Lockdown 2.0 diaries: BS7 – Lockleaze, Horfield and Gloucester Road

Outside Filton Avenue Primary School, a member of staff wipes down the door to reception with antibacterial spray.

Opposite, people queue to pick up prescriptions and wait for appointments at the health centre. It’s a hub of coronavirus-safe activity, in stark contrast the rest of the suburban surroundings.

Throughout Lockleaze and Horfield, the streets are quiet. In Gainsborough Square, the centre of Lockleaze, just one family plays in the park. Two women smoke outside the Hub, at Jhoots Pharmacy a delivery arrives, and an elderly couple step off the 24.

Otherwise, the square is quiet. Along Constable Road is a similar story. No one tends to Lockleaze Community Orchard and it take a long wait on the bridge next to the green space for a train to come by.

It’s a quiet morning in the centre of Lockleaze

Romney Avenue is equally as still

With the sun shining down, it’s a pleasant kind of quiet, however. That of lazy Sundays and brisk autumn days. The only difference is that it’s mid-morning on a Wednesday.

Turning onto Filton Avenue, it’s like stepping into a different world. Buses overtake each other at every stop and mums with pushchairs walk, coffee in hand.

One young man wearing a fetching pair of leopard print trousers boards the 73 and his friend pats his shoulder.

“Hang in there, won’t you mate?” says the friend. “You’re worth it. Stick around.”

It’s a subtle reminder of the toll lockdown can have on many people’s mental health: the Office for National Statistics found that almost one in five adults were likely to be experiencing some form of depression in June 2020; doubling from around one in ten before the pandemic.

The closer to Gloucester Road, the busier it gets

On Gloucester Road, sandwich boards telling customers that different stores are open litter the pavement.

A young couple drop some clothing at Daddy Alterations, squeeze past a delivery to the Bristol Fryer and head towards Grounded Horfield. A woman behind small table in the doorway takes orders of takeaway coffee.

They wait, rubbing their hands in the cold of the shade. Their caffeine fix arrives, the pair thank the staff and they carry on walking down the road.

A mid-morning caffeine fix from Grounded Horfield

With many of the businesses open for takeaway, it shows the quick adaption to new ways of selling. In comparison to the first lockdown, Gloucester Road is alive with people. Rhubarb Cafe sells coffee and cake, workers grab lunch from the Deck Cafe & Restaurant and a queue forms outside Joe’s Bakery.

The temptation of baked goods causes a queue to form

Further down the road, people meander into hardware stores and estate agents. Some are tempting by the smells of freshly baked bread, heading into Hobbs House Bakery and Bakers & Co.

There isn’t a break from the crowds. Everyone wears a face mask and keep a distance, but its as if everything is as normal on one of the UK’s longest independent streets.

A morning cycle and cup of takeaway coffee

Lockleaze and Horfield may be quiet, but Gloucester Road is as lively as ever.

All photos: Lowie Trevena

Read more: Lockdown 2.0 diaries: BS6 – Montpelier, St Andrew’s, Cotham and Redland