# Bristol south of the river - tourist guide



## Paul Russell (May 7, 2007)

Hi there

I've visited Bristol dozens and dozens of times - I know the Redcliffe/shopping centre/Park St/Cotham/Hotwells/Clifton bits quite well.

But I've never been south of the river. The little map I have just includes the top of Southville and Bedminster. Are they interesting places to wander round? Any pointers, places of interest, areas to avoid, etc. etc.?

Thanks.


----------



## big eejit (May 7, 2007)

"areas to avoid" - anywhere south of the river.  ;-)


----------



## Isambard (May 7, 2007)

I had a lovely afternoon out in Bedminster recently, proper job cooked breakfast in a cafe, wandering round the shops, visiting ASDA.
Went for a drink in the Barley Mow which I'd reccomend IF you like VERY old school local pubs.


----------



## J77 (May 7, 2007)

It's the best part of Bristol  

For the beginner's experience -- start from Hotwells, having a drink in the Pumphouse, before crossing the bridge to the semi-South -- proceed to the Nova Scotia and the Cottage for more aforementioned drinks.

Then hit the next part of the South -- unless experienced, I'd cross the smaller footbridge and head down Dean Lane -- go for a drink at the Hophouse and then head over Dame Emily's park for a drink outside the back of Bar Salt.

For the more experienced, I'd suggest throwing in a bit of that Cider pub round the back of the Dry Dock (the Orchard) -- then off to the cosmo end of North St, Tobacco Factory etc., then to the Coopers on Ashton Road, if it's a nice day you could walk off the booze with an amble up to Ashton Court from there.

For the crazy -- hit the other end of North St/West St; the 3 Lions pub looks inviting


----------



## xenon (May 7, 2007)

If you want see some comedy this side, have a look at
www.thecomedybox.co.uk
Above the Hen and Chicken pub, North Street. 

Tobaco Factory has shows on sometimes as well. 
The pubs on East Street are generally a bit shit. The Barly Mo, is erm. Interesting.

If you want a long , cemi country walk, Ashton Court might be worth a visit.


----------



## Geri (May 7, 2007)

J77 said:
			
		

> start from Hotwells, having a drink in the Pumphouse,



Not possible at the moment! We cycled past last weekend and it was closed, in the process of being done out by the look of it.


----------



## J77 (May 7, 2007)

floria_tosca said:
			
		

> Not possible at the moment! We cycled past last weekend and it was closed, in the process of being done out by the look of it.


Pah -- they only redid it a few years back -- and they did a nice job of it too.

Teh jokers.


----------



## Paul Russell (May 7, 2007)

Thanks for that!

I've had a look at Wikipedia as well -- quite a bit about the different areas of Bristol.

Guess I'll just have to have a wander and see what happens. I see there's a great big park in Bedminster as well.





			
				J77 said:
			
		

> It's the best part of Bristol
> 
> For the beginner's experience -- start from Hotwells, having a drink in the Pumphouse, before crossing the bridge to the semi-South -- proceed to the Nova Scotia and the Cottage for more aforementioned drinks.
> 
> ...


----------



## 3_D (May 7, 2007)

J77 said:
			
		

> the 3 Lions pub looks inviting


It sure is! Come on in, the more the merrier


----------



## Paul Russell (May 7, 2007)

Cheers. 

Must remember to save all this info somewhere.





			
				xenon_2 said:
			
		

> If you want see some comedy this side, have a look at
> www.thecomedybox.co.uk
> Above the Hen and Chicken pub, North Street.
> 
> ...


----------



## Isambard (May 7, 2007)

Can't quite make out the banners there 3D; fans of Somerset County Cricket Club is it?


----------



## J77 (May 8, 2007)

Paul Russell said:
			
		

> Guess I'll just have to have a wander and see what happens. I see there's a great big park in Bedminster as well.


Yeah -- Victoria Park -- it's quite nice but not really worth the walk if you're not there already (I used to live near the bottom of it).

Best place to go for a wander is along the river or docks -- you could get some nice photos of the old brickwork in the Avon (and steps for the old ferries) when the tide's low, and the silt's not too bad.


----------



## JTG (May 8, 2007)

Best bits:

Bedminster Bridge, Southville foot bridge, the bridge by Temple Meads

All heading north

No need to thank me


----------



## Callie (May 8, 2007)

J77 said:
			
		

> For the more experienced, I'd suggest throwing in a bit of that Cider pub round the back of the Dry Dock (the Orchard)



If thats the little pub I think it is they do a meat raffle too!  I liked that pub


----------



## J77 (May 9, 2007)

Callie said:
			
		

> If thats the little pub I think it is they do a meat raffle too!  I liked that pub


Meat raffles are standard practice in the South


----------



## bristol_citizen (May 9, 2007)

JTG said:
			
		

> Best bits:
> 
> Bedminster Bridge, Southville foot bridge, the bridge by Temple Meads
> 
> All heading north


You'd never get across those bridges to the South alive anyway. We breed feral children especially over here to deal with the likes of you.


----------



## JTG (May 10, 2007)

J77 said:
			
		

> Meat raffles are standard practice in the South



So is marrying your sister but that's nothing to proud of either


----------



## J77 (May 10, 2007)

JTG said:
			
		

> So is marrying your sister but that's nothing to proud of either


mieow


----------



## JTG (May 10, 2007)

Callie said:
			
		

> If thats the little pub I think it is they do a meat raffle too!  I liked that pub



If it's the pub I'm thinking of, it's actually *North* of the river

Bloody imperialists


----------



## Callie (May 10, 2007)

what does the pub youre thinking of look like inside - i could then confirm or deny if its the same one  fairly sure it was called the orchard?

just looked it up and yes it does appear to be north of the river but south of the floating harbour - that harbour thing confuses me


----------



## J77 (May 11, 2007)

JTG said:
			
		

> If it's the pub I'm thinking of, it's actually *North* of the river
> 
> Bloody imperialists


Nah -- Spike Island's South Bristol -- the docks are the start of the South


----------



## JTG (May 11, 2007)

J77 said:
			
		

> Nah -- Spike Island's South Bristol -- the docks are the start of the South



They bloody are not!

Get off our land before I call the UN in


----------



## J77 (May 11, 2007)




----------



## big eejit (May 11, 2007)

I've never been inside The Apple which is probably north of the river strictly speaking, but much handier access from south of the river.

A great pub in S Bristol is the Coronation on Dean Lane, Southville, owned by the excellent Hopback Brewery:

http://www.hopback.co.uk/pub_details/the_coronation.php

Bedminster is actually a very interesting place to wonder around - very Bristolian. Which may sound an odd thing to say about Bristol, but large parts of N Bristol now seem to have been 'ethnically cleansed' of actual Bristolians.


----------



## J77 (May 11, 2007)

big eejit said:
			
		

> A great pub in S Bristol is the Coronation on Dean Lane, Southville, owned by the excellent Hopback Brewery


It's on my list ^^^^^ 

e2a:     I called it the fucking hophouse -- bloody hell, I'm off for some self correction... sheesh...


----------



## Paul Russell (May 11, 2007)

Cheers. I will have a wander as soon as I can get a day off when it's not raining.

Probably one of the reasons I've never explored south of the river is I did wander over there once and went into a pub that was as rough as feck.

This is about 10 years ago - probably a gastropub-wine bar now or something.




			
				big eejit said:
			
		

> I've never been inside The Apple which is probably north of the river strictly speaking, but much handier access from south of the river.
> 
> A great pub in S Bristol is the Coronation on Dean Lane, Southville, owned by the excellent Hopback Brewery:
> 
> ...


----------



## big eejit (May 11, 2007)

Paul Russell said:
			
		

> Probably one of the reasons I've never explored south of the river is I did wander over there once and went into a pub that was as rough as feck.
> 
> This is about 10 years ago - probably a gastropub-wine bar now or something.



This one?






Definitely not a gastropub. More pics of Bristol pubs here:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/bristolpubs/


----------



## Paul Russell (May 11, 2007)

No, it wasn't as upmarket as this one.




			
				big eejit said:
			
		

> This one?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## J77 (May 11, 2007)

I used to live 20m from that place


----------



## ICB (May 11, 2007)

I had my stag night piss up in the Miners' Arms on the A38 in Bedminster Down.

No poncey fucking off to Eastern Europe for me, we just piled into the pub that was 50 yards stagger from the house we were renting and got fucking legless with a bunch of good old boys telling filthy jokes and playing shit tunes on the piano. 

Only downside was it was the day before the wedding and I felt and looked like the living dead for our wedding day


----------



## Geri (May 11, 2007)

big eejit said:
			
		

> large parts of N Bristol now seem to have been 'ethnically cleansed' of actual Bristolians.



It's due to the number of companies basing themselves in the area - Rolls Royce, British Aerospace, the MoD, etc. who bring staff into the area with them.

I heard a very interesting statistic the other day, about the percentage of people in N Bristol who have degrees compared with those in S Bristol. I can't remember the exact percentages but the difference was huge.


----------



## Callie (May 11, 2007)

is that something to do with the univeristy?


----------



## Geri (May 11, 2007)

There's no University in North Bristol! Well, not a proper one anyway


----------



## softybabe (May 11, 2007)

Bristol...hmmm... ddraig and I visited over the weekend...IMO nothing to write home about.  We were not too impressed.


----------



## fizzerbird (May 11, 2007)

oi missy softybabe, if you'd taken the time to view the sights instead of bumping uglies, you may have a different opinion!  

Should have come up to AC on Saturday for the picnic.


----------



## xenon (May 12, 2007)

big eejit said:
			
		

> I've never been inside The Apple which is probably north of the river strictly speaking, but much handier access from south of the river.
> 
> A great pub in S Bristol is the Coronation on Dean Lane, Southville, owned by the excellent Hopback Brewery:
> 
> ...



Ah my local.


----------



## fizzerbird (May 12, 2007)

I'm proper Bristolian me!


----------



## softybabe (May 12, 2007)

fizzerbird said:
			
		

> oi missy softybabe, if you'd taken the time to view the sights instead of bumping uglies, you may have a different opinion!
> 
> Should have come up to AC on Saturday for the picnic.



we did take time out from 'bumping'!  We have a stroll and a snooze  in the park, we did think about gatecrashing the picnic but thought we might as well take more of the 'sights' in instead.  But what sights  nothing! even the shops werent open till 11am on Sunday   

You need a lot more than an invite to picnic to convince us to come back to Bristol fizzerbird person


----------



## ddraig (May 12, 2007)

now now ladies!!
sb u didn't tell em not to call me ugly   

fizzer, we only went around a little obvious bit of the city and i know there's a lot more too it. shit happens further out obviously 

sb stop winding up the neighbours


----------



## softybabe (May 12, 2007)

ddraig said:
			
		

> sb stop winding up the neighbours



or wot?! Stalker!    We did manage to find a lovely pub with really nice ceiling ...


----------



## Geri (May 13, 2007)

softybabe said:
			
		

> You need a lot more than an invite to picnic to convince us to come back to Bristol fizzerbird person



Oh well


----------



## fizzerbird (May 13, 2007)

ddraig said:
			
		

> now now ladies!!
> sb u didn't tell em not to call me ugly
> fizzer, we only went around a little obvious bit of the city and i know there's a lot more too it. shit happens further out obviously
> 
> sb stop winding up the neighbours



LMAO... 


Oh and I didn't mean you were ugly...either of you! It's an expression describing the friction between male and female genitalia


----------



## big eejit (May 13, 2007)

Anyone going along to the Southbank Arts trail thingy that starts this weekend? I was thinking of it but as it's pissing down....

http://www.sbaweb.co.uk/arts_trail_2007_details


----------



## fizzerbird (May 13, 2007)

I'm drowning!

From the amount of work I have to do NOT the rain. I am brain dead!!!

Agggggggggh!


----------



## Geri (May 13, 2007)

'Southbank'


----------



## xenon (May 13, 2007)

big eejit said:
			
		

> Anyone going along to the Southbank Arts trail thingy that starts this weekend? I was thinking of it but as it's pissing down....
> 
> http://www.sbaweb.co.uk/arts_trail_2007_details



Yep pretty much how I'm feeling about it. Would probably just end up in the pub.


----------



## xenon (May 13, 2007)

"...Artists homes, churches, community centres and public houses."

Too late now anyway.

Although I see there's stuff on all week.


----------



## JTG (May 14, 2007)

floria_tosca said:
			
		

> I heard a very interesting statistic the other day, about the percentage of people in N Bristol who have degrees compared with those in S Bristol. I can't remember the exact percentages but the difference was huge.



Bigger gene pool


----------



## J77 (May 14, 2007)

JTG said:
			
		

> Bigger gene pool


Either that, or the fact that the whole area around Cheltenham Road and up through Gloucester Road, all the way to UWE, is full of students or graduates from the unis...

I reckon South Bristol has a higher percentage of Art students


----------



## Jografer (May 14, 2007)

floria_tosca said:
			
		

> I heard a very interesting statistic the other day, about the percentage of people in N Bristol who have degrees compared with those in S Bristol. I can't remember the exact percentages but the difference was huge.



Bristol West Constituency has the highest % of people with degrees & postgrad qualifications anywhere in the UK... but as they've also got a LibDem MP just goes to show that qualifications & intelligence are 2 different things...


----------



## fizzerbird (May 14, 2007)

J77 said:
			
		

> Either that, or the fact that the whole area around Cheltenham Road and up through Gloucester Road, all the way to UWE, is full of students or graduates from the unis...
> 
> I reckon South Bristol has a higher percentage of Art students



Oh they're artists alright...


----------



## JTG (May 15, 2007)

Jografer said:
			
		

> Bristol West Constituency has the highest % of people with degrees & postgrad qualifications anywhere in the UK... but as they've also got a LibDem MP just goes to show that qualifications & intelligence are 2 different things...



Whereas the Labour voting people of the rest of the city are paragons of canny clued-upness of course


----------



## xenon (May 15, 2007)

fizzerbird said:
			
		

> Oh they're artists alright...





It's performance.


----------



## ICB (May 16, 2007)

J77 said:
			
		

> Either that, or the fact that the whole area around Cheltenham Road and up through Gloucester Road, all the way to UWE, is full of students or graduates from the unis...



And a very large population of Carribean, Indian and Pakistani origin as well as a fair few Irish and recently eastern Europeans.

Fuck Clifton and Redland, the Gloucester Rd is the heart and soul of Bristol IMO.




			
				Jografer said:
			
		

> Bristol West Constituency has the highest % of people with degrees & postgrad qualifications anywhere in the UK... but as they've also got a LibDem MP just goes to show that qualifications & intelligence are 2 different things...



Used to be Val Davey for Labour, she was shit and somehow leapfrogged the libdem candidate to beat William Waldergrave in 97.

About time they had a libdem in there frankly.


----------



## J77 (May 16, 2007)

ICB said:
			
		

> And a very large population of Carribean, Indian and Pakistani origin as well as a fair few Irish and recently eastern Europeans.
> 
> Fuck Clifton and Redland, the Gloucester Rd is the heart and soul of Bristol IMO.


Really? 

Unless times have greatly changed, I'd say the very large Carribean population was still confined from Stokes Croft down to Ashley Road, and the Indian and Pakistani population to East Bristol. Certainly not Gloucester Road.

And, North Street's the heart and soul


----------



## ICB (May 16, 2007)

J77 said:
			
		

> Really?
> 
> Unless times have greatly changed, I'd say the very large Carribean population was still confined from Stokes Croft down to Ashley Road, and the Indian and Pakistani population to East Bristol. Certainly not Gloucester Road.
> 
> And, North Street's the heart and soul



North St. BS1 or BS3?  The central one is tiny and dominated by 5102 which is yuppie central.  North St bedmi is boring as feck, nowhere near as multicultural and none of the variety in shops, restuarants and cafe culture you get on the Glocker moi luvver. 

Bishopston is twinned with KV Kuppam S India and has the highest density of Indian restaurants and takeaways in the city. 

Was including everything from Jimmy B's up as Cheltenham Rd, not stricly correct I know but I've always thought of it like that, N St + the Croft is pretty short and Cheltenham Rd borders quite a stretch of Montpelier which has a very mixed popluation as you'll know.

Our kids went to state primaries in Bishopston and Horfield which gave us a fairly representative idea of how mixed the local population is.  It's a great area.


----------



## bristol_citizen (May 16, 2007)

J77 said:
			
		

> Really?
> 
> Unless times have greatly changed, I'd say the very large Carribean population was still confined from Stokes Croft down to Ashley Road, and the Indian and Pakistani population to East Bristol. Certainly not Gloucester Road.



The largest part of the Caribbean population is in East Bristol too, especially since the council and housing associations adopted an ethnic cleansing policy to not to allocate housing to caribbeans in St Pauls


----------

