Tell me about the southwest

[slimecentury]

Mooting moving towards Bristol way for better quality of life and be nearer family (DH). We need to be nearish a station to get back up to London maybe once a week. Obviously I know about Bristol and Bath but where else might suit?
We'd like somewhere either very pretty countryside rural or in a small town size with quite a lovely vibe - small festivals, food markets, indie shops that sort of thing. Accessible to Bristol. And preferably not brexitish iykwim though as long as it's not in your face that's fine.
I've heard Stroud and Frome and Bruton are nice. Any other places or areas to recommend?
Schools are needed though private is fine (though prefer state). Just not too far away.
Thank you!

Glastonbury, Street?

Stroud

Grammar schools in Stroud

Bradford on Avon

Keynsham/ bitton

Stroud or Cirencester (Kemble station has trains to London). Painswick is nice but no train direct links to London, would be the Stroud secondary schools.

Gloucester/Stroud have state secondary grammars if you take the 11 plus exams - Cheltenham has one state secondary grammar as well, but it is very competitive to get a place at.

Why are selective areas seen as a plus? I'd avoid anywhere that had a grammar system.

My hometown is Bradford on Avon and it was such a lovely place to grow up. I moved away in my early twenties (a long time ago now!), but I go back once a year for our annual school reunions. I still love it and it still feels like home :)

Stroud is very busy with traffic all the time, and like many other towns, has a drug problem. I can never see the love for it on here, it is somewhere I endeavour to avoid.
Wooton under Edge and Dursley are okay, Malmesbury is handy for Kemble station, as is Tetbury, but Tetbury has expanded SO much in the past 20 years it is not the place it used to be when I lived there 30 plus years ago.
Cirencester has some lovely shops but in my experience the parking is murder (in normal times), but there are some lovely towns to the west of Ciren - Fairford and Lechlade are just 2, and not too far from Swindon for quick trains to London.

Minehead is a very nice town if you can ignore Butlins, the surrounding villages are lovely but no train links and about an hour to the nearest station. Lots of nice villages surrounding Bridgwater, but wouldn't want to live in the town itself; good transport links.
Mentioned by pp, Glastonbury is great if that's your vibe, although I'm not a fan of Street, again transport links are quite poor though.

Thank you everyone. Lots of places to visit once we're allowed!

Taunton has directish trains to Paddington (one stop at Reading) so a lot of the villages near to Taunton could work.

Frome

I live in Bristol now and absolutely love it. We've just brought a place in Coombe Dingle, so it's a little further out than the centre but still close by! It looks lovely and lots of walking areas as ids next to Blaise Castle

Castle Cary, Frome, Bruton? I'd also give Somerton a shout - a small town but utterly charming. Fast trains to Paddington from Castle Cary are only 1hr 35mins.

Villages around Street and Glastonbury are also lovely and countryside v. pretty.

We moved here from London and your money goes a nice long way! Somerset has an unusual and very lovely vibe to it - very inclusive, very laid back, wonderful live music scene and fantastic food. Can't recommend enough.

Just to clarify as PP mentioned - I wouldn't live in Street or Glasto towns themselves, but all the villages surrounding are lovely.

Yate
Nailsea
Keynsham

I've either worked, lived or have family and friends in the above towns. All of them have a bus service to Bristol and a railway station.

All the above are in separate council authorities. Bristol is both a city and a council authority and is surrounded by North Somerset (Nailsea area), South Gloucestershire (Yate and surrounding areas, but also has streets in Kingswood to the east of the city where the county boundary runs down the middle) and Bath and North East Somerset (Keynsham, Bath and surrounding areas).

I don't know about schools in Yate and Nailsea as I live in Keynsham. Keynsham has 2 secondary schools (Broadlands Academy and Wellsway School) and several primary schools (with one recently opened and another opening shortly). There is a monthly farmers market, a Christmas fayre and a music festival which is a week long event of live music in the pubs, restaurants and social clubs culminating in a weekend of music in the park.

Sorry - Fairford and Lechlade are East of Cirencester!