM – 1:30 PM)

The Windmill Inn has panoramic views across the Bristol Channel to Wales. With a wide range of Fullers beers and Sunday roast overlooking the Bristol Channel, The Windmill Inn is well known to locals and located in the heart of the Gordano Valley. 

Third (and final) Stop – Guided Tour of Berkeley Castle (2:30 – 4:30 pm)

Berkeley Castle’s origins date back to the 11th century, and is traditionally believed to have been the scene of the murder of King Edward II in 1327 that inspired Christopher Marlowe's tragedy Edward II published in 1594. The cell where Edward is supposed to have been imprisoned and murdered can still be seen. The castle is the third-oldest continuously occupied castle in England, after the royal fortresses of the Tower of London and Windsor Castle, and the oldest to be continuously owned and occupied by the same family.

Organisers: Alexandra Brodmann (UC Berkeley), William Shier (UC Los Angeles), Matthew Daines (UC Davis), Todd Shelley (UC Santa Barbara)