Bristol with kids

[lovenancy]

Planning a 2 day trip to Bristol with 4 kids (ages 8 to 14), any suggestions for where to explore? Staying at youth hostel and travelling by train. Thanks in advance.

[Tobuyornot99]

Walk over the suspension bridge. Aquarium is nice but very spendy. Walk around harbour / M Shed (or V Shed, can't remember which). Picnic on the Downs, look at Banksy street art, loads to do.

[frazzled3ds]

Loads to do round Bristol!

There's @Bristol, which is a science type place, loads of hands on stuff and interesting facts etc.

SS Great Britain also great. Pretty sure there's river cruises along the Avon, there's an aquarium place too opposite @Bristol. If you get in touch with the YHA you're staying at they may well have some additional recommendations too. I took my 3 there for a visit a year or so ago, and we did @Bristol and SS Great Britain over the course of two days. Great fun!

Enjoy your trip :)

[frazzled3ds]

Don't know why there's loads of stars appeared in all of that - here's a weblink instead!

www.at-bristol.org.uk

[exexpat]

@Bristol science museum is good for that age group, as is the zoo - as well as the animals, there is a good playground and a high ropes course (costs extra). Aquarium also not bad. All of those are expensive, though, but you might be able to find deals if you look online in advance, eg if you are travelling by train there are some 2-for-1 offers www.gwr.com/destinations-and-events/offers#bristol

M Shed (harbourside) and the city museum (top of Park St) are free.

There are often child-friendly shows on at the Hippodrome, Old Vic or Tobacco Factory.

St Nicholas Market has lots of food stalls to try out.

Depending on when you are coming, there are often festivals, markets and other events around the harbourside and city centre - there'll be something pretty much every weekend from about May onwards. Look at the visitbristol.co.uk/ or www.bristol247.com/ to see what's on.

[MrsWembley]

Too much for just two days!! Here's a few suggestions...

Free:
Bristol Museum and Art Gallery - loads of beautiful stuff and totally geared up for little ones. My two have been visiting since they were babies;
The MShed - loads of interesting stuff about Bristol and the surrounding area and, again, totally geared up for kids;
walk from the MShed to Cumberland Basin, if it's fine weather, along the river;
the cathedral, beautiful building, even for us atheists!
Paying:
take a ferry trip, a lovely way of seeing the centre;
take the guided tour on the open top bus (if it's running, I don't know when it starts);
Bristol Aquarium - costs a bit, but you could take a packed lunch and spend the whole day;
@Bristol - again, costly but take a packed lunch and stay all day (and try to shield their eyes as you run through the gift shop at the exit;
Bristol Zoo - small but absolutely brilliant at entertaining smalls, but again, you get the picture, bring a packed lunch (and if you're visiting in the warm weather bring a change as there's a wet play area!)

And then there's the usual theatres and cinemas and ten-pin bowling and big parks and woods like Ashton Court or Blaise Estate or Leigh Woods that you could spend all day traipsing through

Remind me again why we're moving?

[MrsWembley]

[exexpat]

[lovenancy]

Brilliant! Thanks all!x

[Killerqueen2244]

If the weather isn't great there's a laser quest near the shopping centre which is quite fun to go to, I've seen lots of different age groups using it. There's also the indoor mini golf in Cabot Circus, which is always busy every time I visit! Love Bristol!!

[Barbeasty]

Definitely @Bristol. We had to drag our 4 & 6 year olds out of it after 6 hours, and there was still more we could have done there. The 3D planetarium shows are good. It isn't cheap, but we thought it was worth it.

The museum & art gallery has a stuffed pheasant which looks like Trump.

There's a cycle path that runs all along the river on the same side as Ashton Court.

A general wander around Clifton, with the suspension bridge, shops, downs and the camera obscura is nice.

[lovenancy]

Is Clifton central? Is there a cool arty part? A vintage quarter with good food? Keep the ideas coming, big help!x

[bluebump]

If you are going before 7th April @Bristol has one child going free with one paying adult. More info and voucher on their website.

[CheerfullyIndifferent]

As you're travelling by train, have a look at the GWR website, we got a 2 for 1 voucher to @ Bristol from there when we visited last October.

[CheerfullyIndifferent]

GWR offers - they've got the zoo as well.

[exexpat]

If you like wandering round interesting arty bits, then you could try:

• Christmas Steps/Colston Ave - picturesque steep stepped street with little crafty shops & cafes (including a board game cafe)
  

• Stokes Croft/Cheltenham Rd/Gloucester Rd (this is actually one long road that goes on forever - well, as far as Cheltenham and Gloucester...) - at the city centre end (Stokes Croft) it is edgy/urban/hipster with Banksy and other street art, interesting shops and cafes and a scattering of authentic street drinkers; as you go further up, it gets more into vintage shops/slightly less hipster or rather more family-friendly cafes and restaurants/delis/toy shops/charity shops, and then settles down into more everyday sort of shops.
  

• St Nicholas Market and Corn St area - covered market with quirky stuff, lots of different food stalls, outdoor market with food/crafts on different days, and Corn St plus the side streets off it have loads of cafes and restaurants
  

• Clifton has upmarket cafes and shops (lots of interior design stuff, but a few more gifts, toys etc) - close to the suspension bridge and zoo, so easy to combine with those, but quite a long uphill walk from the harbourside area.

[Barbeasty]

Distance wise Clifton is reasonably central, but it's up a very steep hill. There are regular busses heading up there though.

You could easily start up in Clifton, then walk down Whiteladies Road to the museum, then down Park Street to the cathedral and on to the harbour area.

[Smallinthesmoke]

Definitely check out Zooropia at the zoo. You can walk 5m up on ropes above the gibbons.
I also like to visit the aye-ayes.
Love Bristol, hope you have a good time.

[MrsMoastyToasty]

There are water features in Millennium Square outside @Bristol. If the weather is fine then the younger children can paddle.
The Downs is a wide open space that overlooks the Avon Gorge. At certain times of the year there are events going on there like fun fairs. There are also caves and a camera obscura.
Just be aware that Bristol is a very hilly city.
And if you're using public transport you must say "Cheers Drive" when you get out ofor the bus or taxi.

[lovenancy]

This is fantastic! You're all lovely, thanks for taking the time to share your tips.x

[elephantoverthehill]

Cabot tower, Blaise Castle, ss great britain, camera obscura, slidey rock, central library, st mary Redcliffe and more

[MrsMoastyToasty]

A little outside Bristol in Bitton is Avon Valley Railway. It's alongside the Bristol to Bath cycle track. The railway is a charity and they have a cafe in a railway carriage and they also run the steam trains some weekends.

[Thesunrising]

Make time for the Arnolfini - three doors down from the youth hostel and often have family art/craft activities at the weekend. If you head to SS Great Britain (v. good value tickets) then nip round the corner to Spike Island for their exhibition (also has very good cafe!)

[Thesunrising]

To add - boat trip ! Either round the harbourside or the cross harbour ferry will get you from the 'north' of the harbour right over to the SS Great Britain. You can then walk back to youth hostel via M Shed and do a circuit

[lovenancy]

Thanks all 💐💐💐

[MrsMoastyToasty]

If you keep your tickets to the SS GB you can get in for free for up to a year.