How to Spend a Weekend in Bristol

Every year for our anniversary, me and Blake take a trip somewhere either in the UK (we love wales) or in Europe this time we decided to stay a bit closer to home and head to Bristol for our four year anniversary. I say closer to home but it still took us 2 hours to get to Bristol which was okay for me as I could just rest up and look forward to the trip. We had a jam packed itinerary for the weekend so we set off early, with the first stop being adventure caving at Cheddar Gorge.

Cheddar Gorge & Adventure Caving

There are only two caves open to the public: Gough's Cave and Cox's Cave attracting half a million visitors a year. Britain's oldest complete skeleton was discovered here in 1903, having been buried below ground for 9,000 years! Outside of the caves it is also as equally impressive with dramatic limestone cliffs that reach 500ft in parts giving it the title of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a Natural Trust site.




Arriving at Cheddar Gorge I was so nervous for the adventure caving, I'm not a big fan of heights or the dark but the boyfriend wanted to do it, the things we do for the ones we love... so we booked an early time slot of 10am which cost £22 each for an hour and a half experience inside the caves. We we're lucky that it ended up being just the two of us along with the guide so we got a much better experience than you would with more people. Unfortunately you can't take your phone in to get any pictures but the best way of describing it is breathtaking and a physical and challenging experience which I would recommended if you don't mind tight spaces and the dark that is.


The name Cheddar is also linked with cheese making and no trip to Cheddar Gorge would be complete without trying some cheddar which is made right inside the caves to mature. Cheddar itself is also the cutest and quaint village to walk around and if you love cheese and cider as much as I do you can try out the numerous cheese and cider shops or take a break with some afternoon tea or a pint at one of the many cafes/pubs. Note that parking is £5 all day near the village but much cheaper at cliff street car park which is still close by.


Staying in Pensford 

After our trip to Cheddar we travelled 20 minutes to the village of Pensford which lies in the Chew Valley and is where our accommodation SummerHouse Bed and Breakfast was situated. The B&B jumped out at me on booking.com because it had magnificent views across the Chew Valley and access to their spa with a hot tub and swimming pool which you book for an hour time slot meaning you get it all to yourselves.


The whole B&B is fairly small with four bedrooms, each with their own name, we stayed in the silver burch room which had lovely grey and pink decor along with a luxury freestanding bath. Our wonderful stay at the bed and breakfast in Bristol cost £125 for one night including access to the spa and a home cooked breakfast in the morning.




Nearby to the B&B in Bristol was a pub called The Rising Sun which had a large riverside garden, nestled at the foot of the Pensford Viaduct. It was really lovely to sit outside on a summers day and enjoy the view.



Chew Valley Animal Park

On the same day we treated ourselves to gluten free fish and chips at Salt and Malt in Chew Stoke which overlooked a beautiful lake and then we headed to Chew Valley Animal Park nearby. A family run farm with plenty of cute animals to hold and feed including wallabies, rabbits, guinea pigs, baby chicks, hedgehogs, goats and baby piglets which Blake had a cuddle with. For £8.50 each it was a really affordable day out in Bristol.


There are many more family friendly days out in Bristol which can be found via the link.



Dinner at Chew Magna
In the evening we headed for dinner in the nearby town of Chew Magna which is a pretty little village where everyone was super friendly and they even have Uber! We chose 
The Pelican for dinner after reading great reviews and the best part was it was super quiet because there was a music festival going on nearby. For starters we had mussels and calamari then for main I had lamb with dauphinoise potatoes and Blake had confit pork belly. All gluten free and delicious! Plus the owners had the cutest Labrador dog.


City of Bristol


The next day we took the 20 minute drive from Pensford to the city of Bristol. Having never been before I was rather excited as I had heard great things about the culture, coloured houses and culinary delights. After taking a lovely stroll along the harbour in the sunshine we headed to Wapping Wharf which is a vibrant community near Bristol's harbourside. What I liked about it was that there were LOTS of independent places to eat and drink inside converted shipping containers, which looked and felt really cool! After finding gluten free beer for Blake and elderflower cider for me at Wild Beer we decided to eat at Cargo Cantina which specialise in tacos and Margaritas and the tacos are all gluten free! The cool and hip eatery is inspired by the cantinas of Mexico City and I would say that they were the best tacos I have ever had!


Facts about Bristol


A Bristolian invented blankets.


Twenty-five per cent of the world’s natural history films are made here. 

The first bar of chocolate was created in Bristol by Joseph Fry.

Bristol has four Michelin-starred restaurants.

Bristol is the  world's biggest manufacturers of hot air balloons.

You can see Graffiti artist Banksy work across the city.

There are 36 places called Bristol in the world.

Clifton Suspension Bridge today serves as a crossing for more than four million vehicles every year.


Have you ever been to Bristol?

Liz x

1 comment

  1. It looks like you had such a great time! I've always wanted to visit Bristol, but I've not been yet. Your post has made me want to go even more now! :) The Adventure Caving sounds like so much fun!

    Kayleigh x
    https://hazelnutmusings.co.uk

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