Brislington guidebook

The main A4 trunk road cuts Brislington into two halves, but back in the 19th century it was voted the "prettiest village in Somerset."

Now part of south-east Bristol, Brislington was once a fashionable retreat for Bristol merchants. Around 60 of their large houses, farmhouses and cottages still stand.

The big expansion of Brislington started in the 1890s and by 1933 the whole of the village had been taken into Bristol.

Most of its major industries closed in the 1980s, including Europe’s largest jam-making factory. Now Brislington is well-known for being home to the HTV West Studios on Bath Road, next to the historic Arnos Vale Cemetery, which is undergoing restoration.

Brislington’s paint works were converted over the last few years, and now consist of studios, offices, houses and media organisations, most notably Endemol West, makers of Noel Edmonds’ TV game show Deal Or No Deal.

The area has several schools, with secondary school Brislington Enterprise College currently undergoing a multi-million-pound revamp.

It is also home to CLC @ Brislington, one of Bristol’s three City Learning Centres, which use information communication technology in teaching and learning.

Nearby Totterdown rises steeply from the south bank of the River Avon to a largely terraced housing area, where there are dozens of brightly painted town houses.

Once mainly a working class area and built for the nearby railway industry, Totterdown has become popular with the younger generation who find it easy get into the city centre from here.

West of Brislington is Knowle, from where there are good views of the city just above Perrett’s Park, along Sylvia Avenue, which is lined by Victorian terraces.

Property in Brislington

Brislington is a popular residential area, especially for families, as it is close to Bristol city centre and has good transport links through its proximity to Temple Meads railway station.

Its long and varied history has given it one of the widest ranging property selections in Bristol. Its origins as a picturesque rural village, for instance, are still very evident in the quaint cottages and the few surviving farm houses that you come across unexpectedly in the streets just off the main A4 road in the centre of Brislington.

You'll even find large country mansions that Bristol's wealthy merchants built here in the late 18th and early 19th century, such as Brislington House, which is now known as Long Fox Manor.

This grand building has been converted into 45 luxury apartments and its owners share suitably upmarket facilities like a swimming pool, gym, sauna, spa, ballroom and tennis courts as well as landscaped grounds.
 
During Victorian and Edwardian times, however, this rural place developed rapidly into a suburb.  Tree-lined streets full of impressive period homes with generous  gardens sprung up, such as those in the Kensington Park area and in St Anne's or "New Brislington", as it was known.

Because of their considerable rooms sizes, good proportions and solid construction, these traditional homes have always been popular with families, but investors have also recognised their potential and converted them into flats for sale or rent.

As industrial growth occurred and employment prospects increased in Brislington and its neighbours (Sandy Park, Arnos Vale, Broomhill, St Anne's, Whitby Road and Totterdown), an extensive amount of smaller, terraced housing was also built to accommodate the influx of workers.

Totter Down

Not so many years ago, prices in Totterdown were still relatively low compared with surrounding areas, but this former artisans' district has become a real property hot spot which has, of course, had an impact on its house prices.

The lower end around Oxford Street has retained an almost village-y feel, and has become extremely trendy with young professional couples who love the streets of well-built terraces, and the fact that it's a quick walk or cycle to the main employment areas of the city, as well as to the shops and parks.

The brightly painted terraces that seem to totter down off the hill onto the Three Lamps junction of the A37 and A4 are especially popular and, because they can be seen from right across the city as well as from the train station, they have become something of a landmark.

Tiny, narrow streets like Somerset Road that run from further up Totterdown Hill down to the A4 are packed with solidly built period houses that are also favourites with young families and professionals.

You need to be fit to live in this particular part, though: one of these roads, Vale Street, is said to be the steepest residential street in Europe.

Spoilt for Choice

The growth of this whole area, from the Keynsham bypass end of the A4 down to Temple Meads, and from the A37 Wells Road to the Feeder Canal, has resulted in a range of housing that suits most buyers' requirements.

You'll find one-bedroom flats in converted period properties and small two-bed terraced houses right through to detached four-bedroom family homes and luxury apartments.

Less obvious, however, are large scale developments of modern housing although there are some examples, such as the long closed down board mill at St Anne's, and the Robertson's Jam and Marmalade Factory in Brislington.

Both sites have been developed to provide a mix of new affordable houses and flats that have proved very popular with first-time buyers.
 
There has also been a fair amount of development around Brislington School, in the West Town Lane and Callington Road area, and the side of Totterdown from The Bush pub on the A37 Wells Road down to the old Turnpike pub on the A4.

But generally, this is an area of well-established communities, and there isn't a lot of new building going on, except for the occasional one-off house and some small-scale developments.

Prices vary enormously, even within specific areas, so you'll pay more for a home in the delightful, leafy First Avenue than you would for a similarly sized home just a street away.

And it would cost you more for a modern two-bedroom flat in a purpose-built riverside development at the Feeder end of St Anne's than it would for a same-sized older property in Broomhill.

Investors, too, have made their mark here, buying old and new properties to rent out, and you'll find a wide ranging selection of flats, maisonettes, semi-detached and detached homes on letting agents' lists.

LIVING IN BRISLINGTON
 
Transport

Road: It is also only about 20 minutes to Bath along the A4, and a 15-minute drive in the opposite direction will take you into the centre of Bristol. Buses serving Brislington include numbers 36, 36A, 57A, 349, 433 and the 436.

There is also a Park & Ride site on the A4 Bath Road at Brislington. The service operates from Monday to Saturday between 6.45am and 7.00pm weekdays and between 7.40am and 7.00pm on Saturdays.

On Thursdays, the service runs until 8.20pm for late-night shopping in Broadmead. It takes about 20 minutes to get into central Bristol, and buses operate every 10 minutes.

Train: Bristol’s main train station, Temple Meads, is about 15 minutes away.

Air: Bristol International Airport is about 30 minutes away, south west of Brislington.
 

Shopping, Eating, Drinking

Brislington’s main shopping area is Sandy Park, where there are lots of independent shops. Brislington Retail Park has more chain stores such as JJB Sports, Carpetright and Toys ‘R’ Us. Brislington also has a number of car dealerships, including Peugeot, Toyota, Rover and Fiat.

The large Avonmeads shopping park and Sainsbury’s and Tesco supermarkets are also within easy reach.

In Knowle, the majority of shopping facilities are at the Broadwalk Shopping Centre.

Totterdown has several good pubs, with two well-known for their music, the Shakespeare and the New Found Out.

Banco Lounge, a smart cafe bar based in the old YWCA building on Wells Road, opened recently, and the Cumberland on St Lukes Road has reopened as a gastro pub called the Star and Dove.

The Paintworks is a very trendy new creative quarter in Bristol, where media and artistic people live, work and generally hang out.

Designers, developers, animators and photographers all rub shoulders, renting office space, living in flats and sharing drinks at the bars.

The hip Bocabar opened there in 2005, serving tapas, pizzas, cakes, cappucinos and good drinks, and there are also jazz nights, art exhibitions and food and flower markets.

Brislington is the home of the world famous Bristol Blue Glass, which has been made in the city for more than 350 years.

Every piece of glass made by the Bristol Blue craftsmen is entirely freeblown and handmade without the use of moulds and machinery, making each piece unique.

Tours, demonstrations and talks on glass blowing are available, and visitors can even try their hand at blowing a glass bubble themselves.

The Arnos Vale cemetery on Bath Road was laid out in 1837 by Charles Underwood as a smart Greek necropolis.

It is now undergoing restoration, but the place remains a romantic, 45-acre wilderness of tombs, ivy and trees. Tours, which cost £1 (children free) will take place throughout the day.

Sports & Leisure

Towards Bristol is the Avonmeads Leisure Park, where there is a 14-screen cinema and a bowling complex.

Just south of Brislington retail park is Knowle golf course, and further on down the Bath Road is Brislington Cricket Club.