My Bristol Favourites: Jamie Lowe

Jamie Lowe is a presenter and journalist for Bristol TV. He first moved to Bristol for two weeks of work experience in 2015 and never left.

Jamie also hosts a podcast, All4One, for people with type 1 diabetes and presents shows for travel network Travel Xp.

These are his top-five Bristol favourites:

The goats in the gully

“A group of goats live in the gully, a fenced enclosure on the side of the Avon Gorge between the Downs and the Portway. When I was first taken to see these goats, I thought someone was pulling my tail. But nope, there they are chomping away happily on their patch of land. They are one of the first things I take family and friends to see when they visit Bristol. Goats are easily my favourite non domestic animal so that probably has something to do with why they ended up on this list.”

Big Bao

https://www.instagram.com/p/By2TEV3BjpZ/

“BUBBLE TEA! If I really want to treat myself I’ll get a bubble tea from Big Bao. Anything watermelon flavoured is good with me. Watch out though, if you’ve never had one before they can be a bit of a shock. I’ve choked on more of those little chewy boba bubbles than I care to admit to. They also do awesome summer rolls which make a great snack. If I’m in Broadmead filming for work and if I think I did a good job, I’ll often treat myself to a bubble tea to sip on whilst I attempt to find where I parked my car in the Galleries car park.”

Cabot Tower

Cabot Tower at the top of Brandon Hill – photo by Martin Booth

“I love to look at Bristol. Coming from Stoke-on-Trent I didn’t grow up with the colourful vistas that I enjoy now. I love Stoke but it’s nowhere near as pretty as Bristol is. You can see most of the city from the top of Cabot Tower and it’s my go-to spot for any weather story that I’m covering (I like to add a bit of drama where I can). You have to pick a quiet time though as there’s not a lot of room up top!”

F45 Bristol Central

“I’ve always struggled to make progress in the gym but whatever is happening in those 45 minutes at F45 Bristol Central is definitely working. Before lockdown, I would religiously go to F45’s studio on All Saints’ Street and sweat out the day, and I felt amazing. I recently admitted to myself that I didn’t really like running and exercise is so important for my mental health. When I’m active I feel as powered up as Mario with a mushroom, and when I’m not I seem to procrastinate and isolate myself. So for me, these past few months have been tough. F45 have been great over lockdown with Zoom classes – but I can’t wait for the real thing again. Sadly, however, with my type 1 diabetes I don’t think I’ll be making it to class as soon as everyone else.”

Chew Valley Animal Park

“Have you ever had a coatimundi sit on your shoulder? I have and it happened at Chew Valley Animal Park in Chew Magna. Joanne Hunt and her family care for so many different animals here and they REALLY care for them. I filmed a little ‘weird pets’ style series with them and they are probably my favourite videos that I’ve worked on. One of my ambitions is to have a little house on some land with some goats, an alpaca and a coatimundi. I only realised that it was a goal of mine after a visit here.”

Main photo: Jamie Lowe

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