The stars come to this bijou bolthole tucked away from the bustle of the surrounding streets just because it is a discreet

The stars come to this bijou bolthole, tucked away from the bustle of the surrounding streets, just because it is a discreet address. In fact, it’s become a firm favourite of the big studios’ PAs – low-profile yet sumptuous lodgings for A-list casts on the premiere circuit.
But surely the paparazzis know they could snap a dressed-down De Vito here, so what’s the real attraction? I suspect it’s the very Englishness of the place. Do you want to know where the film stars stay when they’re in London? You do? Then perhaps I shouldn’t tell you. How to get there SS Great Britain, Great Western Dockyard, Bristol BS1 6TY (0117 926 0680; ssgreatbritain ) By car: there is a car park.

By train: Bristol Temple Meads, then bus 500 (0117-922 4454) or get the ferry (0117-9273416; bristolferryboat.co.uk).. Adults £8.95, seniors £6.95, children and students £4.95, under-5s free, family (two adults, three children) 24.95. Refreshments The Dockyard Caf?n the harbour bank serves baguettes, grilled panini, pastries and drinks. Access Full wheelchair access (via a lift in the funnel); facilities for the blind; BSL guides are available. Admission Open daily except December 18, 24 and 25 from 10am-5.30pm (April-Oct) and 10am-4.30pm (Nov-March). It is claimed that some 400,000 Australians can trace their ancestry to passengers on the SS Great Britain.

The land-based museum tells the ship’s story from construction to her return to Bristol in 1970 For children The ship is great for kids There is almost total freedom to roam The deck is huge with six tall masts Below, you can enter cabins occupied by passengers and crew There is the chance to try steering the ship. There is an excellent museum with interactive displays, artefacts from the ship and a film. On board, visitors can explore the deck, the engine room, the first class promenade and the cabins.
For adults Audio guides include the historical and technical facts, another recreating life as a first-class passenger, and one explaining steerage travel in the 1860s and 70s when the ship carried emigrants to Australia. The tiles are used to create mock-up rooms, including the bathroom of an Edwardian villa, a church floor from Derby, original may-pole scenes from a 1929 children’s ward from London’s Middlesex Hospital and mock-ups of a section of Covent Garden Tube station in London.

As Mr Vanns said: “This museum is about education, but it’s also about inspiration.”Jackfield Tile Museum runs tile workshops every Friday 10.30am-3.30pm until 1 September Workshops also take place during school holidays. Workshops cost £6 plus museum admission; fired tiles can be sent home later for £2. Ironbridge Tourist Information Centre (01952 884391; ironbridge .uk). The venue

At the time of her launch in 1843, SS Great Britain (pictured) was the largest ship ever built.