The Clooper Guide To Bristol City
Bristol is full of charm and appeal, but what exactly awaits you in this notably green city?
Bristol is full of various districts, each with its own points of allure. Today, we’ll run you through them generally, so you can make your decision as to whether or not Bristol will be your next home – for a weekend, or a lifetime.
PROPERTIES AND PRICES
TO BUY: As expected, the closer you go to the city centre the more expensive houses are looking to be. As such, you can net yourself a two-bedroom apartment for around the £159,000 mark. Not as expensive as Central London, mind! You can bag yourself a terraced home with four bedrooms for a little higher, around the £500,000 mark.
TO RENT: For decently-sized one-bedroom flats and studio apartments, you can expect to find yourself with a rent of around £800pcm to £1,500pcm. The exact price depends on the exact location, local facilities, and your usual factors, such as the number of bathrooms and bedrooms.
TO STAY: Typically, luxury serviced apartments in Bristol and the surrounding area start at around £75 per night. You can browse through some of our available properties here.
GREEN SPACES
Brandon Hill apparently has the ‘best views in Bristol’, which is high praise considering how many parks and gardens there are around! Brandon Hill is acclaimed for having a peaceful atmosphere, being a fabulous place to chillax with pals around a picnic blanket or even an outdoor board game. This park may owe its views to Cabot Tower, a popular landmark that allows visitors to get some stellar views of the city. This tower was built in the 1890s and was built to honour the 400th anniversary of the journey of John Cabot from Bristol to Canada.
St Andrews Park is another more than worthy addition to this list. This Victorian-era park has a large paddling pool, a children’s play area and even a pop-up cafe. You could enjoy a coffee with some pals while watching the littlens play; perfect! There are also a significant amount of dog walkers in the area. We know what you’re thinking: uh oh, dog fouling. Though you’d be surprised! Bristol residents claim that the dog-walkers are very conscientious, so you don’t have to watch where you step too much.
Finally, we’ll round up with Castle Park. This park, as you may guess, is home to a ruined church and castle. Not only this, you’ll find a sensory herb garden there, as well as the Normandy Landings memorial. The old castle and the nearby river help give the park oodles of charm. Additionally, you may even stumble across some festivals as they are occasionally held in this space. Castle Park has got it all: opportunities for partying, relaxing, picnicking, strolling through some beautiful flowers, you name it, we’re sure you can find it around this leafy locale.
THINGS TO DO
Bristol is famous for a lot of things, some quite unexpected. For example, did you know that Bristol was a popular location for pirates back in the day? It makes sense when you consider Bristol’s many ports and its well-known harbour. Other than a history rooted in swashbuckling, there are plenty of attractions to be found here. Here are just a few of our favourites.
- The Clifton Suspension Bridge, you may have already heard of. This bridge spans the Avon Gorge and the River Avon and is a local toll bridge and tourist attraction. Locals and newcomers alike flock there for its impressive engineering and amazing views.
- Bristol is well-known for its contributions to art and history. Bristol Museum & Art Gallery is one such contribution. It’s diverse, well maintained and staffed by kindly individuals who are well-learned about the museum’s exhibitions.
- The eponymous Bristol Zoo Gardens is another name you may be familiar with. This is not only a zoo, but a conservation area, and is dedicated to ‘maintaining and defending’ biodiversity.
- Take a walking tour! As we mentioned, Bristol is rich in pirate history particularly. You can even nab a walking tour that will run you through the city’s whole history, including taking you to some local Banksy pieces.
- Now this one is really not for the faint of heart, but jump in an air balloon with Bailey Balloons to get a tour of the city like no other! It’ll cost a pretty penny, though you’ll be aloft for quite a few hours, and it’s a once in a lifetime experience. Certainly worth it in our books.
AMENITIES
Bristol has a wide variety of districts sporting a wide array of venues and shopping malls, gyms, et cetera. As with many of our popular cities, you really won’t have to look far for your basic amenities.
Bristol Shopping Centre is a shopping centre that is open for 24 hours. Here, you won’t just find designer brands either. Independently owned stores and indie brands are abound here; additionally, you can find many cafes and restaurants ( such as KFC and even crepe and waffles stands ) in this centre as well. Locals praise it for its affordable merchandise and spacious architecture. There are even occasional markets held in parts of the mall. As a local visitor said, you aren’t looking hard enough if you can’t find a bargain here!
Another fantastic centre is Cabot Circus, where you can find over 130 stylish stores and restaurants. Such as, but not limited to Five Guys, House of Fraser, Zara, Hugo Boss and even a cinema! Not only this, adventure golf, VR gaming adventures and escape rooms await you here. There are also various gyms dotted around such as PureGym and Village Gym Bristol, as well as an array of pilates studios. Bristol is a very green, very healthy area, so fitness-centric venues aren’t in short supply.
Bristol is also extraordinarily well connected. It’s actually located towards the hub of the national rail network in the West of England. The Great Western Railway and several other major train operators run services from Bristol to London Paddington, Edinburgh, Birmingham and more.
EDUCATION
You may be aware of the University of Bristol. This Uni consistently ranks in the top 100 and UK’s top ten universities and is known for its contributions to nanotechnology. There are various other fantastic education opportunities scattered through Bristol. Whether you’re looking for a primary school, a secondary school or a college.
Some of the best recommendations are as follows:
- Clifton College
- Redland Green School
- Colston’s School
- Brunel Field Primary School
- Bishop Road Primary School
Looking for another trendy locale not too far from London? See our Manchester area guide here.
