My Bristol Favourites: Ashley Coates

Ashley Coates is an author whose new book brings together 365 facts about our city.

Know Bristol features everything from dinosaurs on the Downs to long lost railway stations, pirates, planes and the Plimsoll Line.

“I wanted to rediscover the city I had grown up in,” said Ashley, “going out of my way to find new places and try to understand the place better. This book is a product of that journey.”

These are Ashley’s top-five Bristol favourites:

The glasshouses at the University of Bristol Botanical Garden

Water lilies at the botanic garden – photo: University of Bristol

“The University of Bristol Botanical Garden, like its predecessor site in Leigh Woods, has a hidden garden quality to it. There are now 4,500 different species here and a carefully arranged layout teaches you plant evolution as you wander around.

“The whole thing is worth multiple visits, but for me, the 640m² greenhouse is the most impressive section. Divided into four temperature controlled zones, the staff and volunteers have turned this place into jungle wonderland.

“Within the glasshouse are (depending when you go) two variations of the giant water lily, carnivorous pitcher plants and the most comprehensive collection of Chinese sacred lotus in the UK.”

72% cocoa hot chocolate with coconut milk at Mrs Potts

Mrs Potts Chocolate House moved to larger premises on Park Street in 2021 – photo: Martin Booth

“My office is just around the corner from Mrs Potts on Park Street and I’ve held many a (informal) meeting in this brilliant place. This particular variant of hot chocolate, known as the ‘classic dark’ is the best you are going to experience anywhere in the world.

“It is just the right level of sugar and doesn’t make you feel like you have treated yourself too much. Mrs Potts is a triumph. No wonder they had to move to a bigger site.”

The doorway to the former Merchant Taylors’ Hall

Merchant Taylors’ Hall on Tailors Court was built in 1740 to replace an older hall – photo: Martin Booth

“There are certain parts of the city where you feel like you have accidentally wandered back in time. Head up Broad Street from St John’s Gateway and look for a passageway next to Chez Marcel leading through to a small square.

“You have now reached Tailor’s Court and the doorway to your left is a very fine example of an 18th century decorated porch hood complete with the coat of arms of the Merchant Taylor’s Guild. This is an old entrance to the guild building, which dates from 1740, replacing another earlier building. Given the proximity to bombed-out Castle Park, we are very lucky to still have it.”

…………………………………..

Join Martin Booth on walking tours of the Old City and Castle Park with Yuup to find out more about the former Merchant Taylors’ Hall and other hidden corners of Bristol. For more information and to book, visit www.yuup.co/experiences/explore-bristol-s-quirkiest-corners

…………………………………..

Christopher Thomas Court

Christopher Thomas Court is on Old Bread Street close to the Gardiner Haskins car park – photo: Martin Booth

“Bristol famously has its own style of architecture – the Bristol Byzantine style – dating from the late 1800s when British businesses, flush with cash, built warehouses designed to impress.

“The Carriage Works at Stokes Croft is the most well-known example of this, and arguably the Granary at Welsh Back is the most impressive surviving iteration but for me the Old Soap Works, particularly that section of it now known as Christopher Thomas Court, is the most compelling of these buildings.

“It is Grade II listed, and when I first came across it, the building was derelict and on the council’s historic buildings at risk register. Aged 15, I made a short documentary, Bristol at Risk, which included the Soap Works, and it featured in a poster campaign I splattered around the city, to the ire of some.”

Aust Warth

“Yes, technically this is South Gloucestershire, but I go here quite a lot. There’s a marshland replete with noisy reed warblers; kestrels, short-eared owl and peregrines fly overhead, oyster catchers bomb up and down the estuary.

“For me the main attraction is Aust’s Triassic bone bed. This year I’ve found the fossil fin spines of shark, teeth from a large bony fish, and part of a limb bone from a crocodile-like reptile. But the point is not necessarily to find anything – it is that sense of smallness that comes with confronting ‘deep time’ and it is strangely peaceful given the closeness of the M48. Bird watching and fossil hunting in one place; what more could you want?”

Main photo: Ashley Coates

Read more: New book reveals 111 places not to be missed in Bristol

Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast: