With a week to go until the second ever BS4 arts trail, we wanted to share some local tips to help make the most of your trail weekend. We’ve suggested shortcuts between venues that take you through some of our beautiful woodlands and meadows, and things to do each day, as some venues are only open on one of the days. We would love to know how much of it you manage to see! With each of these suggested routes, you can do them in reverse too. The routes suggested here would be best for Saturday 15th June as some of the venues are only open that day.
All home venues will be open from 10am to 4pm. Community venue timings differ – please see Visitor FAQs for full details on what is open when.
Starting on Sandy Park Road, where it all began
Pick up a trail guide from These Two Hands (venue 14) open from 10am and browse the nature-inspired art and craft inside and outside with Moss & Twig. Grab coffee and a croissant from Kin (Venue 13) where there are artists, workshops and live music to entertain you while you browse the guide
Pop across to Paper Heart Productions home studio on Repton Road, where you’ll also find Kay Morgan’s beautiful jewellery (venue 11). Then circle around to Emma Lucy McArthur’s home print studio (venue 12 – Sunday only) on Harrow Road and Vernon Hewitt’s home and garden studio (Venue 20) on Wick Road, full of beautiful acrylic land and seascapes.
Cut down Hollywood Road via Vernon Jones’s home studio (Venue 22) to St Luke’s Church Hall (Venue 24), where you’ll find 16 makers and free kids’ arts and craft workshops. On Saturday there’s also the Brislington Hill Market to explore. Visit Colin (Bristol Woodturning) in his garden studio at 3 Glenarm Walk (Venue 23) to see him carving his wooden toys and bowls, then head to Seamus’ Den (Venue 25) where he creates line drawings studying the human form in oils and charcoals.
Stroll up Church Hill and through Victory Park and The Meadows to The Glass Loft (Venue 27) and have a go at cutting glass, or try one of the many free print workshops (see workshops page for full details and timings). After all of that, why not have a well deserved rest with a locally brewed beer at Hop Union brewery, where you’ll discover more artists and makers (Venue 28 – Saturday only from 1pm to 9pm)
Walk back down through Victory Park and along the back roads through to Nightingale Valley, where you can follow Brislington Brook through the woods, past the famous bricked-up London plane tree and over Packhorse Bridge to Emily Dennys’s beautiful ceramics studio (Venue 18). It’s a short wander up the road to Jessie’s Abstract’s beautiful garden studio (Venue 19 – image above) and then through St Anne’s Park to Wendy Calder’s ceramics studio (Venue 17 – open on Saturday only), where you can have a go on the potters wheel and explore work by Wendy and her four guest artists. The Langton Pub is just a few doors away (Venue 21) with 12 creatives upstairs. You’ll probably be in need of something to eat by now, so why not check out the Langton’s delicious menu!
Finish the day with the busy St Anne’s Open House (Venue 16) which is just down the hill from the Langton pub, a few minutes walk away. There you’ll find 12 more arts trail artists and makers, as well as the tenant artist’s open studios, exhibitions and workshops. There’s food and drink from Ceylon & Beyond, CiboMatto and the Bricks bar, so it’s a great place to finish the trail. And if you want a bit more food and drink before you go home, pop round the corner to Lost & Grounded brewery (Venue 15), for some great locally crafted beers and cider, and a peruse of James Morton’s striking artwork. Fat Dad’s pop up kitchen will be serving delicious burgers and fries. And they‘re open till 10pm so it’s a great place to end the day.
