14 things to do in Bristol on Valentine’s Day

It might be cool to hate V-Day, but we think you should embrace the love on this, the most romantic of commercial holidays. Grab your significant other, a willing Tinderella or just a good friend and get yourselves out to one of these brilliant events for a date to remember:

Meet an alpaca

Set off on an alpaca adventure at Cadbury Alpacas with this organised DateMakers date experience (from £55). You’ll get to meet, walk and feed the alpaca gang and enjoy some refreshments in a romantic (and heated) gazebo with breath-taking views over the rolling North Somerset hills.

Street Food Tour of India

No visas are required for spicing things up with this date. Take a special someone on a culinary tour of Indian street food at Sholay Indian Kitchen in Wapping Wharf, courtesy of the award-winning team behind Mint Room and DateMakers (£49, includes eight dishes and two cocktails).

Valentine’s Supper Club at West Street Kitchen 

The first supper club of 2018 at West Street Kitchen has a Valentine’s theme, with owners Nathan and Millie promising to serve up four courses of beautiful seasonal grub. Courses include 14-hour smoked Newlyn cod with lovage served in tomato reduction, and Tart au citron with Swiss meringue.

Wine tasting with nibbles

Everyone drinks wine, but not everyone knows what they are talking about. Where better to learn than at The Library? For £50, the two of you will get a glass of fizz on arrival and five glasses of wine each, along with an array of nibbles throughout the evening.

A tandem bike ride

The tandem bicycle was practically made to facilitate great dates and one of the best modes of transport to explore Bristol’s hidden treasures. This date is all about teamwork, and a stop off at a watering hole for ‘team drinks’ is recommended.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

A Valentine’s outing on the big day itself, at Cabot Circus’ Cinema DeLux, for this sugary and dated, if still quite jolly, comedy romance. Audrey Hepburn won an Oscar nomination for her performance as stylish ‘socialite’ Holly Golightly, though the censor left ’60s moviegoers puzzling over how Ms. Golightly actually made a living.

Take a walk in Paris

See the city of light through the eyes of Amelie, heroine of the much-loved film, at this one-off screening at Clevedon’s Curzon. Warm, funny and endlessly inventive without ever becoming forced or self-consciously wacky, Amelie benefits from a superb performance by Audrey Tautou, who proves as adept at physical comedy as emotionally engaging cheeky innocence. The ways in which she takes revenge on the greengrocer by messing with his head are particularly inspired.

Glass blowing at Bristol Blue Glass

Book a visit to Bristol Blue Glass studio on Bath Road (£40) for a hot date with a difference. Get to grips with glass blowing and create your own blue glass baubles, which you’ll get to take home and keep.

Have a couple’s massage at your place

A relaxing date night where you don’t even have to leave the house? Nothing could be better. Enjoy all the wonderful relaxing benefits of a 30-minute massage each, in the comfort of your own surroundings.

Free rave at Motion

Continue that loved-up feeling into the weekend with a carefully selected handful of Bristol and beyond’s most exciting DJ’s and brands, as well as some special guests who’ll be announced on the night.

Tell a story at the Crofter’s Rights

Turn Valentine’s on its head with a visit to regular storytelling night, Let Me Tell You A Story, Jack. The popular Bristol spoken word open mic night wants to hear “your tales of romance gone awry, whether it’s poorly-worded love letters, misjudged advances or simply an unrequited affection. Tell us an anecdote, share a story you’ve written, sing us a song, read us your script or perform a poem – it’s up to you.”

See a private magic show and learn some tricks

Be amazed by the skills of your own private magician at Smoke & Mirrors whilst enjoying a few cocktails. You’ll also then get to have a go yourself, learning a couple of tricks to store safely up your sleeve (£35 for two people).

Tea-inspired teapot cocktails

If you love tea and you love cocktails, then these teapot cocktails are what you need on your next date. Choose two cocktails to share and sit back and enjoy the sophistication of serving your booze from teapots at Cox & Baloney.

Date with your mates

If you’re still looking to find that special someone, grab a couple of friends for moral support and help raise some money for MacMillan Cancer Support in the process. As a trio, you’ll speed date with other groups of friends to see if there’s a spark – and if there isn’t, at least you can just hang out with some buddies.

BONUS: Win a spending spree at The Galleries

So it’s not really a date, but it could definitely put you in someone’s good books. Ten visitors to the shopping centre around Valentine’s Day will bag themselves a £50 gift card by snapping a selfie. Pose for a photo with one of the Valentine’s graphics located around The Galleries, upload it to your social media platform of choice and tag it with #GETLOVINBRISTOL to be in with a chance to win.