• Added: 11th of September 2008
• Area: Bristol
• Category: Food and Drink

Bristol BS48 1AQ
0845 6779480

johngas7 said
Good range of facilities, but where's the milk?!!
There's alot of facilities available in this fairly new Tesco. A medium sized Petrol station is situated next door to the store, whilst the shop itself has a large car park so parking is not an issue.

Next to the car park is a park with playing fields which should ensure the kids are entertained if they take a visit there.

The shop itself is on 1 floor and is quite large, with a restaurant on the right hand side as you enter the shop, with a newsagent kiosk just in front.

Contained within the store you will find a bakery just up fron the restaurant, which offers freshly baked bread, baguettes, cakes and other delicacies.

There's a good range of fruit and veg and the usual foodstuffs, plus they offer a good range of baby care products and other toiletries. THere are some other household items available for purchase and seaosnal stock, so there is a good enough range that you probably won't need to go to a larger supermarket to top up.

The one downside that we found was the milk. Why? Well I naturally thought it would be with the chilled dairy products (cheese, yoghurts etc) but it wasn't. It was located at the back of the store with a sign above it that you could only really see if you were just by it, so we had to ask for the milk.

There are a good number of tills and queuing times are not bad, I would say 5 minutes maximum but shouldn't take long. There are also approx 8 self-service tills which might appeal.

Overall, a very good selection of goods in a very good location. Recommended!

• Added: 11th of September 2008
• Area: Bristol
• Category: Food and Drink

Bristol BS32 0BQ
01454 626849

johngas7 said
Functional, post office gets busy at times
Located within easy reach of the Aztec West Business Park and very near to the M5, this Tesco Express is handily located for many workers in North Bristol.

Set next to a good sized residential area too, this shop is not short of visitors. Among it features is a post office which has 2 counters. Beware if using the post office at lunchtime - it can get very busy and queueing times can be up to 15 mins or longer. If you time it right (i.e. before the rush, no later than about 12:30) then you should find that you won't be waiting long.

The shop is quite small but contains the usual foodstuffs as well as continental cooking choices such as curry spices, herbs etc, but these are located next to the post office counters so access to these shelves might be a tad restricted as queues grow.

The car park outside caters for the whole bank of shops, of which there are about 10 or so, therefore availability of spaces is limited so if you do take your car, you may need to find spaces in the residential areas nearby, but this shouldn't be too much of a problem.

A good shop to visit.

• Added: 11th of September 2008
• Area: Bristol
• Category: Food and Drink

Bristol BS1 3DW
0117 948 7400

johngas7 said
Busy but convenient
Tesco Metro are the smaller versions of the Tesco Supermarket, acting as more of a convenience store. This Tesco Metro is located in Broadmead (centre of Bristol) and predominantly serves Bristol's workforce and visitors.

As you can imagine, Bristol is very busy with workers and visitors ensuring the footfall in Tesco is likewise as busy. At peak times (lunchtime etc) this means that you can be waiting to be served for up to 5 minutes, maybe longer in some cases. There are approximately 10 tills and as I can recall, some self-service tills to boot.

There is a good array of refreshments such as an in-store bakery (doughnuts, cakes etc) - these are good of course for any mass cake purchases for the office etc) and also a decent variety of snacks for lunch, such as Pasta pots, sandwiches, healthy options - even Sushi makes it into the chiller!

If you are looking for a general shop then you'll be pleased to know that all the usual favourites are available from cereals to drinks, fruit to veg, cooking sauces to chocolate and sweets etc.

Whilst metro's are a tad more pricey than the Supermarkets, it's location is right in the middle of town so within easy reach of most central Bristol workers.

Overall, a good option offering a wide array of refreshments, there might be a slight queue though so factor that in if you plan to visit.

• Added: 4th of September 2008
• Area: Bristol
• Category: Events and Entertainment

Bristol BS3 2YX
0117 953 8538

johngas7 said
Shut!
This was a good venue for socialising and taking kids to soft play for parties etc. Was being the operative word. Why?

Well, one day we drove to the Megabowl, only to find that it had shut! No prior warning, just not more megabowl/planet kids!

So if you are planning to go to a Megabowl, make sure they are open first! As far as I am aware they are redeveloping the venue for another purpose but I could be wrong. Either way, it just shut without warning and as far as I am aware remains firmly closed!

Disappointing but let's hope this isn't the start of a trend for Megabowl.

• Added: 3rd of September 2008
• Area: Bristol
• Category: Food and Drink

Bristol BS34 5DG
0117 950 9103

johngas7 said
Good shop, just wish the trolleys had brakes!
There's ample parking here with good location of child and disabled spaces right by the store entrance.

Morrison's has good offers, especaiily the 50p price crunch offers on selected products at the moment.

Queues do get a bit heavy on peak occasions but they are manageable.

The pictures of concorde are a nice touch as a reminder of Bristol's concorde heritage and history.

2 downsides would be that there are no brakes on the trolleys which can get annoying, the other issue being that the petrol station always seems to be pretty busy, meaning queue times are a bit higher than desired.

Very near the motorway however and near to the Mall etc so a good location on the whole.

• Added: 3rd of September 2008
• Area: Bristol
• Category: Take Aways

Bristol BS34 5TL
0870 241 3300

johngas7 said
Good facilities
This McD's is in a great location - very near The Mall at Cribbs and also Asda and Morrisons.

Not only that, it offers a drive-thru plus a kid's play area which let's your little ones burn off some pent up energy!

They do sauce a little differently here - instead of sauce sachets there are pumps so you can take as much BBQ or tomato sauce etc as you can handle!

Whenever i've been here there's never been any real queues and we could get a table easily enough.

The drive-thru is what you'd expect and again the queues are not excessive. The charity slots by the pay kiosk is a nice touch - unwanted change etc can be placed into here and is donated to charity which is an excellent idea.

• Added: 3rd of September 2008
• Area: Bristol
• Category: Sightseeing and Attractions

Bristol BS7 9EJ
0117 910 8000

johngas7 said
Come on the 'Shire!
Gloucestershire's reputation has enhanced over recent years, especially with the successful one day exploits a few years back.

With the imminent return of John Bracewell to the fold - the man who oversaw the recent one day successes, there is every reason for optimism and that the County Ground can again play to host to many a successful Gloucestershire side.

Gloucestershire is not the biggest cricketing venue in terms of capacity, but for big games they do bring the temporary seats to increase the capacity from approx 4,000 to 18,000.

The ground is pretty quiet for lower key games but atmospheric and relaxing nonetheless, whilst big games see tension and heightened atmosphere, especially for Twenty20 games.

So, first class cricket in a nice, homely venue, definitely worth a visit.

COME ON THE 'SHIRE!

• Added: 3rd of September 2008
• Area: Bristol
• Category: Events and Entertainment

Bristol BS2 0SP
0117 977 1777

johngas7 said
Good night out
Ample parking, bar and toilet plus arcade area right by the bowling lanes, meaning everything is nicely compacted together so there's never far to go to get anywhere.

You can order food to be brought to the alleys and there is seating of course whilst you wait for your opponent's to bowl.

Queues are never too big especially in the bar and the quality of lanes and bowling balls are always of high standard, with a range of ball sizes catered for.

There's a TV in the bar aswell plus pool tables so there's always things to do. A good place to go for a night out.

• Added: 3rd of September 2008
• Area: Bristol
• Category: Sightseeing and Attractions

Bristol BS8 3NW
0117 973 8951

johngas7 said
Lots to see and do
Get an annual pass for about £45 and you can go there at will for a year. Otherwise approx £12.50 for the day is a bit pricey so in that case, make sure you make the most of it.

Features include the new walk through Butterfly area where you can get up close and personal with these colourful creatures. It does get busy in here at times though, but nice and atmospheric. Another feature is the penguin area where you can walk underneath them and see them swimming etc from under the water, which is a good experience.

There is now an armadillo which we've yet to find but it's only a matter of time until we track the little blighter down! Other animals include Okapi, gorillas, hippos, sand cats - but the most obvious omission is the elephant which is rather disappointing.

Still, an excellent day out with food facilities and displays etc, well worth a visit.

• Added: 3rd of September 2008
• Area: Bristol
• Category: Sightseeing and Attractions

Bristol BS8 4AP
0117 974 4664

johngas7 said
Timeless classic... but 'steep' though!
I wash driving a mate from Northern Ireland past the bridge a few years back and was surprised when he gasped, "Woah, the Suspension Bridge!". It was then that I realised that the bridge is renowned not just in Bristol, but on an international scale.

A great testament to Brunel and his superb engineering and building abilities, this timeless bridge is synonymous with Bristol's heritage and tradition.

You can either leisurely stroll across the bridge - not sure whether there's a charge for that, or drive across the bridge for 50p, which does seem a bit steep for what could be less than a minute's drive.

Highly recommended if you are in or near the Bristol area.