Long John Silver Trust | Celebrating Bristol's Connections with Treasure Island

Robinson Crusoe Free Exhibition Poster - 300 Years

Handover of European Cultural Route Certificate – November 2015
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We are very pleased to say after several years of planning the Grand Opening of the Bristol Treasure Island Trail took place on 19 September 2015.

Click here to see the opening ceremony by the Lord Mayor of Bristol and further information about the trail ...

The Long John Silver Trust is a registered charity (in England and Wales) and was set up initially to raise funds for a sculpture of Stevenson's immortal scallywag Long John Silver, fictional Bristol pub landlord and pirate of repute, renowned for his duplicity. This was in 2004 after Treasure Island had been chosen as launch book for Britain's first Great Reading Adventure in Bristol in 2003.

To be educational and inclusive, this led on to a proposal for a Treasure Island Trail around Bristol's old dockside. We believe this will be a unique and fun way to experience a key part of Bristol's maritime and literary past.

Much like Stevenson's original book we aim to be educational and inclusive and with this in mind we have teamed up with local special needs charity PROPS, Bristol Radical History Group, Destination Bristol, Redcliffe Community Forum and the Robert Louis Stevenson Club.

We have a great relationship with Bristol based sailing ship Matthew (a replica of Cabot's ship that discovered Newfoundland in 1497). JungleTalk provide our parrot, Cap'n Flint, when required.

We have four Patrons:- Eugene Byrne, Steve Yabsley, Royston Griffey; Bristol City Councillor and former Lord Mayor of Bristol; and Nicholas Newton, son of the brilliant actor Robert Newton (who in the Trust's opinion did the finest ever portrayal of Silver in Disney's film of Treasure Island in 1950).

We have several trustees who bring a variety of skills to our organisation.

The Long John Silver Trust is part of the European Network In the Footsteps of Robert Louis Stevenson, certified as a European Cultural Route.

The objective of the European Stevenson network is to promote the life and works of Robert Louis Stevenson and in parallel, the territories visited and explored by the author.

Discover the Network's website : www.rlstevenson-europe.org/en