Advice on artsy towns within half hour of Bristol

[RubyD]

I am sure this has been asked 1 million times but here I go again.

I am looking for the holy grail.

We are planning to relocate from London to the Bristol/Somerset area in 2021. I will be starting up a yoga/massage/retreat business eventually so we want to be in lovely countryside, a pretty town, ideally fairly lively to give me some business and with a creative vibe. Hubby might be working in Bristol at least part of the week so ideally half an hour to 45 mins commute.

Obvs we are going to explore the area a lot but we will only have a few weekends to do this without our kids so want to make sure we hit the hotspots.

Would be great to have options for good primary and secondary schools.

Any recommendations would be amazing.

Thank you.

Also totally agree that 30 mins from central Bristol = Bristol. The kind of place you’re after is going to be more like 1 hour + commute for your husband.

I was going to suggest Cirencester but google maps tells me that’s closer to an hour from Bristol... so seconding Stroud and Wells. Tetbury is also very nice.

Clevedon? That's roughly half an hour to central Bristol on a good day. Seaside, lovely restored pier, little cinema, couple of bookshops (new & used), lots of cafes etc, and I remember there was an arts trail and a pop-up-gallery there a couple of years ago, but I don't know if those are regular things.

The Guardian's view on Clevedon: www.theguardian.com/money/2015/feb/13/lets-move-clevedon-somerset-tom-dyckhoff

Stroud !

I also agree with the suggestions of Stroud and Cirencester, but would take ages to get to Bristol.

Stroud has grammar schools as well, 11+ exams round here.

Frome or Bruton, but honestly they are coming out of our ears.

Corsham?
Bath?
Clifton?

Come across the bridge...Abergavenny? You'll be looking at more like 45mins but there aren't many yoga places and they are sought after.

Tetbury area would be good - it's fairly affluent, unlike Stroud which is a poor relation in comparison. Surrounding villages like Chalford, Minchinhampton are lovely.

Bradford on Avon is a gorgeous town. Think its about 30 mins out of Bristol and close to Bath too.

Where I come from has been mentioned above. It’s not artsy! And has many yoga classes. Frome is popular with Londoners. Having been brought up in the West Country I am not convinced I would want to live with teenagers so far from a city. I would go for somewhere in Bath and get the train in. Lark Hall has a nice community, or Weston, depending on your budget. I’m guessing coming from London it’s reasonable.

Lots of competition in stroud plus no direct train to bristol

I agree with the PP who said half an hour from Bristol is Bristol. Traffic is awful.

Chepstow and Monmouth are both within an hour of central Bristol :)

I wouldn't say Abergavenny is 'artsy' at all and the secondary school there hasn't got a great reputation. Quite a bit of dislike for Londoners moving in too. A new yoga place has opened in neighbouring Crickhowell, which I believe has been popular.

@missmouse101 Depends on your definition of 'artsy' - I don't think many towns on here are actually. I agree, though KH is improving, Crickhowell high is a better school and again that's a lovely little town, just further away.

Thanks for comments. Food for thought! Just to mention I am originally from Ireland, thought it would be nice to bring the children closer to the countryside.

You would want to look at the train times rather than driving times for a commute to central Bristol. Driving into/out of Bristol in rush hour is sheer hell (and the air quality in the city is dire, meaning you feel guilty too), but central Bristol is pretty walkable/bikeable/bussable. And your kids will thank you for an easy trip to the city when they are old enough too - big mistake we made with our 'move to the country' - there wasn't even a bus

@MrsMoastyToasty waving back!
I’m admin on the keynsham community page and there are about 15 people that advertise their yoga classes!! It’s crazy!

Don't forget that Bristol is one of the top 10 biggest cities in the UK. So getting across it can be a nightmare. It's much like London in that it's sliced in 2 by a river (the Avon) but with significantly less bridges than the Thames. It also has a ring road which doesn't entirely encircle the city (it goes from Filton in the north to Keynsham in the south east).

Villages and suburbs to the south that haven’t been mentioned yet will get you within a 30 minute commute (by cycle) of the city centre - eg Long Ashton, Flax Bourton. Also near enough to south Bristol for potential large client base. Good mix of access to city facilities and countryside.

Thank you, tbh competition doesn't bother me as started up my business from scratch in SW london and totally swamped with yoga studios and teachers. People always their tribe. But really helpful to hear all comments and suggestions. We really want to live our dream now rather than forever talking about it. We have 3 kids, all with varying needs so trying to please everyone won't be easy. Xx

I'm about to move that way but have different criteria, I've found traffic and commute times to be quite bad ... personally I'm sticking to the coast as that's my dream but I'm expecting an hours commute

Wells and Glastonbury are overrun with those sorts of businesses (and actually quite grotty). I'd second Tetbury or Malmesbury.