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June 20, 2013

Bank holiday and half-term events for families around the UK

Street art in Bristol, a Neverland theme park opening in Plymouth and raft racing in Portrush are just some of the family-friendly events taking place around the country over the bank holiday and half term

Surrey: the Big Picnic at Hampton Court Palace, 25-27 May

Head over to Hampton Court Palace over the long weekend, but don't forget your sandwiches and scotch eggs, as all ticket holders are invited to join a mass picnic in the grounds. Admittedly, the agenda doesn't sound particularly appetising – offering picnickers the chance to meet a blood-sucking leech and have a "smallpox makeover". But plenty of gruesome tales over lunch means kids will enjoy it far more than the usual riverside picnic. For those with more refined tastes, there's a Pimm's bar and cream teas, as well as a barbecue for those who forget their hampers.
• 0844 482 7777, hrp.org.uk, adults £16.50, children free

Bristol: Upfest, 25-27 May

It's hard to mention Bristol street art without mentioning a certain graffiti artist that comes from the area. But so much great street art has sprung from here, both before and after Banksy started stealing all the headlines. So much so that the city has a well-established urban paint festival, Upfest. Now in its sixth year, the event has an emphasis on live demonstrations, rather than just admiring local murals (which you can do anytime, solo or with Bristol Street Art Tours). For one weekend only, the city is making way for 250 artists from across the world, who will take part in live painting and illustration battles, plus there's music across four stages and a variety of food stalls. Family activities include face-painting for younger kids and spray paint workshops for older ones.

Also in Bristol, from 24-26 May, is VegFestUK, Britain's leading veggie festival, where aside from plenty of food, there'll be live music from performers not usually associated with healthy lifestyles, including Happy Mondays, Peter Hook and 808 State.
• Upfest at the Tobacco Factory and throughout North Street, from 11am until 8pm, free. VegFestUK at Amphitheatre and Waterfront Square. Ticket pricing is somewhat complicated, depending on the time and day (from £2 to £25) – check bristol.vegfest.co.uk for details

Cornwall: Superheroes Day at Crealy Great Adventure Park, 28 May

Pinning their superhero celebration to the release of a new Superman film (Christopher Nolan's Man of Steel), Crealy Great Adventure Park is offering a loose but perfectly acceptable excuse for getting dressed up in tights. All ages are encouraged to get into the spirit of Tuesday's theme, but it's kids who'll receive half-price entry for dressing up as their favourite comic book character or cartoon character. Superman, Batman and Captain America will be appearing throughout the day. The park, near Newquay, also has 40-plus regular rides and attractions for three to 13-year-olds, including a brand-new reptile house, Crocodile Corner, and 40,000 sq ft of indoor play areas, which could come in very handy if the weather turns.
• Near Wadebridge, 01841 540 276, crealy.co.uk, family of three £40.68, family of four £54.24 (online ticket prices)

Pembrokeshire: Oakwood Theme Park

Oakwood Theme Park is celebrating another family favourite: Peter Pan. Neverland, their new £4m attraction, will be up and running in time for half term. Spread over three acres, it includes a pirate-themed log flume, a crocodile rollercoaster, Hook's House of Havoc soft play and a Sights of London taxi ride, featuring Big Ben, the Tower of London and Nelson's Column. Older visitors seeking a few more thrills shouldn't miss Megafobia, often said to be one of the world's best wooden rollercoasters.
• Oakwood Theme Park, Narberth. Adults £19, children £13, family of four £59 (online ticket prices)

West Sussex: Arundel Castle 25-27 May

If you live in – or near – West Sussex, avoid doing battle with the usual bank-holiday traffic and stay closer to home to witness a fight of a different sort: Arundel Castle's three-day enactment of a battle between the Houses of Lancaster and York. Though such a siege never actually happened here, the idea is to give visitors a sense of life during the War of the Roses and how it would have felt for the castle to come under threat. Over 200 participants from the Raven Tor Living History Group will be dressed in replica outfits, plus they'll be medieval craft demonstrations and 14th-century armour to try on. Expect plenty of cannons and combat on the edge of the river Arun.
• arundelcastle.org, tickets £8, free for under 5s

Plymouth: pirate weekend, 25-26 May

Landlubbers are invited to get a taste of life as a pirate in Plymouth over the bank holiday weekend. Historical ship the Bessie Ellen will be berthed in Sutton Harbour, and visitors will have the chance to go on board to explore (free, from 10am to 4pm) with a costume competition judged daily at 3pm. There's also a treasure hunt through the area – download the map on visitplymouth.co.uk or pop into the Barbican-based tourist office. Plus there'll be sword-fighting demonstrations, a pirate-themed puppet show, face painting and craft workshops around the harbour and Barbican.
• Barbican and Sutton Harbour, from 10am to 4pm, free, visitplymouth.co.uk

Northumberland: Hadrian's Wall, 28 May-2 June

Enroll at Roman soldier school to mark 10 years since Hadrian's Wall Path was relaunched as a national trail. Maximus, the centurion, will be leading activities that include making paper Roman helmets, handling ancient artefacts, dressing up and taking part in a Roman drill. There are various other events along the wall, including walks along the Cumbrian section. • Housesteads Roman Fort, near Bardon Mill, visithadrianswall.co.uk. Adults £6.20, children £5.60, English Heritage members free

Leeds: Food Festival, 24 May-9 June

You've got a window of more than two weeks to visit the Leeds Loves Food festival, as well a range of over 50 venues to choose from. There's pop-up dining and cocktails in the Trinity shopping centre, the chance to show off your baking skills during the Great Leeds Bake Off, blind whisky tasting, a night food fair, and all manner of food stalls. Masterchef finalist Sara Danesin-Medio will also be giving a cooking demonstration and serving dinner to a lucky few at the Northern Ballet Dinner Club. The event culminates in the final weekend (7-9 June) with the Yorkshire Food and Drink Show in Millennium Square. See leeds-list.com for a mouth-watering look at the highlights.
• See visitleeds.co.uk for many free events and some ticketed dinners

Portrush, Northern Ireland: raft race, 25-26 May

This local tradition is in its 32nd year, and around 80 homemade rafts are expected to fill the waterfront. Many are imaginative, lots are colourful, some are just plain silly, but all have the primary aim of staying afloat from the West Strand beach to Portrush harbour. Fortunately, the RNLI – who run the event – is on hand throughout, just in case. There's a festival atmosphere and no shortage of entertainment along the quay. There's a waiters' race, too, which takes place in the harbour on Sunday at 3pm and is also quite the spectacle, with lots of fancy dress and crowd participation.

• portrushraftrace.co.uk, free

Wiltshire: Sunrise festival, 30 May-2 June

The poor crowd at Sunrise festival didn't see much sun last year, when the British weather turned the site into a mud bath. This year, organisers vow to make it more watertight, having moved from their site on an organic farm in Somerset to Thoulston Park, Wiltshire. Said to be the most sustainable festival in the UK, it is powered entirely by renewable energy (including waste vegetable oil). There's even a solar-powered dance stage. Let's hope they have some sort of back-up, just in case. The Storylands area will keep the kids entertained, and there's music across 10 stages, with a line-up including Dub Pistols, Krafty Kuts and the Beat.
• sunrisefestivals.co.uk, adults £115, children £25, family tickets £255

London and beyond: Chelsea Fringe, 18 May-9 June

There must be something in the water, because Chelsea Fringe has certainly grown in its second year, now sprouting some 200 projects as offbeat alternatives to the Chelsea Flower Show. Moving far beyond SW3 and spreading right across the capital and beyond – including Bristol, Canterbury and even Vienna, the three-week event is already well underway. The botanical garden-inspired gin bar sounds like a fine idea, but more child-friendly activities include a treasure hunt through Chiswick herb gardens and a dog show at Inner Temple Garden. But the pick of the crop has to be the tie-in events with Battersea Power Station, primarily because it makes the perfect excuse for visiting its new pop-up park (open until September).
• chelseafringe.com

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June 20, 2013

Loves Saves the Day festival playlist

Love Saves The Day and the inaugural Love Saves Sunday festivals kick off this weekend in Castle Park, Bristol, with Nile Rodgers, Soul II Soul, Ghostpoet, and many more taking to the stage. As the summer festival season gets underway, they tell us what's on their soundtrack

• Add your favourite summer tunes in the comments below

Everybody Dance – Chic

Chic and Nile Rodgers are absolutely massive. Rodgers has had a hand in some of the greatest moments in popular music. The Chic back catalogue is crammed full of classics and when you go beyond that and look at the rest of his work, it really is incredible. You can expect to hear a selection of Chic hits and more on Sunday. With Rodgers flying high on the Daft Punk hype wave at the moment, we expect this to be electric.

Cirrus - Bonobo

This is our Saturday night headliner and an old friend of the family. We've been booking Simon Green (aka Bonobo) for events in Bristol for years – the first time we put him on was at the Thekla, which has a capacity of about 450. He's back with another top drawer album, with this, the lead single, causing a bit of a stir.

Mirror Song – Kowtown/Bashmore

What can you say about Bashmore that hasn't already been said? He's shot to stardom and delivered a couple of the biggest tunes of the last two years, with Au Seve played everywhere last summer. He's a huge Bristol success story. Check out this track, where he links up with one of the city's more underground producers Joe Kowton.

Get a life – Soul II Soul

A massive part of the soundtrack to our youth, Soul II Soul were a real melting pot of styles and sounds. They turned a lot of us on to a whole bunch of music that we had no idea about before. Club Classics Vol 1 is such a brilliant and seminal album. It's really exciting to bring them back to Bristol, where they have a strong tie due to their link-ups with the Wild Bunch in the late 80s and early 90s. 

Tone Music – Eats Everything

Bang up to date and riding high on a wave of well-deserved hype, Dan Pearce (aka Eats Everything) is a seriously talented producer. But what really sets him apart are his incredible DJ sets, which are technically jaw dropping.

Stupid – Redlight

One of the Team Love family and a big part of Bristol's recent musical story, Redlight (Hugh Pescod) has played for us since we started doing festivals, always making an appearance at Glastonbury, and famously donating his fee for St Paul's Carnival to the cause. This is one of our faves from a few years back.

Repatriation – Jah Shaka

Jah Shaka is one of the UK's real dub legends, not a term we'd use lightly. Dub, reggae and roots are a huge part of the Bristol music scene, so it's a great to be able to have one of the top sounds in the country joining us on the Sunday. I remember getting taken to a Jah Shaka night at the Marcus Garvey Centre in Nottingham in the 90s, and it was heavy – the first time I'd heard bass like that outside a jungle rave! We're hoping for more of the same in Castle Park – and in the sunshine hopefully!

One Time – Jus Now

Creating soca-inspired bass music from Bristol via Glastonbury via Trinidad, Sam Interface has been around doing his thing in the city and beyond for years. His latest project, Jus Now, has been inspired by his new partnership with Trinidadian producer Laza Beam. This has been getting a lot of love on Die's new Gutterfunk label, just another part of Bristol's musical cross-pollination.

• Tickets are still available for Love Saves Sunday, £19.50, £25, £29.50 + booking fee at lovesavestheday.org

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June 20, 2013

Grillstock festival: American BBQ comes to the UK – audio slideshow

Brits have embraced American BBQ with gusto over the last few years. As well as a host of restaurant openings, this meaty American cuisine now has its own festival in the UK, Grillstock, which started in Bristol three years ago and is debuting in Manchester on 8-9 June. Last year Gavin McOwan and friends entered the festival's King of the Grill contest, and spent the weekend immersed in smoke, meat and beer

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June 20, 2013

Bristol travel tips: see movieoke and more at the Cube

Independent cinemas are thriving in Bristol, but the liveliest is the Cube, in now trendy Stokes Croft

There are three good independent cinemas in Bristol: a dockside arthouse called the Watershed (watershed.co.uk); a rare family local called the Orpheus (scottcinemas.co.uk); and the Cube, which is the hardest to classify, and all the better for that. The innocuous brick shack that houses it prepares you neither for the warmth of its atmosphere nor the ambition of its programming, which spills over from second-run features into unsung foreign documentaries, orchestral improvisation, live music and live film re-enactments (movieoke).

Local film-makers are represented, causes are supported in the listings and discussed in the bar, and its cult films programme, rather than a string of tired slashers, is an expansive roster of excavated gems curated by Clifton video rental shop 20th Century Flicks (3 Richmond Terrace, 20thcenturyflicks.co.uk), an institution in its own right. Open since 1998, the Cube is a slow-burning landmark that was there before many of Stokes Croft's more vociferous hippy initiatives, and will probably outlast them.

• What to see: The Cube Microplex, Dove Street South (cubecinema.com)

Kit Buchan is the singer/bassist of I Said Yes

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June 20, 2013

A quick travel guide to Bristol

Where to stay, where to eat, where to drink, what to see, what to buy and where to unwind in the biggest city in the west of England

Click on the slideshow's tiles to jump straight to that part of the guide or use these navigation links if you're reading this on a mobile:
See | Stay | Eat | Drink | Buy | Unwind

See

Just near the Clifton end of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, there's a chance to explore the Clifton Rocks Railway, which has a fascinating history. And this year on 14 April, 12 May and 14-15 September, the top station will open for rare tours of the old funicular, which was carved through the limestone cliffs in 1893. Originally designed to take paddle steamer passengers quickly up 137m through the rock and into affluent Clifton, it ran regularly until being closed in 1934. During the second world war, it was revived as a bomb-proof BBC relay station and air-raid shelter. Now managed by a charitable trust, there's lots to learn when the doors are briefly opened.

If the underworld doesn't interest you, wait out the tour at the hulking Avon Gorge Hotel (theavongorge.com), which hosts the quaint Bridge Café and the White Lion pub. The latter has a terrace offering more sensational views of Brunel's bridge.
• Clifton Rocks Railway, cliftonrocksrailway.org.uk

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Stay

There are no five-star hotels in Bristol, but it's surely only the lack of a decent car park that denies the Hotel du Vin that rating. The 40 rooms are housed within an 18th-century sugar house (a Grade II-listed building) with the original flagstones trailing in from the lobby through to the cosy bar, and are filled with vintage furniture, classy decor and subtle lighting. Highlights on the bistro menu include steamed mussels in white wine and steak haché with fried duck egg and bois bourdain.

If you do make it into one of the parking bays, the good news is that the hotel is so close to the city centre you probably won't have to move the car until it's time to leave. Just a few hundred yards away in Nelson Street lies the UK's largest permanent street art project, See No Evil (seenoevilbristol.co.uk); the Bristol Hippodrome theatre (bristolhippodrome.org.uk); and the cavernous Cabot Circus shopping centre. The rejuvenated waterfront area, filled with bars and restaurants, is also well within walking distance.
• Hotel du Vin, Narrow Lewins Mead, 0117-925 777, hotelduvin.com, doubles from £129

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Eat

There's an army of eateries vying for your attention in the Cotham area of the city. Although spicy aromas still waft around the neighbourhood, the days of it being an Indian restaurant stronghold are on the wane – today it's a much more cosmopolitan mix. In particular, Cotham Hill is a virtual corridor of dining options, and though it has one of the most unassuming facades, Flinty Red has one of the fastest growing reputations in the city.

Offering a mix of Spanish and Italian food (alongside a quite spectacular array of wines; the name comes from a Roald Dahl quote on wine) this humble little cafe/restaurant/wine bar is packed most evenings and all Saturday – and not just because it's only capable of seating 35 punters. The service is languid, informal and chatty, though you'll be hard pressed to come up with a question on food or wine that the staff can't answer. The menu changes constantly, but permanent items include octopus, anchovy toast (have it with manzanilla sherry) and tonka bean brulée. Check the website for the latest options – and for details on the excellent £9.95 lunch deal.

If you don't mind travelling a bit out from the city centre and have a little extra money to spend, then Casamia (High Street, Westbury-on-Trym, 0117-959 2884, casamiarestaurant.co.uk) stands alone as Bristol's only Michelin-starred restaurant. Menus, lighting and decor change with the seasons, making it good for at least four visits a year.
• Finty Red, 34 Cotham Hill, 0117-923 8755, flintyred.co.uk

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Drink

With two universities to cater for there's a glut of boozing options in Bristol, but tucked away in All Saints Lane, just off St Nicholas Market, the Rummer Hotel is absolutely not trying to cater for the student market. Boasting a collection of more than 400 spirits, none of which comes from a mass-market supplier, and a selection of artisan bottled beers, the drinks come at a premium designed to attract a different crowd. As the name suggests, rum features heavily behind the bar – there are about 80, several of which appear on the lengthy cocktail menu.

Alternatively, if the sun is shining, head down to the Apple on Welsh Back. Half on a converted Dutch barge, half on shore, this cider specialist has won fans across the city since opening five years ago. Draft, bottled, still, sparkling, dry, sweet, cloudy, clear … there are 40 types of cider on offer, and while there are selections from France and Sweden, the majority of them come from the West Country.
• The Rummer Hotel, All Saints Lane, 0117-929 0111, therummer.net; The Apple, 0117-925 3500, applecider.co.uk

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Buy

Celebrating 10 years in business in 2013, Pieminister is one of Bristol's success stories. You can now find their gigantic, hearty pies in shops and cafes around the country, but it all started in the relatively humble surrounds of Stokes Croft. Each pie is filled with ingredients sourced from the south-west, and still made in the Bristol area. Head to St Nick's Market and fight for elbow room at Pieminister's permanently busy stall. The simple Moo Pie (beef, black pepper and real ale) is the most popular.

If you prefer your souvenirs with less meat content Howkapow, another successful local company, has made the successful transition from online trading to opening a shop in Cabot Circus. There are all kinds of crafty, artistic bits on sale including striking prints and stencils, the majority of which have been created by local artists.
• Pieminister, 0117-302 0070, pieminister.co.uk; Howkapow, 0117-373 1900, howkapow.com

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Unwind

A surprise to anyone who thought this kind of thing was restricted to Bath, the Lido baths and spa is one of the city's most unexpected attractions. Originally built in the middle of the 19th century as the Clifton Victoria Baths, in the 1930s it offered the first electrically heated pool in Britain but by 1990 it was in such disrepair that it was closed.

On the brink of being bulldozed for development, the property was granted Grade II-listed status before being redeveloped and reopened four years ago. From the faintly drab exterior, there are few clues that so much drama is contained within. In order to keep its heritage status, a good deal of the Victorian feel has been maintained – the poolside changing rooms, as well as the original location of the open-air pool has been preserved almost exactly. Open in all weather conditions, the heated water steams through winter and keeps visitors cool in summer. Meanwhile, spa rooms offer a simple yet comprehensive list of treatments – the signature Lido Massage (£60 for one hour) comes highly recommended.
• The Lido, Oakfield Place, 0117-933 9530, lidobristol.com

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June 20, 2013

Restaurant: The Ethicurean, Wrington, Bristol

That duff name apart, it's impossible not be infected by the energy in this ramshackle former orangery

You simply don't get more bucolic than the Ethicurean. Even its address reads as if it was written by Beatrix Potter. Perhaps that's why, as a confirmed urbanite, I've not been, despite the number of awards it's racked up without seeming to pause for breath. Well, that and the buttock-clenching name: if you wanted to come up with something that encapsulates smugness, pomposity and holier‑than-thou in one grating pun, you'd be hard pushed to do better.

So it's a surprise to find that instead of being run by the grog-blossomed, cravat-sporting foodie ponces the name suggests, it's the baby of the yoof: brothers Matthew and Ian Pennington with Paula Zarate and Jack Bevan, their first bricks-and-mortar venture after successful stints at local farmers' markets.

Maybe I'm going soft, but it's impossible not be infected by the energy in this ramshackle former orangery. From the poshest waitresses I've ever encountered – it's as if they're putting in a bit of work experience before getting engaged to Prince Harry or something – to the handsome, industrious kitchen brigade, it's all outrageously jolly. Funny, isn't it, how baking, pickling, and preserving have been wrested out of the hands of the Women's Institute and into the mitts of cute, whiskery boys? In among the jams and tray bakes, a negroni arrives with a stick of rhubarb by way of swizzle stick: you don't get much more hip-but-earthy than that.

The food is almost entirely terrific, be it the rib-sticking simplicity of a vast wodge of mustard-laced rarebit with a salad plucked from the garden, or the intricacy of soused mackerel, sweet and sharp, dunked in a clear, saffron-tinted broth with rock samphire, ribbons of cucumber and carrot, and a bracing mint granita. There's suitably gamey pigeon breast on a nutty, pearl barley orzotto, all rich with sauce bordelaise; its salt-baked, candy-striped beets are almost too much. Almost.

The only things that don't come off are a salad of pickled pollock, Chew Lake trout given the gravad treatment and a granular cobnut romesco. The elements don't cohere and the fish is sour and ill-mannered. And a soup that, despite the effort that went into its creation – horse mackerel, fennel, truffle oil toasts – is tepid. But puddings, oh my… well, you'd forgive them anything.

You might find garnishes of borage or sea purslane; or dishes such as salt-cured roe deer with juniper and star anise, or goat and lovage meatballs. They make their own goat bacon. Goat. Bacon. There are cleverly chosen biodynamic and natural wines, and all manner of real ales and ciders. They're equally at home serving hipsters, fractious children and the kind of upholstered matrons who'd have been manning this kind of operation not long ago.

We take a post-prandial stroll through the exquisite walled gardens, built in 1901 for tobacco scion Henry Herbert Wills, past the apple press and via the polytunnels – well, seems rude not to. They're the work of gardener Mark Cox, who must take as much credit for what appears on the plate as the kitchen brigade, since he grows a lot of it. Because, of course, the Ethicurean's main USP is klaxoned by that name: it's all about the sustainability, the local suppliers, the foraging and the growing their own – to the extent that the place won Best Ethical Eats in the Observer Food Monthly Awards last year.

The whole thing is almost too good to be true. No, it's not luxurious or highfalutin', but it doesn't try to be. Like some kind of Disney villainess with a cat's arse face, I'm scratching around for faults, but other than making me feel mean-spirited for trying, there aren't any. If this is the face of worthy, I like it. If ramming an outstandingly squidgy toffee apple cake, thick with home-grown fruit and dolloped with cinnamon cream, into my face is all virtuous and locavore, count me in. After all, we all like to do our bit.

• The Ethicurean, Barley Wood Walled Garden, Long Lane, Wrington, Bristol, 01934 863713. Open lunch, Tues-Sun, noon-2.30pm (3.30pm Sat & Sun); and Fri dinner, 6.30-9.30pm. Three-course meal, £25-£30 a head, plus drinks and service.

Food 7/10
Atmosphere 8/10
Value for money 8/10

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June 20, 2013

Travel tips: Lido Bristol, mushroom picking and deals of the week

Take a late summer dip in Bristol, forage for funghi in Kielder Forest, or get a good deal on the Venice Simplon Orient Express

Take me there: Lido Bristol

Yes, we know the leaves are falling and there's a nip in the air, but at the glorious Lido Bristol it's forever summer. The pool, which emerged beautifully from a £2m refurbishment four years ago, is encouraging us not to pack away our swimming cossies just yet with an enticing Indian Summer Swim & Lunch offer. For £30 visitors will get full access to the pool, sauna, steam room and hot tub from 10am to noon, followed by a two-course lunch in the poolside restaurant. If it rains during your swim session, you get a free glass of bubbly. The offer is available until 31 October (0117 933 9530; lidobristol.com).

It's a good time to... go mushroom picking

It's autumn and the forest floors are alive with fungi. Delicious or deadly? You'll need expert guidance to be sure. Luckily there are events popping up (like mushrooms!) all over the place to help you tell your porcini from your puffball. The National Trust and the Forestry Commission offer guided mushroom walks in October. At Mottisfont Abbey in Hampshire, you can join the resident expert for a fungi foray in the grounds (booking essential, £5 plus normal admission charges, 29 October; nationaltrust.org.uk/mottisfont/things-to-see-and-do/events), while the Forestry Commission will run a family-friendly walk in Kielder Forest (14 October, £6 adults, www.forestry.gov.uk). Make a weekend of it with a Mushroom Foraging package at the Hotel du Vin in Poole on 12-14 October (hotelduvin.com). The weekend includes a half-day foraging in the Dorset countryside, a cookery class, a mushroom-themed meal and two nights' accommodation, from £299pp.

Give me a break: The week's best deals

HOME Active half-term With the October half-term holiday looming, PGL is offering two for the price of one deals on selected children's activity breaks. Book a seven-night stay at Boreatton Park in Shropshire for one child for £445 and a second child goes free. The offer is available for the weeks of 20 or 27 October. Activities such as rafting, abseiling, quad bikes, zip wires and all meals are included (pgl.co.uk)

AWAY Venice Simplon Orient Express Short break operator Kirker is offering some tempting discounts on the Venice Simplon Orient Express this autumn. A three-night trip including a night on the train from London with all meals, two nights' B&B at a three‑star hotel in Venice and the flight back costs from £1,999pp, a saving of £450pp. Based on an 18 October departure (kirkerholidays.com)

Email Joanne O'Connor at magazine@observer.co.uk

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June 20, 2013

Hotel review: The Wellington, Bristol

The Wellington, a boutique hotel in Bristol, is the latest venture from Bath Ales, a local brewer

It's not a hip brewery, like Kernel, or a boldly creative one, like Brewdog, but with its slick packaged beers and modern pubs, Bath Ales is reinventing the role traditionally played by mid-sized regional breweries. It is populist and growing fast, but without becoming staid. It recently opened Beerd, a very on-trend craft beer bar in Bristol (worth the trek up St Michael's Hill, beerdbristol.com), and, just out of town, in Horfield, has launched its first "boutique-style" accommodation at the Wellington.

A big red-brick pub at the top of busy Gloucester Road, the Welly isn't far from both the Memorial Stadium, home to Bristol Rovers football club and Bristol Rugby, and Gloucestershire County Cricket club. On match days, expect to share the pub – a mix of trad boozer and slouchy, sofa-strewn lounge – with their respective fans. It is also a bustling community hub. On the sunny midweek night that I visited, drinkers and diners were spilling out on to a large patio, complete with children's play area.

If that doesn't scream boutique destination, fear not. The eight bedrooms are a stylish step-up, and a world apart, thanks to some remarkably effective sound insulation. However, unfortunately, in July, this was preventing the Wi-Fi signal reaching the bedrooms. They're working on it.

If style-wise those rooms are predictable – the obligatory use of designer wallpaper; a shades-of-mushroom colour scheme – it's been done with a good eye. The minimalist furniture cuts a dash. The bathrooms, with their brick-effect tiles and handsome white suites, neatly mix retro-styled and modern fixtures.

Clutter-free, the rooms have been thoughtfully pared back to deliver quality essentials. In mine, there is no wardrobe. Instead, wooden pegs run along one wall, complete with proper wooden hangers. This allows space for a huge bed dressed with 100% cotton sheets. There is a full-length mirror (a rarity, bizarrely), a separate bath/shower and rainfall shower cubicle (so two people can get ready at once); and, on the tea-tray, foil-packed quality coffee. Weirdly, though, there are no biscuits, and fresh milk – as opposed to UHT – is only supplied on request. Why?

Downstairs, a pint of lemony, melony Summer's Hare in hand (the pick of the Bath Ales sampled; pint from £3.05), it was time to tackle the short, pubby menu. Unsurprisingly, it emphasises local suppliers. Prices are keen – around £5 for starters, £9 mains. A ham-hock terrine, long on flavour, presented with good bread, chutney, cornichon and a mustard-dressed rocket salad, was the pick. The burger was enjoyable, but, for my tastes, too finely ground, spongy almost. A cinnamon-spiked apple crumble was hobbled by a rather chunky, chewy topping. Breakfast maintained the reasonably good standard, but the price, an additional £10 per person, left a bad taste. And I wasn't even paying.

• Cross Country (crosscountrytrains.co.uk) provided travel between Manchester and Bristol

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June 20, 2013

Restaurant review: Culinaria, Bristol

The great Stephen Markwick is about to hang up his oven mitts at Culinaria. So get down there while you still can

1 Chandos Road, Bristol (0117 973 7999). Meal for two, including wine and service, £90

Lurking quietly at the bottom of the menu at Culinaria in Bristol is a dish which represents the frayed end of a golden thread running through the history of the modern British restaurant. It is Saint-Emilion au chocolat, an intense chocolate mousse made with the crunch of amaretti biscuits. The first reference to it in this country appears in Elizabeth David's French Country Cooking, published in 1951, which explains why it turned up a few years later on the menu at the Hole in the Wall in Bath. The restaurant's founder, George Perry-Smith, was hugely influenced by David, though he said he got his recipe off the back of a box of Old Glory matches. In the 70s, Perry-Smith moved to Helford in Cornwall, where he opened his own restaurant, and also worked with the great Joyce Molyneux at the Carved Angel in Dartmouth.

Which brings us to Culinaria, run by Stephen Markwick and his wife Judy. At the risk of making him sound like Methuselah's older brother, Markwick is probably the last chef who trained with both Perry-Smith – he worked for him at Helford – and with Molyneux. There are others who cooked with Molyneux – Rosie Sykes at Fitzbillies in Cambridge; Jane Baxter, until recently at the Field Kitchen – but only Markwick goes all the way back. For many years he held Bristol's only Michelin star at Markwick's. Then, in 2002, the Markwicks opened this place, which is part deli, part restaurant, with the civilised policy of only serving lunch and dinner on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

It is a bright, airy room with a lot of utilitarian blond-wood furniture. My companion said it looked like the café of a cathedral trying to maximise its revenue streams. It's a calming and reflective space. What matters is the food. It's that particular kind of French cooking which stands as the marker for an enlightened approach to how we eat in this country. Or, as Markwick himself has put it, he's been doing the same thing for years and watched it go out of fashion and come back in again.

God is in the detail. With a Provençal fish soup, more a light, creamy chowder than the usual rust-coloured broth, comes a perfectly made rouille the brightness of an amber traffic light. It is not the violent hit of garlic it can be in lesser hands, but instead a subtle flash of heat and flavour from the shores of the Med. The same attention is there in a spiced plum chutney which accompanies a duck confit salad, alongside fluffy potato cakes. A dish of sea trout with skin so crisp it could pass for maritime scratchings comes with asparagus, peas and podded broad beans in a light sorrel sauce and is just a snapshot of an English summer on a plate. A couple of lamb chops arrive with sensitively prepared sweetbreads, a light garlic sauce and a stew of peppers and borlotti beans. You will not rock back on your heels at the culinary daring. But you will be very well fed.

For dessert we skip the big chocolate moment. Instead we have a claret-coloured summer pudding with elderflower-flavoured cream, and a baked custard, sensitively flavoured with saffron, hiding plump gooseberries. The wine list is short and sensible.

At the end of the meal I fall to talking to Judy and Stephen. Which is when the bomb drops. The very day I am there they were meant to exchange contracts on the sale of the business. It hadn't happened for some reason, but selling up was still very much the plan. "I've been doing this for 35 years," Stephen said. "It is enough." That's understandable but, at the risk of tumbling into cliché, it does mark the end of an era, of something more important to good food in Britain than all the Ramsays, Pierre-Whites and Blumenthals put together. Please go and try the Markwicks' lovely restaurant while you can. It deserves, at its end, to be celebrated.

Email Jay at jay.rayner@observer.co.uk or visit guardian.co.uk/profile/jayrayner for all his reviews in one place

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June 20, 2013

Let's move to Stokes Croft, Bristol

The revolution starts here

What's going for it? When the revolution comes, it'll probably start here. The people of Stokes Croft have already re-enacted the storming of the Bastille, with a newly arrived branch of Tesco Express standing in for the benighted jail in last year's Battle of Stokes Croft. They live their ideals round these parts. What was a few years ago a scruffy lair of crackheads and clubs has been spirited into Bristol's Most Bohemian Neighbourhood, magnificently free of chain stores, alive with alternative ways of living, from the Classic's free shop (like an un-Multi-Coloured Swap Shop) to splendid gallery activists the Peoples Republic of Stokes Croft, who seem to want to go the whole Passport To Pimlico hog. Thing is, this isn't anti-capitalism old-style, with hair shirt and poor personal hygiene, but with sassy glamour. The streets are painted in vast, colourful murals. The local cinema, the Cube, might be a not-for-profit "microplex" collective circa 1975, but its seats are plush and it sells delicious homemade cola. And there's a pretty flower shop. (Flowers of Stokes Croft, we salute you! A revolution must have flowers.)

The case against Not for the Margots and Jerrys among you: the place has a certain urban oomph. A bit too cool for school: what if you're caught watching Take Me Out?

Well connected? Sell the 4x4 (imagine the shame); it's strictly walking or cycling round here. Bristol has a decent but could-be-better cycling strategy. Temple Meads station is a half-hour walk away.

Schools Primaries: Colston's, St Michael's on the Mount CofE and St Barnabas CofE are all "good", Ofsted says, with SS Peter & Paul RC "outstanding". Secondaries: Cotham is "outstanding". Plenty of local independents, too, such as Bristol Grammar and Colston Girls'.

Hang out at… A workers co-op, naturally. Thankfully, the Runcible Spoon has great (locally sourced, daily changing) food and staff.

Where to buy The neighbourhood lies between Kingsdown, St Paul's and Montpelier. It was first laid out in the 18th century, and Georgian streets, such as Somerset Street, survive, plus pockets of lovely houses. Generally posher and pricier west towards Cotham and the university, cheaper east to St Paul's.

Market values Semis, £250,000-£400,000. Town houses, £400,000-£800,000. Terraces, £250,000-£350,000. Flats, £100,000-£250,000.

Bargain of the week A project: seven-bed Georgian town house needing total renovation, £525,000, with Ashton Rose.

From the streets

Catherine Ford "Stokes Croft free shop always makes me laugh. Scuttle past the queues for the Canteen and head to the Bell – it's cosier and has better DJs."

Christine Boulton "Likes: the lovely folk at the post office. Dislikes: the lack of weekend policing – it's meant to be a non-drinking zone, but you'd never know it."

• Live in Stokes Croft? Join the debate below.

Do you live in Stratford and the Olympic Park? Do you have a favourite haunt or pet hate? If so, please email lets.move@guardian.co.uk by Tuesday 3 July.

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