When I first moved–officially–to Bristol almost 10 years ago, I felt like I was landing in what could feel like home. I’d spent years traveling: Australia, New Zealand, going back and forth in the Miami-London-Bristol loop, feeling as though I was destined to always have half of my clothes in a suitcase and the rest scattered amongst people I love who seemed as though they’d always be more settled than me.
But then: Bristol. A small enough city to not overwhelm me with enough heart and character to keep my creative and restless brain occupied. I dug in, made friends, joined organizations, built a business, and made a home. In the backdrop, Bristol provided a place to feel grounded while spreading my wings, allowed me to keep writing and doing what I had been doing for years: showcasing the best of wherever I was.
Over the years, I’ve had many loves in this city. The Balloon Fiesta was one of the first. The Suspension Bridge took my breath away the first time I saw it. I have a need to be near water and I love that the city is draped in it. There is so much art and liveliness here that’s nestled sweetly next to the peace that I’ve cultivated for myself, and 10 years on, Bristol has truly become home.
I do a lot here. I founded and run a design + development studio and a startup. I keep the dog alive and run @igersbristol with an amazing team of volunteers. I design and deliver incubators for businesses across tech, art, and wellbeing. I’m a leadership coach and, as of yesterday, a budding pottery nerd. I don’t know if I could have attempted or achieved as much as I had in another city, so whenever I get the chance to show Bristol some love, I jump at it. Whether that’s doing a takeover of the Visit Bristol Instagram account, hosting meets and events for the photography community in the city, covering the installations, festivals, or community events that dot the city, or just being an evangelist every time someone asks me what it’s like living here: I am always, always hoping to stress that Bristol is Always a Good Idea.
Every year, twice a year, Visit Bristol pulls together some of the best of Bristol’s events, offerings, and media to showcase what this city is made of. I’m always chuffed to be asked along as, strictly speaking, I’m not an influencer. However, for some reason (that I’m grateful for!), folks tend to listen to me when I yap about something being awesome. This year is no different, and the #SummerinBristol showcase kicked off with the promise of another great Summer in the city.
I don’t know what got into me this year, but the activities that I usually glaze over caught my eye and I was like, “You know what? Let’s go.” So we did! We went camping, we went sailing! I tried my hand at pottery and took in an all-female and non-binary performance of Henry V in a bombed out church on a beautiful summer night. I’ve had some great Summers here (and hope to have many, many more), but here’s how Summer 2025 is shaking out so far:
Escaping the heat at Bristol Aquarium
The UK has been having such a warm summer and in a country where A/C isn’t rampant and the homes are built to trap heat, there aren’t a lot of places to get cool and comfortable. My desperation for relief sparked a little creativity: “You know where they’ll probably have cooler climates? With the fish!” Bristol Aquarium is a small but mighty outfit in the centre of the city and you can easily make a cute afternoon roaming through the different zones, watching the fish get fed (a highlight for me!), and taking a break from the hot summer heat.
Sunset sailing with All Aboard Water Sports
I made a promise to myself that next year I’m going to carefully read through what each experience I’m going on entails because let me tell you, I thought we’d be “sailing” in name only. A few of us on a boat pottering around the harbour at sunset, learning about sailing, yes, but not like…doing it. So imagine my surprise when we rocked up to All-Aboard Watersports with no sailing experience and about 15 minutes to digest the mechanics before we were on the water. I loved the experience, even though our lovely instructor, Hannah, couldn’t really tell from the look of apprehension and fear on my face. She was fantastic, kept us safe, freed me when I ran into a wall and couldn’t immediately master turning around, and zoomed around on her safety boat making sure that we were having fun and honing our skills. I love the water–I can wakeboard, I’ve done the catamaran thing, but I had no idea just how physical sailing is and I’m glad that I went in blind as I’m not sure I would have been brave enough to sign up for this experience otherwise.
Camping (I KNOW!!!) at Mendip Basecamp
I posted one little photo of the amazing welcome drinks my partner made for us (my favorite, Shirley Temples) once we got set up at Mendip Basecamp and half of the people who follow me on Instagram DM’d me, “WTF?” My sister replied with a baffled, “Are you CAMPING!?!?“
Having to tell people that no, I wasn’t kidnapped and yes, this was my idea was hilarious. I love that the news has spread far and wide that I don’t sleep on the floor, but I guess I’m here to say: I’m a convert! I had so much fun! We took advantage of the bat radars to see what those little guys were up to, we sat by our own little fire and roasted marshmallows. We came dangerously close to glamping with a gorgeous pasta dish in the evening and coffee from the tuck shop laced with my collagen peptides to ring the morning in. Basecamp has pretty much everything you need amenities-wise, plus family-friendly activities, amazing hikes, and the Mendip Activity Centre just adjacent where you can practice archery, shoot air rifles, and ski!
I maintain that I will never forage, but I can absolutely be counted on to camp again. Who knew???
The 47th Annual Bristol Balloon Fiesta
My love affair with balloons is well documented. I never shut up about them and I probably never will. Each year that I’m invited to attend the Press Launch for the Fiesta and then cover the arena itself feels like a fever dream and I finally got to ride in one of Bristol’s most iconic balloons at this year’s kick off.
The 47th Bristol International Balloon Fiesta runs from 8-10 August and I’m over here counting the seconds until 4am alarms, watching out for the green pope smoke, mass ascents, and night glows.
Gromit Unleashed 3
Bristol’s (other) favorite dog is back! The Gromit Unleashed3 Trail is such a cute way to get out and about in the city while experiencing the magic of Wallace & Gromit in real life. Aardman Animation and The Grand Appeal will be raising money for Bristol Royal Children’s Hospital through the trail and you can spot Wallace, Gromit, Feather’s McGraw, and newbie: Norbot!
Pottery Throwing and Handbuilding Workshop at Fishponds Pottery via Yuup
In my quest to become a proper Renaissance woman, I jumped at Yuup‘s kind offer of a £50 gift card to explore one of their Summer in Bristol-specific experiences. I’ve loved Yuup for years and always have a great time when I book through them. Some highlights have been beekeeping (!) and an amazing sound bath experience in Bristol’s gorgeous Mount Without venue. I’ve become a little obsessed with videos of wheel throwing lately so it was an easy choice to book on to Fishponds Pottery’s taster sessions to see if I can make pottery another one of my aggressive hobbies, alongside crochet and being a little bit of a pain in the butt.
The lovely Rachel and Jennifer jumped right in to show us the ropes of handbuidling and working clay on the wheel in the beautiful studio. I ended up making a mug and a small bowl that I immedialtely decided would be my guacamole bowl and I can’t wait to pick them up after they’ve been fired and glazed in a few weeks!
Once A Pond a Time at Cabot Circus
Quaker’s Friars is currently filled with some gorgeous art from Alex Lucas in a new public installation created in collaboration with creative producers Bakehouse and Cabot Circus. There are towering lily pads and beetle-benches, a walk-in snail ‘Shell-ter’, and more. It was such a cute opening night, with kids laughing and running around, the biggest snakes and ladders board I’ve ever seen, and yummy treats from the team at Plaster.
Love Bristol
Over 190 business are signed up to the Love Bristol Gift Card programme, which means any incidentals that come up on our adventures can usually be covered. It’s a great way to gift the city itself, with food, shopping, and a lot more covered.
Summer is just getting started and I’m looking forward to falling in love with my city all over again.
Thanks so much to Visit Bristol and all of the #SummerinBristol partners for their generosity and encouragement to get out and have fun. Bristol is always a good idea. ❤️