Your privacy

We use cookies to help make our site work properly and to analyze how our site is used. You can view our cookies policy, manage your cookie preferences, or consent and dismiss this banner by clicking agree:

Win Subscribe

Top 5: How to Spend Spring in Bristol

The long winter is over, and it is finally the first day of spring! With the weather brightening a lot faster than anyone expected, it’s already tempting to get out and enjoy all that Bristol has to offer. For a few tips and highlights, check out our seasonal round up of how to enjoy this great city.

A row of colorful houses sits on a hillside covered with bare trees. Below the hill are two-story buildings with balconies facing a waterway, where a black narrowboat is moored. A large tree branch frames the image from the top. The sky is partly cloudy.
Image © Phil Richards via Flickr
A close-up of rustic wooden signposts pointing to various locations: Cafe, Toilets, Farmyard, and Community Garden. In the background, there is a building with mural art of a rooster and another animal, and a visible blue reception sign. The sky is partly cloudy.
Windmill Hill City Farm Facebook

1 Explore the City’s Green Streets

Bristol's green credentials certainly extend to its parks and green spaces, and the spring is the time to make the most of them. From smaller gems such as Queen’s Square or Castle Park in the centre to the enormous Downs above the Clifton Suspension Bridge, there’s plenty of space if you want to get out and get active. 

Ashton Court Estate comes into its own at this time of year with its stunning views and bespoke mountain bike trails - or if you fancy a round of golf on the council’s course. For community gardens and animals, check out Windmill Hill City Farm.

An abandoned stone building overgrown with dense ivy and foliage stands in a forested area. The windows and doorways are open and devoid of frames or glass, adding to the derelict and mysterious atmosphere of the scene.
Image © Andy Walker via Flickr

2 Explore Frome Valley Walkway

For the more adventurous, or if you fancy a longer outing, why not try the Frome Valley Walkway. Stretching out into the Cotswold Hills, you can pick the walkway up in Eastville Park and continue through Oldbury Court and Snuff Mills - beautiful, historic estates ideal for family trips out.

On the other side of the city the River Avon Trail is an old favourite, passing north up the valley towards Pill and Portishead, with cutback tracks linking it to Leigh Woods. For those going by bike, the Bristol and Bath Railway Path remains hugely popular.

Image credit: Andy Walker via Flickr.

A street pole with peeling stickers and paint is prominently featured. A visible sticker reads PEOPLE BEFORE PROFIT. In the background, a graffiti-covered wall and a blurred urban street with a crosswalk can be seen.

3 Dig into the Vibrant Street Art Scene

Bristol is famous for its graffiti and street art, and there’s no better time to explore what’s on offer. Stokes Croft is a good place to start: not only will you find plenty of @banksy's early works (The Mild Mild West is here) but also plenty from the Nick Walker and the 3D era.

Alternatively, head to North Street in Bedminster for a whole host of work running east from the Tobacco Factory, where many up-and-coming talents cut their teeth. Elsewhere, Park Street has a number of highlights (Banksy’s Well Hung Lover and Police Sniper amongst them), or for those who prefer a hunt, Easton has plenty to unearth.

An art gallery with white walls and wooden flooring, displaying various framed artworks and photographs. A partition wall divides the space, and two wooden benches are placed in the center of the room. Various styles and sizes of art are displayed on the walls.
Royal West of England Academy

4 Dip into one of Bristol’s many Galleries

If street art’s not your thing, Bristol has plenty of public and private galleries to visit. There’s the Royal West of England Academy which hosts various major exhibitions throughout the year, and the Arnolfini, which pitches itself as Bristol’s home for contemporary art. Also worth a visit are Spike Island for contemporary work, Centrespace and Lime Tree Gallery, and Bristol Museum & Art Gallery. 

The bow of a large historic ship with intricate gold carvings and two large anchor chain holes, photographed from the front under a dramatic sunset sky.

5 Delve into the City’s History

For an outing with historical weight, take yourself down to the SS Great Britain to see one of Brunel’s finest works. Alternatively, step aboard The Matthew, a replica of the ship that carried John Cabot on his famous voyage to North America in 1497, which regularly moors in the Floating Harbour. Finally, if you want to learn more about Bristol and its culture and history, look no further than M Shed- and why not try a ride on the restored steam train out front!