Advice wanted... Surrounding Bristol villages.

[Polcol]

Hi, my husband is looking at getting a job in one of the Bristol hospitals, southmead or BRI which means we need to look at moving to a town or village (I don't want to live in Bristol itself, more of a country family) within 30 mins commuting time.

Currently we are living further south but I'm not really sure if we are aiming for north or south or east or west of Bristol (sort of depends which hospital he ends up in).

What I would like to know is what are the nicest towns or villages with enough going on and good schools (kids are aged 6,4 and 6 months) within half an hour of Bristol? We are both outdoorsy, I love running and my husband cycles so anything with easy reach to countryside is a bonus.

Thank you in advance

XXX

If you are pretty wealthy, look at Barrow Gurney. It's a nice community which (pre-lockdown anyway) has a lot of events going on.

The combination you are looking for is rare, so expect to pay through the nose for it. If your budget is less than £600k then you will have to compromise on either countryside access, or schools, or commuting time as I very much doubt you can achieve all three for less.

My recommendations would be Bradford on Avon (absolutely gorgeous and surrounded by beautiful countryside. Very quaint and posh) or Clevedon (by the sea, nice stony beach, countryside, lots of sports facilities)

30 mins commuting time by car will not get you very far out of Bristol - and maybe not even beyond the suburbs. 30 minute commute by bike would get you to places like Long Ashton or Flax Bourton which are more rural (if working at BRI).

I work in the BRI- currently live in Clifton and jusy brought a place in Coombe Dingle, other places to look at are Almondsbury, Chipping Sodbury and Westbury on Trym

Bristol traffic is horrific. If you're looking for a 30 minute commute, then you really need to wait until you know which hospital... what could be a 20 minute commute to one, could be an hour and a half to a different one on a bad day.

If he ens up at the BRI, and the commute time is important, then you NEED to look out past Westbury, because getting in to Bristol from any other angle at peak times will be a lot more. Ex husband's commute from one Bristol suburb to a slightly further one on the same side of Bristol regularly took him an hour.

Other than that, if you're looking at southmead, I would recommend Thornbury. I think it ticks most of your boxes, but it would take too long if you were looking at the BRI...

Oh that's really helpful thank you. The half hour commute is more middle of the night when he is on call. The rest of the time he will just be heading in for normal shift patterns. In terms of budget I think our max is 750, but that would be absolute max. Hopefully we will be able to put ourselves somewhere within reach with that?! 🤞

Thanks for your help.

Polly

Ooh for 750 definitely check out B on A! Very jealous, wish I could live there.

It takes 30 mins to the bri at night from walton in gordano - we like it, countryside, sea, nice pubs but no idea on schools because mine are grown. Daytime there's a train into Bristol from nailsea

Does anyone know what Saltford is like to live in? Looks a good position for Bristol commuting.

I was born and brought up in Keynsham, my mum is about to put her house on the market in Keynsham, top end of the Wellsway. Right on the edge of the country side. Good state school options on that side. Would suit your budget

Thornbury is lovely that's where my DHs Grandparents live and it's where I would love to live it's rural feeling lovely place but not too far from cribs causeway or the city centre itself.
Traffic in Bristol is a nightmare DH is from Bristol as is all his family he regularly commutes from Bristol to Wales everyday for work.

Rangeworthy is also very nice and worth exploring.

Saltford is one massive traffic jam from 8am to 9:30am and from 4pm to 6:30pm - or rather two massive traffic jams as there is one in each direction. I don't think it would be very nice to live there, but I don't know first- hand

We lived in Pill a few years ago and I really liked it there - on the cycle path into Bristol, close to Ashton Court and Leigh Woods, handy for Clifton and Portishead and I recall getting to my appointments at Southmead and St Michaels not taking too long. Also feels like you’re out in the countryside a bit more.