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. This route would be a good option for Saturday 15th June as it includes venues that 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 at St Anne’s House (Venue 16 – open from 11am)
If you’re coming from town, why not make the most of the special Bristol Ferries service, and enjoy a leisurely journey down the river? Get the ferry at 11am from the city centre to Netham Lock, then take a short walk along St Anne’s Road to start the trail at St Anne’s House. There are 15 guest artists in the Mill Room, plus the St Anne’s House artists open studios and exhibitions, workshops for kids and adults, and plenty of food and drink – you’ll find lots to do at St Anne’s House!.
If you turn right out of St Anne’s House and head towards the Co-Op roundabout, you’ll come to a gate into St Anne’s Woods. Follow the path, keep to the right and go past the ancient St Anne’s Well, before crossing over the footbridge. If you head left, you’ll pop out near Jessie Abstract’s beautiful home garden studio (Venue 19 – image above), and if you head right, you’ll pop out near the Langton Pub (venue 21), another of our community venues – or why not do both?
After you’ve browsed the 12 stalls upstairs at The Langton pub, you may want to stop for a drink and some food downstairs, before heading to Wendy Calder’s ceramics studio on Arlington Road (Venue 17). This is open on Saturday only! You can have a go on the potter’s wheel for free and browse work by 4 other makers in her studio too.
From there, cross through St Anne’s Park and head down St Anne’s Terrace to visit Emily Dennys’ studio (venue 18), before continuing through leafy Nightingale Valley woods and either over to Vernon Jones (venue 22) and then St Luke’s Church Hall (venue 24), where there are 16 different makers and tasty cakes. Or you can head over to Sandy Park, where you’ll find These Two Hands and Moss & Twig (venue 14),and Kin Café (venue 13) with workshops, live music, and plenty of refreshments, plus some lovely home studios – Paper Heart Productions home studio on Repton Road, where you’ll also find Kay Morgan’s beautiful jewellery (venue 11) and Vernon Hewitt’s home and garden studio (Venue 20) on Wick Road, full of beautiful acrylic land and seascapes.
If you opted for Sandy Park Road first, you can cross over onto Allison Road, then take a quick shortcut behind the library, across Manworthy Road and between the houses onto Hollywood Road, where you’ll find Vernon Jones’s beautiful home studio (venue 22 – above photo). Take the footpath over Brislington Brook to St Luke’s Church Hall (venue 24) with 16 different makers and free art workshops for kids. On Saturday only, there is also the Brislington Hill Market, with lots more stalls, food and drink and free workshops.
If you opted for heading to the next community venue, St Luke’s Church Hall (Venue 24), then there’s a lovely leafy cut through Nightingale Valley to get there from The Langton pub. Head down St Anne’s Terrace to Emily Dennys’ ceramics studio, then follow the path over the old Packhorse Bridge and bear right till you hit Allison Road. Cross straight over the road and behind the bus stop to follow a little dirt path past the garages and up between the gardens. Take the left turn down the narrow tarmacked hill, and then head right along the brook to pop out on School Road. Turn right down School Road and you’ll soon be at the Church Hall, which is on your left.
Once you’ve explored St Luke’s Church Hall and the market outside on Brislington Hill (which is on Saturday only), you can head around the corner from the church to visit Colin of Bristol Woodturning (venue 23) and Seamus’ Den (venue 25). Head back up to Church Hill and follow the footpath into Victory Park and across the Meadows to the Glass Loft, for a workshop or a glass cutting demo, and Lou Phillips’ vibrant artwork (photo above). Then pop round the corner to Hop Union brewery where four different artists are exhibiting their work. The brewery is open till 9 so why not finish there with a beer and recover from all your walking!
