One more pint...? - Beer, cider, bars and live music

Amongst the things Bristol is famous for are its street art, its music scene and, of course, its cider.  Maybe there's an evening you don't want to join the festivities planned for the weekend, or you have an extra night or two before or after?  Here's a few recommendations of possible places to amuse yourself if you feel like a drink or two.

Cider

For those interested in trying the wonderful nectar of the Apples, here are a few suggestions:

• The Apple - arguably the most popular cider bar in the city, split between a converted grain barge moored on Welsh Back and tables on the quayside
• The Stable - arguably the largest collection of draught cider in Bristol, slightly confusingly in a restaurant specialising in pizza and pies amongst the pine furniture.  Does "tasting sticks" with 1/3 pint glasses of 5 different ciders for £7.50.
• The Orchard - Voted UK Cider Pub of the year a few years back by CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale - they also like real cider...), this is the only real contender for the number of ciders offered, but in a real old-man pub instead - it's a bit out of the centre, though, near the SS Great Britain
• The Coronation Tap - the grand old lady of Bristol cider pubs, up near the Clifton Suspension Bridge, but only open in the evening.  Home to the infamous Exhibition, supposedly the strongest cider in Bristol (at around 11% by volume)

Beer

More interested in the grain than the grape?  Here are a few (relatively central) places famous for their range of beers:

• Beer Emporium - the clue is in the name.  This cellar bar on King Street forms part of the "beer-muda triangle" and carries a wide and changing range of traditional cask ales and craft keg beers (the latter are, unsuprisingly, rather more expensive...)
• Small Bar - another corner of the triangle on King Street.  Slightly confusingly sells all beers in measures like 1/3 or 2/3 pints.  Specialises in craft beer, so it's not cheap but it's invariably interesting.  Does "tasting flight" options where you can get small glasses of 5 different beers (though you have to pay extra if you want the more unusual strong ones over 7%)
• The Famous Royal Navy Volunteer - almost universally known as "The Volley", this is the third point of the triangle.  Their beer list takes up much of the wall, and they sell almost everything in 1/3, 1/2, 2/3 or pint measures.  Again the cask options tend to be better value than the keg ones.
• Brewdog.  Yes, we have one.  If you've seen one before, you know the score - very tasty, if somewhat expensive, craft beer.  Generally pretty lively.
• The Three Tuns - something of a hidden gem, with a nice collection of cask ales and few craft beers, just down the road from the Cathedral
• The Cornubia - slightly tricky to find, off a back street from Victoria Street, this is a favourite haunt of the real ale brigade
• The Seven Stars - another real ale pub, usually a contender in the "pub of the year" competition of the local CAMRA branch
• The Crofters Rights - craft beer ahoy, with a long line of taps and a menu written up on the wall in chalk.  Also has live music some nights (and DJs some others)

Live music

Are you a fan of the thrill of seeing bands playing live in the flesh?  Bristol has a strong tradition of local music, often playing in pubs and bars with no cover charge but a bucket going around for donations to the musicians (give generously if you enjoy!).  Here are a few places with a tradition of live music (though there are many more options around, especially on weekend nights):

• The Canteen - the house bar at the bottom of the Hamilton House building on Stokes Croft, famous for the 2 large pieces of street art facing each other outside (one of which is possibly the largest Banksy piece in Bristol), this is one of the venues that has live music every night of the week
• The Old Duke - becoming a bit of a tourist trap at times now, but still a Bristol institution, this corner bar on King Street is Bristol's most famous jazz/blues/world music bar, and again has live music every night of the week
• The Fleece - a real concert venue rather than a bar with live music, you'll need tickets for gigs here, but the atmosphere can be great
• #1 Harbourside - a personal favourite of the author, especially on Friday and Saturday nights, the music selection is eclectic but frequently excellent.  They also have a decent range of drinks that aren't expensive for being right on the Harbour, but be warned if it's warm - the place sometimes gets super-hot as there's no A/C, particularly if the band gets everyone dancing.
• The Louisiana - more of an indie/rock place, across the harbour from the city centre
• The Golden Lion - a fair way out of the centre on Gloucester Road, but often has an excellent atmosphere for live bands
• The Gallimaufry - closer in on Gloucester Road
• The Thunderbolt - one to look into if you're over near the Bath Road, a small venue that can have a fun atmosphere

More time to burn? - Day trip ideas.

Got more time? Staying for longer? Here's some easy day trip and other ideas around the area (not including Bath, which we're visiting on Sunday)... (bear in mind that the bus frequencies given are for peak times - evenings and Sundays you won't find so many...)

Weston-Super-Mare

The typical bank holiday day trip from Bristol!  A (somewhat muddy) beach, a pier with a bunch of amusements, the biggest tidal difference in Europe (over 12 metres - hence the frequently muddy beach...) and, if you're really lucky, donkeys!

Bus X1 from Bristol Bus Station, runs about every 15-20mins (takes ~60mins) or train from Temple Meads.

Glastonbury and Wells

The hippy capital of the UK (ley lines, crystals, goddess worship?  This is the place for you...) and the smallest city in England, complete with massive medieval cathedral.

Bus 376 from Bristol Bus Station, half hourly (takes ~70mins)

For either of the above, the best deal is to ask for a £7 West of England day ticket.

Cardiff

Wales's capital, home to the Welsh Assembly, the Welsh Opera (in Cardiff Bay), one of the most spectacular city-centre stadiums in the world and, of course, Doctor Who....

National Express Bus from Bristol Bus Station (1hr 10mins) or train from Temple Meads (50mins, passing through the Severn Tunnel - not quite the Chunnel, but still...)

Exeter

Not so much one for a day trip, but a good place to base yourself if heading down into Devon and/or Cornwall.

National Express Bus from Bristol Bus station (2hr 10) or train from Temple Meads.  Easy links to the rest of Devon as well!

Got a car...?

The countryside close to Bristol also has some beautiful places, but they're a bit harder to get to by public transport - the Mendip Hills to the south, with Cheddar, home to Britain's deepest gorge and, of course, cheese; the Cotswold Hills to the north-east, with beautiful villages like Castle Combe; the National Arboretum at Westonbirt, with its collection of trees from around the world; the Wye Valley and the Forest of Dean; there are many more places to see in the West Country.

Places to stay - Accommodation

Although it is a relatively large city (a little over 500,000 people) Bristol's accommodation options aren't as varied as might be expected - possibly partly explained by the fact it hasn't historically been a tourist destination.

This can pose some challenges for visitors on summer weekends, especially when one of the many summertime festivals is on, as the budget accommodation options (including CS hosts) can fill up - Bristol is also very popular with "stag" and "hen" weekends, so there are often many visitors from other parts of the UK.  Planning ahead somewhat is definitely recommended!

CouchSurfing

Obviously, for a CouchSurfing event, one of your best options is to look for a local host and send them a request - a few things to be aware of:

1. The filters on CS's search functionality can be flaky - if you get "No results", try clearing the filters and searching again
2. Many long-time hosts have their couches set to "Maybe", so don't forget to include them (not just "Yes" status hosts) when searching
3. Don't just assume that a potential host knows about the event - CS isn't great at communicating about events these days, and many hosts have never been so much into the social scene
4. You may have to send a fair few requests - if so, it's advisable to try and avoid completely copy/pasting as many members don't react that well to them

Hostels

If you prefer to be completely independent of a host, or want to stay right in the city centre, or if you just haven't had any luck with finding hosts, the next-best budget option are the hostels - Bristol currently has 5 reasonable ones:

• YHA Bristol - http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/bristol (right on the Harbour in the centre of town)
• Bristol Backpackers - http://www.bristolbackpackers.co.uk/ (just off the Centre)
• Full Moon Backpacker Hostel - http://www.fmbristol.co.uk/full-moon-backpacker-hostel (bottom of Stokes Croft, above a pub)
• Bristol Backpackers - http://www.bristolbackpackers.co.uk/ (near the Broadmead shopping area, above The Lanes venue, where some of the Friday festivities are happening)
• Kyle Blue - http://www.kylebluebristol.co.uk/ (the newest option, on a boat near the M Shed museum)

Other options

Bristol does also have a few "budget" hotel options (Premier Inn, Travelodge, Ibis, etc) so it may be worth looking on sites like Booking.com, Agoda, Lastminute, Laterooms if you are either wanting a bit more privacy or just totally stuck.  Similarly, you could always look at what options there might be on AirBnB.

Getting to Bristol - Transport

Bristol is the largest city in the West of England, and a transport hub, by the junction of the M4 and M5 motorways and less than 2 hours from London on the Great Western Railway - it also has one of the largest regional airports in the UK, with flights from numerous budget (and not-so-budget) airlines connecting across Europe.

Flights

Bristol (BRS)

Bristol airport is a local hub for both easyJet (http://www.easyjet.com/en/routemap) and Ryanair (https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/cheap-flight-destinations), as well as some flights on Wizz, BMI Regional, KLM, SN Brussels, Aer Lingus and others.

To get from the airport to the city centre, there are 2 options - the "Airport Flyer" bus (route A1) or a taxi.

The Flyer is £7 one-way or £11 return to the city centre, or £5 one-way or £6 return to the "West Street/Parson Street" stop in South Bristol, for those short on cash and high on energy for walking.

A taxi will cost somewhere around £25 to the city centre, so only really makes sense for a group of 4 travelling together.

Stansted (STN) and Luton (LTN)

These two are the budget airline capitals of the UK - that's the good news.  The bad news is that they're at least 3.5 hours away from Bristol, by train (see below) - and significantly more if you go by coach (bus) via central London.

Heathrow (LHR) and Gatwick (LGW)

London's two main airports.  If you happen to be coming via one of these, the coach is your best option - it's about 2 hours from Heathrow to Bristol, nearly direct (there's one side-stop on the edge of Reading), and closer to 3 hours from Gatwick.  These used to all be National Express, but Megabus have now got the right to run some as well. There are train options, but it quickly gets either complicated or expensive.

Birmingham (BHX)

Yes, the "second city" of the UK (don't get in the way if Glasgow or Manchester decides to contest this) also has an airport, and a pretty busy one.  There are some buses from here to Bristol (though fewer than from Heathrow/Gatwick - again, look at National Express and Megabus), and it's about an hour and a half by train (via Birmingham New Street) - again, see below about trains.

Cardiff (CWL), Southampton (SOU) and Exeter (EXT)

There are flights to all of these, but not that many - in all cases, you'd potentially have to go via the relevant city centre before connecting to Bristol

Trains

The UK has a very extensive rail network, connecting all the major cities and linking quite a lot of smaller towns as well.  However, it is also remarkably expensive, unless you book it in advance and specify the exact train you will travel on.

All the UK train operating companies have their own websites, and all of them can sell tickets on all trains.  For an overview, you can start by looking on http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

The costs of tickets if you turn up and book on the day are often terrifying.  There are 3 ticket types that are always available: Anytime (full price), Off-Peak and Super Off-Peak.  These are, respectively, horrifyingly expensive, rather expensive, and expensive.

The way to travel on the UK's rail network without selling your granny or your soul is Advance tickets - a limited number of these are made available on each train, and they are released about 10 to 12 weeks before travel.  Travelling away from peak/busy times, you can sometimes get reasonable prices for this (e.g. one-way between Bristol and London for less than £20).  You have to specify the exact train, and you are given a seat reservation - you must sit in that seat.  You usually need to collect these from the station your journey starts from, from an automatic machine, using the card you booked online with.

If booking tickets to Bristol, you want Bristol Temple Meads station - unless you are staying with a host who lives right out on the northern edge of the city, you do not want to get tickets to Bristol Parkway!

Connecting with London, the trains leave from Paddington station, and (as long as there aren't engineering works happening) take 1h45m.

Coaches(buses)

The UK has two major coach (long distance bus) companies - National Express (http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx) and Megabus (http://uk.megabus.com/).

They're pretty competitive on price, though National Express (NX) tends to have slightly more departures so there are usually a few more options.

Connecting with London, the coaches leave from Victoria Coach Station (this is not the same as Victoria Station, for the trains - they're about 10-15 minutes' walk apart) and take between 2h30m and 3h on the schedule (and can be longer than this if stuck in rush-hour traffic in or out of Bristol or London)

GBW - An Introduction

Welcome to the site/blog of the Gert Bristol Weekender, or GBW!

This has been set up to allow us to get out more information than is practical via the website of CouchSurfing (CS), the community that spawned the event.

For those not familiar with CS, go out and Google it - there's a lot of info out there, and we're not going to put across our own take on it here, as that's not the purpose of this site.

What the purpose is, is to provide additional information for those planning on or considering attending one of the "weekender"/camp/invasion/gathering events organised by the Bristol CS community - these currently are referred to as the Gert Bristol Weekender, but have occurred under other names (e.g. GraffitiSurfing, Balloonacy) in previous incarnations.

The aim of these events is generally similar - to invite other travellers from the international hospitality/sharing community to visit and see/enjoy our home.  To this end, we organise a collection of events over (typically) a 3-day "long weekend" period, and try to keep the cost as low as possible (preferably free) for all events - there are obviously additional activities that can cost money, but we try to offer a free alternative whenever possible.

So, what are you waiting for?  Wait, you want more info?  Okay, take a look at a few of our other posts...