Bristol open day tomorrow- anyone else going? Any tips on parking?

[frizzynfrazzled]

DC (y12) decided at the last minute they’d like to have a look at Bristol for an open day as their aspirational choice. They booked it themselves earlier this week but we haven’t had a chance to sit down and work out a plan till this evening.

I was wondering if anyone who knows the uni well or has been on precise open days has any tips on parking?

Any tips generally on what to look out for?

My DC got the info email and sat on it till this evening, and tbh I hadn’t thought about parking but having just seen the email it basically seems to suggest avoid driving if possible. I looked at trains but it’s £181 for two people, which isn’t doable. They mention park and ride, but I don’t know how busy that’s likely to be either, but at this point probably our best option!

I was just wondering how others have found it?

If you arrive early enough then you will get parked in either Trenchard Street or Millennium Square (the better of the two. But do check the prices, Trenchard Street definitely jumps up after four hours. Bristol uni is quite spread out and both those places will require a walk up a steep hill, but unless the uni are laying on the park and ride then the walk will be the same.
It is within the congestion charge zone so check if your car is exempt.
Bristol traffic is always bad and there are a lot of road works at the moment so build in time for queues.

Yeh agree it's quite spread out. Might be best to look at accomm in clifton or City centre rather than Stoke Bishop as that's a couple of miles from the main uni buildings. Unless the uni is bussing ppl up there?

Lovely lively city tho be aware that accomm is ££ - sone cheaper halls, some ££££ and private house share about £10k for the year, so worth bearing in mind.

The last time I was in Bristol was for DS1's MSc graduation three years ago - we'd stayed at a small hotel in Keynsham the night before and used the park and ride at Brislington with a group ticket which allowed use of other buses in the city as well. For the actual open day I had attended with DD previously, there was a university shuttle bus from Temple Meads. Whether or not that is on offer this time, would parking at Bristol Parkway station and doing a short hop on the train and local bus be an option?

Bristol Parkway is an excellent suggestion if the uni are laying on a shuttle bus.

Yes agree, Bristol Parkway will be great if a shuttle bus is available. If not tho it's a few miles out of town tbh (unless you are also checking out UWE :) )

I would do park and ride if you can, traffic in Bristol is terrible and parking is expensive.

Thank you very much everyone!

The day we dropped our son at Bristol was the first time we drove there. We managed to get lost in bus lanes and acquire all sorts of tickets. Don’t drive in the centre ;-)

Use the train or bus. Parts of Bristol have aResidents Parking Zones and there's also a congestion charge for pre 2015 diesel cars.
There's also passenger ferries in The Floating Harbour if you decide to do a bit of sightseeing.