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New railway opened on 18 April 1867. This is the first train that came to Portishead Future train Clifton Suspension Bridge High Street in 1890 Battery Point lighthouse and the Portishead Marine Lake which was dug out in 1910 Boy on a tricycle, from 1890 photograph The last train-diesel railcar No. W28W left Portishead old station on 4 January 1954 The training ship Formidable arrived in Portishead in 1869. It was to become The Naval Training School for poor boys from deprived areas of Bristol. 1960 mini car 1950s buses View of Portishead Pier in 1915 and the rail track serving the pier station The old station The station built on the High Street at the bottom of Cabstand. The last passenger train ran on 5 September 1964 View of road traffic from Sheepway footbridge Portishead Radio Station was erected in 1927, the British station for the worldwide maritime long-range ship to shore message transmission service. 2000 onwards, Portishead Quays Marina Future Portishead railway station Weston Big Wood, one of North Somerset’s largest ancient woodlands, dates back to the last Ice Age Gordano Valley buzzard 1909, a horse carriage with passengers on Portishead High Street Portishead dock and Portishead power station begun in 1937, demolished in 1992 Canada geese migrating along the Severn estuary 100 year old coastal footpath bridge The Royal Hotel which was close to the pier and railway for travellers who needed overnight accommodation The Black Nore Point lighthouse

Please hover your cursor slowly around the mural to reveal information about some of the amazing detail Aili has incorporated. (This feature does not currently work with tablets and touch screens).

About the artist:

Aili Purdy was trained in traditional Chinese art in Beijing. She came to the UK in 2000, and currently lives in Portishead, where she founded the Oriental Art Studio, dedicated to making art accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds. Aili teaches Mandarin Chinese and art in various schools, colleges and universities in Bristol and North Somerset.


This mural, commissioned by the Pure Offices and Portishead Railway Group as part of a campaign to reinstate the Portishead to Bristol railway line, draws on two of her main interests. Inspiration for this form of painting began with the rock paintings and murals she visited in China and Tibet.


This eventually led her to create large murals here in two local schools. The other interest developed in her work as a producer of TV documentaries for Sichuan China TV dealing with the education of children.


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The S.S. Great Western passing Portishead on her voyage to New York 8 April 1838 from Oil painting by J. Walters. Copyright © 2012 Aili Purdy