With lockdown 2 in full swing, I’m sure a lot of you are finding excuses to leave the house, whether that be ‘popping’ to the shop three times a day because you ‘forgot’ mustard, or for that flu jab that you weren’t eligible for, but just really needed to feel a nurse’s hands on your arm rather than a placid hug from your housemate. With all the museums, art galleries, pubs, clubs and well, everything shut for the next 2 weeks, here’s a list of places to go in Bristol to experience the city without REALLY experiencing the city.
Bristol manages to occupy both the hustle and bustle of the city, as well as the green spaces that would make you feel at one with nature. Now, we all know about the Banksy on Park Street, but these places will allow you to feel some sense of normalcy through a nice, government-mandated walk with another person, not from your household.
The obvious first suggestion is the Clifton Suspension Bridge during both the day and night-time. You can walk across the bridge and get a major sense of vertigo (like me), or you can walk up to the Observatory and sit on one of their aptly placed benches and look across the wide expanse of Bristol. During the day, the observatory allows you to grab as much vitamin D as one would require, (a bit more if you’re being cheeky) and also a quiet place to get some headspace. During the evenings, which are closing in faster and faster as we get closer to December, one can observe the lights of the city and perhaps a firework or two, even if it is three weeks after Bonfire Night.
For those of you who like to have a cultural moment with a dash of walking involved, I would highly recommend downloading the ‘Seven Saints of St. Pauls’ app (available to download on IOS and android). For the small price of £2.99 it will take you on a tour of seven murals around Bristol which highlight important individuals of the Windrush Generation, developed by Michele Curtis. So, go on, treat yourself.
If one were to go on a walking-date, a lovely place to visit is Brandon Hill. Again, the view of Bristol is beautiful and the addition of many a dog will make even the most pessimistic of people smile in these Covid-19 times.
Now, I’m sure you’ll be happy to know that the yellow house off the M32 is actually called The Dower House Estate. You can do the Stoke Park Walk which takes approximately 2 hours to complete whilst taking in the estate’s gardens, and the view from the house! I would recommend wearing some sports gear to look like you’re taking your unlimited exercise seriously!
Other honourable mentions of places to visit include Abbotts Pool, which is a rather long walk away, but is definitely worth it for the mini waterfalls and a major sense of escapism. Similarly, a country walk through Leigh Woods might lead to a sighting of some nature doing nature things, maybe even a wild stag!
I know this isn’t the Bristol that we know and love; the cultural metropolis of the South West, but it’s the Bristol we have right now and aren’t we lucky! With another two weeks of Lockdown 2, why not stretch your legs!