Travel to England-Visit Bristol?
Aug 1st, 2005, 06:08 AM
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Travel to England-Visit Bristol?
I'm traveling to England for the first time in September, and I'm considering flying into Bristol instead of London. Should I spend a day or two of my 7 day centered in Bristol, or head straight for Bath and the Cotswolds? Bristol is rarely mentioned on travel sites, but their own city sites make it seem worthwhile. I would appreciate any advice.
Aug 1st, 2005, 06:11 AM
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Well, every city's own tourist site is going to be glowing, isn't it 
Bristol is a great city - to live in. Great shops, bars, restaurants, near the coast etc etc (they call it the London of the West), but I'm not sure it's worth sacrificing your time as you only have a week. Head straight to Bath...
Bristol is a great city - to live in. Great shops, bars, restaurants, near the coast etc etc (they call it the London of the West), but I'm not sure it's worth sacrificing your time as you only have a week. Head straight to Bath...
Aug 1st, 2005, 06:30 AM
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If you've no particular reason to visit Bristol, there really isn't a lot of point doing so. I worked there for a year or so in the late 80s: it's a very pleasant place to live, a very popular place to study, and an even pleasanter place to live outside - but pretty tedious as a place to visit.
It doesn't help that, together with Plymouth and Coventry, it's the most dismal example of post-WW2 reconstruction in England. Hitler destroyed a fair amount of medieval and Victorian Bristol: Bristol City Council made things a great deal worse. The city has a few things worth looking at, but most of them (and the city's hotels) are in pretty unexilharating settings.
My other question is why do you want to fly to Bristol? It's no nearer the Cotswolds than LHR (I never consider using BRS from my Cotswold house), and even Bath, once you've got round Bristol itself (for the airport is really in the wrong place, with poor road access), isn't that much nearer BRS than to LHR. But you've got a much wider choice of airlines to LHR, and lower transatlantic prices have been consistently available to LHR all summer than to Bristol. BRS' real advantage is for Bristolians wanting to go shopping in New York.
Even if you've got a stack of FF points on Continental and have a phobia about big airports, you might still consider the CO flights to Birmingham (BHX). If it's your first time here, I'd have thought BRS would not be where I'd want to drive on the left for the first time. BHX (actually the closest airport to the Cotswolds) lets you go straight onto divided highway from the car hire place. At BRS you have to deal immediately you've collected the car with busy, undivided roads.
It doesn't help that, together with Plymouth and Coventry, it's the most dismal example of post-WW2 reconstruction in England. Hitler destroyed a fair amount of medieval and Victorian Bristol: Bristol City Council made things a great deal worse. The city has a few things worth looking at, but most of them (and the city's hotels) are in pretty unexilharating settings.
My other question is why do you want to fly to Bristol? It's no nearer the Cotswolds than LHR (I never consider using BRS from my Cotswold house), and even Bath, once you've got round Bristol itself (for the airport is really in the wrong place, with poor road access), isn't that much nearer BRS than to LHR. But you've got a much wider choice of airlines to LHR, and lower transatlantic prices have been consistently available to LHR all summer than to Bristol. BRS' real advantage is for Bristolians wanting to go shopping in New York.
Even if you've got a stack of FF points on Continental and have a phobia about big airports, you might still consider the CO flights to Birmingham (BHX). If it's your first time here, I'd have thought BRS would not be where I'd want to drive on the left for the first time. BHX (actually the closest airport to the Cotswolds) lets you go straight onto divided highway from the car hire place. At BRS you have to deal immediately you've collected the car with busy, undivided roads.
Aug 1st, 2005, 06:41 AM
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Do you realise that Bristol is so close to Bath? They're only a few miles apart (11 minutes on a train) so you can visit Bristol then continue to Bath or vice versa, or stay in one and visit the other. Bristol has the Avon Gorge and Clifton Suspension Bridge which are superb sites.
Aug 1st, 2005, 06:54 AM
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But Bristol airport isn't close to Bath if Sclark's driving.
But Geoff's quite right that, if you're starting from BRS, organising your route to Bath so it goes past the Clifton bridge is well worth while.
But Geoff's quite right that, if you're starting from BRS, organising your route to Bath so it goes past the Clifton bridge is well worth while.
Aug 1st, 2005, 06:58 AM
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There are some worthwhile things in bristol - but for just a one-week's visit you can comfortably give it a miss.
if your whole itinerary is Bath and the Cotswolds - I see three options;
1) fly into Bristol and take the train or a bus directly to Bath. Spend the first day/night in Bath car-less. Bath is a totally walkable place and you can get over your jet lag w/o having to drive through Bristol. Then pick up a car and head up to the Cotswolds.
2) fly into Birmingham - which is VERY convenient to the Cotswolds. Stay the full week in the Cotswolds and use one day for a daytrip down to Bath. You can see all of Bath in 7 or 8 hours and drive back to your base in the Cotswolds the same day.
3) Fly into LHR - again pretty convenient for the Cotswolds. Base in the Cotswolds and take a daytrip to Bath.
OR - do your plans include other places besides the Cotswolds/Bath? Then where you fly into could make a bigger difference . . . . .
if your whole itinerary is Bath and the Cotswolds - I see three options;
1) fly into Bristol and take the train or a bus directly to Bath. Spend the first day/night in Bath car-less. Bath is a totally walkable place and you can get over your jet lag w/o having to drive through Bristol. Then pick up a car and head up to the Cotswolds.
2) fly into Birmingham - which is VERY convenient to the Cotswolds. Stay the full week in the Cotswolds and use one day for a daytrip down to Bath. You can see all of Bath in 7 or 8 hours and drive back to your base in the Cotswolds the same day.
3) Fly into LHR - again pretty convenient for the Cotswolds. Base in the Cotswolds and take a daytrip to Bath.
OR - do your plans include other places besides the Cotswolds/Bath? Then where you fly into could make a bigger difference . . . . .
Aug 1st, 2005, 07:16 AM
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In response to flanneruk: Thank you for your helpful post. I was considering BRS because Continental's flights are the least expensive way for me to get from Atlanta, GA to all other airports in the UK. It's not a huge savings, but I also thought BRS might be less confusing as a smaller airport. I am not planning to drive, but I don't know if that makes BRS more convenient or less convenient than other airports. Thank you, everyone, for your advice.
Aug 1st, 2005, 10:48 AM
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BRS is a small airport that's quite user friendly. It's SW of Bristol, while Bath is SE of it; but if you're not driving, then the best way is to take the airport bus (every 20 minutes, trip 30 minutes) to Bristol Temple Meads train station. You can get to basically anywhere you need to go from there.
The Clifton Suspension Bridge and the SS Great Britain are the most important attractions, in my opinion; while the town center is easy and nice to walk around.
I flew CO's EWR-BRS flights during Memorial Day weekend. I think you should go straight to wherever you need to go, and then return to Bristol the day before, around midday. Tour the sites, stay the night in the city, and then depart BRS the next morning.
The Clifton Suspension Bridge and the SS Great Britain are the most important attractions, in my opinion; while the town center is easy and nice to walk around.
I flew CO's EWR-BRS flights during Memorial Day weekend. I think you should go straight to wherever you need to go, and then return to Bristol the day before, around midday. Tour the sites, stay the night in the city, and then depart BRS the next morning.
