The Green within the City

A couple of weeks ago I went for a walk with my walking group. Our walk was around the Ashton Court Estate which as I mentioned before is on the edge of Bristol. The mansion and estate once belonged to the Smythe family but house and grounds (860 acres) are now owned by Bristol City Council. It is a great resource for the inhabitants of Bristol and is easily accessible by bus, car or even walking.

 It was lovely to see the daffodils out and with the sun shining there was a real springtime feel.

We skirted around the mansion gardens which are generally still in a sleepy winter slumber but there were quite a few snowdrops.

The gardens look out across the city of Bristol which is a view that must have changed dramatically over the years since the mansion was built.

The views continued as we climbed up through the estate. You can see several of the now redundant bonded warehouses down by the River Avon which are a reminder of the once thriving tobacco industry.

Our route took us through the red deer enclosure. I showed a few of these yesterday. The herd are very chilled and are quite used to people.

The view of Bristol is again visible as a backdrop to the deer.

A stop for coffee helped us on our way and we crossed a couple of meadows that must be a picture in the summer. This carved seat is in memory of a volunteer who sadly died.

Then it was through the woods with patches of snow drops.

Then back to the cars passing this giant sculpture.