Commuting from South Bristol to North Somerest

johnbusby

Hi guys first post so go easy :j

Ive recently got a job in Clifton, Bristol and my girlfriend is thinking of applying for a job in Wells, North Somerset. The plan is to live near Temple Meads train staton and for me to commute to Clifton by train and her to drive to Wells along the A37/A39. My questions are these

1. The reason for living in South Bristol is because apparently travelling through Bristol in rush hour is a nightmare. Is this the case - ideally we would live in Clifton and I could just walk to work

2. How long will it take to drive the 20 miles from Temple Meads to Wells along the A37/A39. Google maps is saying about about 40 mins which would be fine however she wouldnt want to commute over an hour

Thanks for your help

John

Savvy_Sue

Travelling through Bristol in rush hour IS a nightmare, but it's also seasonal. For example, during school and university terms we hate having to be at work for 9 am, because we have to leave at 8 am - it's a 4 mile drive across the downs and then through Redland to St Pauls. If we wait until 9 am it's only 20 minutes and when there are no schools and no students, it's a fast run at any time.

If you made sure you were the 'right' side of Temple Meads, it might not be so bad, because at least she wouldn't have to negotiate all THOSE roundabouts. However I don't know what transport links are like for you getting back to Clifton - of course there's always a bike, and that train service from BTM to Clifton is much better than it used to be, and there are buses if there are problems.

Having said that, I'd encourage her to look at how she'd get to work if the car was off the road or she couldn't drive for any reason, before making a final decision. There is a fairly regular bus service, by the look of it, which takes around an hour, so I don't know what that tells you about driving.

johnbusby

Thanks very much for your very helpful reply! I plan to get the train to clifton down from templemeads which runs pretty regular and is very cheap - my work is right beside the train station which will be handy.

My girlfriend is a speech therapist and so needs her car to do house calls and the like so getting the bus isnt really an option but it has provided an insight into commuting times so thanks for pointing me in that direction

Savvy_Sue

So would she be able to plan her visits so that she didn't have to be somewhere in Wells for 9 am? If that's the case, she might very well be able to keep the commuting time down.

johnbusby

Generally her working hours are 9-5 but the job she is in at the minute allows her to work flexi so maybe she could get on flexi with this new job. As you say there are buses that leave temple meads fairly regulary and they take about 50 minutes- so do you think it is reasonable enough to think the commute time wouldnt be any more than that?

Also you say in your first post about living away from temple meads to aviod the roundabouts. How far would we have to live away? Sorry for all the questions but you have been a great help :T

geri1965_2

You could live in Knowle, which is walkable to Temple Meads and would be handy for getting onto the Wells Road (it actually runs through Knowle).

BTW Wells is not in North Somerset, it's in Somerset (slightly confusing for people who are new to the area!)

johnbusby

Sorry my mistake - as you can guess I am indeed new to the area. Ive had a look and Knowles is about 2 miles away from the train station which seems a bit far to walk. Toterton seems closer but im not sure what its like to live in. We would really like to live in a nice safe area with at least a few decent restaurants and bars around, price isnt really that much of an issue

Geri as you seem to know a bit about the area, is there anywhere you would recommend? Also how long is the commute likely to be by car

Edit - after doing a bit more research it would seem that the south of the city is a bit more dodgy, is this the case? Would it be feasible to live in the city (say beside temple meads) or is the traffic going to be too bad to get in and out

Savvy_Sue

Honestly? You could live anywhere in Bristol, and it could be dodgy, or very nice, and it can change quite rapidly depending on who's been moved in. So bits of Totterdown will be lovely, just as bits of Knowle will be lovely - I thought both areas were 'on the up' but maybe that's just estate agents talking them up ...

I don't know how far the traffic jams extend around BTM. DS1 has just moved into a grotty flat in Knowle, the friend he shares with has lived there all his life. They walk everywhere, since the friend had his bike nicked from an alleyway behind locked gates!

I live on the NW side, on the edge of one of the posh suburbs, but I work in St Pauls and feel perfectly safe, but there are streets I discourage my lads from walking down on their own - they're OK if they're with me because I know the locals will recognise me and accept my lads with me, but not necessarily on their own.

And there are streets near me where I can't be sure my lads will be safe, because there are some very strange people out there.

2 miles: 40 minutes max, and it's downhill on the way in to work, and there are buses, and have you not noticed that we are a new Cycling City?

Mind you, almost ANYWHERE will be cheaper to live than Clifton, so look at it that way and be prepared to put the money you'll save on renting into travel.

johnbusby

Hi Sue thanks for your reply

I suppose the problem is, not being a local, that I wont know where the "no go" areas are within the rougher estates and so could quite easily been walking down these streets without even knowing and so would prefer to live in one of the "nicer" areas

However by the sounds of it our only option is to live in South Bristol so I suppose I will just have to trust the letting agents on the area ( I have trouble trusting letting agents!!!) . As I said money isnt too much of a problem as we will only be getting a one bed flat and have both got jobs that pay decently, so its just the problem of picking the nicest flat in the best area

Totterdown looks like it is idealy situated so I think I will research this area further

Mee

I would certainly recommend the areas bordering Wells Road between Bushy Park and Knowle Methodist Church. Lived there. If you are interested in Totterdown, make use of the TRESAcic website @ http://www.tresa.org.uk/

You 'can' find some reasonably priced accommodation in Clifton and bordering areas such as Redland and Cotham via websites such as Bristol Evening Post and Gumtree etc. Much of St Paul's has been gentrified so has Totterdown.

If you're a member of a society or church, you may find it useful to check whether there is a Bristol based group and use their contacts...

Good Luck

tiff

All things considered if you want bars and restaurants and some nice shops then Clifton is where you really want to be but Totterdown is where you can buy similar houses and get more for your money. There are a few good places to eat in Totterdown, The Banco Lounge, Farrows takeaway (award winning), Bocabar and the Thali Cafe.

We live in Brislington and my husband cycles to Temple Meads every day which takes 8 mins cycling and 25 mins to walk. There is also a dedicated bus lane all the way to Temple Meads down the Bath Road.