Cycling stops in Bristol
36 places · United Kingdom
Bristol is a city you leave by climbing. The ground rises the moment you cross the Avon, and within half an hour the roads are running over the Mendips toward Cheddar and the Somerset Levels, or north onto the Cotswold edge above the Severn.
In between sit the Chew Valley lakes, which is where most of the city's riding happens: quiet lanes, a reservoir on either side and a café at the far end.
Cafés
- Salt & MaltSalt & Malt sits on the shore of Chew Valley Lake, serving breakfast, lunch and a fish and chip menu from a dining room with a nautical theme.
- The PelicanThe Pelican is a pub in the centre of Chew Magna, established in 1615 and reopened in 2024 under The Pony Group's Josh and Holly Eggleton.
- Warmley Waiting Room CaféWarmley Waiting Room occupies the original waiting room of the former Warmley railway station, on the Bristol to Bath Railway Path.
Climbs, views & nature
Brandon HillBrandon Hill is Bristol's oldest public park, granted to the city in 1174 and opened to the public in 1625.
Dundry HillDundry Hill is an oolite ridge nearly four miles long, topped by the tower of St Michael's church, built around 1482 and still used as a landmark across the …
Leigh WoodsLeigh Woods covers about two square kilometres of ancient woodland on the south-west side of the Avon Gorge, opposite Clifton Suspension Bridge, the largest …
Mendip Hills National LandscapeThe Mendip Hills National Landscape, formerly an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, covers 198 square kilometres of Carboniferous limestone rising sharply f…
Swildon's Hole CavernSwildon's Hole is the longest cave on the Mendip Hills, running over 9,000 metres through crawlways, chambers and active streamways.
The Clifton ObservatoryClifton Observatory started as a windmill in 1766, later ground snuff, then burned out after a gale set its sails alight in 1777.
History & landmarks
Aerospace BristolAerospace Bristol is an aerospace museum at Filton, to the north of Bristol, England.
Ashton Court Mansion HouseAshton Court's manor house dates back to the 11th century and appears in the Domesday Book; the current building took shape in the 1630s, when Thomas Smyth a…
Blaise HamletBlaise Hamlet is a group of nine thatched cottages John Nash designed in 1810-11 for retired staff of the Blaise Castle Estate.
Blaise Museum - Kingsweston Roman VillaThis late-third-century Roman villa was uncovered in 1947 when workers building the Lawrence Weston estate cut through its walls, and excavation ran until 1950.
Bristol CastleBristol Castle stood here from the 11th century, first a motte-and-bailey castle recorded in 1088, then rebuilt in stone with a keep and new walls in the 12t…
Bristol CathedralBristol Cathedral began as an Augustinian abbey founded around 1140 by Robert Fitzharding, consecrated in 1148.
Bristol Zoo ProjectBristol Zoo Project, at Cribbs Causeway, is the successor to Bristol Zoo Gardens, whose Clifton site closed in 2022 after 185 years.
Cadbury CampCadbury Camp is an Iron Age hill fort in Somerset, England, near the village of Tickenham.
Cheddar Gorge & CavesEngland's largest gorge, over 130 metres deep and three miles long, cuts through the Mendip Hills here.
Church of St JamesSt James' Church at Cameley dates from the late 12th century, with a 15th-century tower and a porch added in 1620.
Clevedon CourtClevedon Court is a manor house on Court Hill in Clevedon, North Somerset, England, dating from the early 14th century.
Clifton Suspension BridgeClifton Suspension Bridge spans the Avon Gorge over 300 feet above the river, designed by a 24-year-old Isambard Kingdom Brunel after he won an 1831 competit…
Cox's Cave and The Crystal QuestCox's Cave was found by mill owner George Cox in 1837 while quarrying limestone, and opened as a show cave the following year.
Gough's CaveGough's Cave has been dissolving out of Cheddar Gorge's limestone for half a million years.
Kings Weston HouseKings Weston House is an English Baroque manor built between 1712 and 1719 by Sir John Vanbrugh, architect of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard, on the site …
Leigh CourtLeigh Court is a Greek Revival mansion Thomas Hopper built in 1814 for Bristol merchant Philip John Miles, on the site of an Elizabethan house whose owner sh…
Maes KnollMaes Knoll (sometimes Maes tump or Maes Knoll tump) is an Iron Age hill fort in Somerset, England, located at the eastern end of the Dundry Down ridge, south…
Priddy CirclesPriddy Circles are four Neolithic earthwork enclosures set in a line across the Mendip plateau, each nearly 200 metres across and spread over about 1.2 kilom…
Royal York CrescentRoyal York Crescent is a Georgian terrace above Clifton, built between 1791 and 1820 after money troubles from the war with France stalled the work for years.
Saint Mary-le-Port ChurchSaint Mary-le-Port's origins trace to the late Saxon or early Norman era, near Bristol's original quayside on the Avon before the harbour moved to the Frome.
Site of Nailsea GlassworksNailsea Glassworks was a glass manufacturing factory in Nailsea in the English county of Somerset.
St Peter's ChurchSt Peter's Church dates to 1106, one of Bristol's oldest churches, with a Norman tower base and a 15th-century nave.
St Thomas a Beckets ChurchSt Thomas à Becket Church in Pensford dates from the 14th century, with only its tower surviving from a building recorded active in 1341; the rest was rebuil…
St. Mary the VirginSt Mary the Virgin's site may have held a church since a Christian grant to the Bishop of Worcester around AD 691.
Stanton Drew Circles And CoveStanton Drew holds England's third-largest complex of prehistoric standing stones, far less visited than Stonehenge or Avebury.
Sutton CourtSutton Court began in 1310 as a fortified manor house, its peel-like tower and castellated wall dating from that build.
Tyntesfield HouseTyntesfield (TINTS-feeld)
is a Victorian Gothic Revival country house and estate near Wraxall, North Somerset, England.