I'm still on a mission in these times of rising prices and cost-cutting to find you affordable holidays whilst still providing fun. My most recent adventure with the tribe was to Bristol and Bath for some sightseeing and culture. Now my kiddies are a little older, it becomes more of a challenge for the boy/girl issue and the 5 year age gap and then I also have to think about my hubby too (my third child).
We decided to embark on a trip to Bath and Bristol as it's been a while since I visited and the kids and hubby have never been before.
The Campsite
For this budget adventure, we settled for a campsite just outside of Bristol. No view, regimented parking, and no fires (I can hear you screaming 'what were you thinking', but hear me out 😁). This site although a little pricier has great links to Bristol and Bath along the 244 cycle path saving you money on car parking and fuel. Ahhhh, I hear you sigh. I knew I could get you onboard.
Knights Folly campsite is a 5 mins cycle to the Avon Valley railway linking Bristol and Bath and beyond.
Bristol
We started our first day by seeing the sights of Bristol and jumping onboard the art and culture scene Banksy spotting. There are lots of very good pieces of artwork dotted around the city but if you want to be sure it's a Banksy then follow this trail, which is totally free.
We then made our way to the M Shed around the quayside which is a series of buildings that house some interactive displays and artifacts from Bristolian bygone eras This is free to enter but does have an art gallery on the top floor where a fee is payable. Boo, hiss.
We also visited Ashton Court Estate which has a very reasonable parking charge of £4.00 for 5 hours. Parking here can give you enough time to take a short walk over to the impressive Clifton Suspension Bridge. Views of the city are amazing but if you want an even more impressive view then take a walk to the Clifton Observatory. You can pay a small fee £5.00 for adults £2.50 for children to go up the turret to the camera obscura and down into Giants Cave for another amazing view of the bridge.
Ashton Court has plenty of activities on offer but if you have been making use of the cycle path then check out the mountain bike trails around the perimeter of the estate.
Bristol is 9 miles along the path from the campsite but a little further if you want to reach Ashton Court. The extra effort is worth it and you can always have a cheeky cake and coffee stop as a reward for all the hard work.
Clifton Suspension Bridge
The Fun
Now, on my next topic, I missed a trick and I am kicking myself even now two days later. The kids wanted to go to Bristol Aquarium ( unplanned aaarrrgghhh). At £70.00 for a family of 4, this is hard to swallow, however, my now savvy (well-trained) hubby managed to get a free child place for the number two child making it slightly cheaper. Had I been prepared for this I might have been able to get the Tusards vouchers you can get on cereal packets and crisp packets. See, it pays to plan.
Cheap Eats
We like to keep our food bill down by eating where we know it's cheap or packing our own, usually saving our pennies for ice creams and cakes and a slap-up meal at the end of our stay. Take your position in the spotlight Whetherspoons V Shed. Now, for saying this pub is in the maintenance sheds of a major port in its time, the V Shed (I'm not going to sugar coat my words here) is nothing special at all. It was slightly nicer upstairs than downstairs which I discovered on my epic hike to the loo, and I imagine it would be nice to sit out on the quayside watching people go about their business. But remember above all, cheap drinks and food if you want to save the pennies for other things.
Bath
Ahhh, beautiful Bath is one of my favourite cities in the UK. Bath can be reached by cycling along the 244 cycle track in the opposite direction to Bristol. It's about 7 miles from the campsite but flat all the way so won't be left in a sweaty mess when you arrive in this regal city. Now, we left the track to explore Bath which I will come back to later but stay on the track to experience the Greenway Two Tunnels. These are two tunnels that aren't like any other tunnel I've experienced. The first tunnel is fairly short but this builds you up for the mega tunnel. The second tunnel is a mile long and took us six minutes to cycle from one end to the other. It is lit but the lights are dim giving it an eerie feeling. The temperature drops even before you get in the tunnel and it makes your hair stand on end. People coming from the other direction loom out of the abyss and disappear into the darkness behind you. Music is played towards the middle of the tunnel with the occasional sound of chatter and laughter which makes you question if you really heard it. This second tunnel approaching from the Bristol side is the longest cycling tunnel in the UK and you can experience this for absolutely nothing.
Back to Bath
So, anyway back to ahhh, Bath. To get to know Bath we decided to purchase a Treasure Trails map from Treasure Trails, which would help us to navigate this stunning city. Our trail started from Bath Abbey but there are several trail maps for different areas of the city. We navigated our way slowly through the first few clues (we haven't completed a trail in a while) and could see that we were heading for a park, perfect for a picnic stop in the sunshine. Bath is expensive just like most places nowadays so as parks and picnics go hand in hand it would be rude not to. Don't forget to save those pennies by packing up a feast or an afternoon tea for you and your tribe, after all, you are in Bath so you should eat like kings and queens.
The trail we chose was a spy mission which took us all over the places, past many parks and regal buildings discovering who lived where and who had discovered this and that. At the end of our trail (which we incidentally failed to solve) we were ready for a drinks break. Now this is even more disappointing than Bristol, Wetherspoons Bath is worse than Bristol however the trip to the loo is less than 0.2 miles. You won't need to plan when you want a wee way in advance. Bonus!
On to Royal Crescent, a long row of 30 townhouses built in a perfect arch overlooking Victoria Park. Although these are just a row of houses they almost have an air of royalty about them as they stand dominating the skyline with their look at me austerity. Again, it is free to view these as it is a public street. The crescent has been used in many film productions including Brigerton and The Duchess. There is also a museum at the end of the row to find out more info on this magnificent street.
A trip to Bath wouldn't be complete without a trip to the Roman Baths but seen as though my kids don't like baths, we didn't go in and admired them from the outside instead.
Bath has lots of buildings to admire but just outside of Bath not far from the Two Tunnels is Bath City Farm. This community farm is free to enter and relies on donations from the public to keep it running. So, for budget travellers this is perfect. Donate what you can but please do donate to help this project remain affordable for everyone.
Beautiful Bath
A Gorgeous Gorge
Our final day was spent at Cheddar Gorge which is about an hour from the campsite. The gorge has been carved out by ice melt and erosion over the last 1.2 million years. The 4-mile gorge walk skirts the top of the gorge giving fantastic views both up and down. There is also a lookout tower at one end of the gorge. Warning if you haven't had enough of climbing the 270 steps of Jacob's Ladder there's another 48 to get up the lookout tower. Enough with the steps! It's all worth it though (I'm a sucker for a view). We saw no end of people in sandals doing the walk over smoothed rocks and tree roots which are hazardous. Come on Brits use your common sense and wear suitable footwear when doing activities like this. Down in the gorge there are numerous shops and cafes waiting to take your hard-earned cash from you; however we opted for lunch with a view and treated ourselves to tea and cake at the Rock Cafe. This cafe was reasonably priced and was much less busy than the ones packed in like sardines on the other side of the road. My tip for visiting Cheddar Gorge is to get there early and park in the free laybys before you get to the paid parking. Take a picnic and reward yourself with a pat on the back by way of a treat. Take a picnic and admire the view from the many advantage points and my top of all tips is don't look down.
Don't Look Down!
So, there you have it, a budget break in Bristol and Bath to entertain the family.
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