People / My Bristol Favourites
My Bristol Favourites: Rob Acton-Campbell
Rob Acton-Campbell is a trustee of the Bristol & Bath Parks Foundation, a groundbreaking initiative which aims to rethink the way we support our parks and green spaces.
The charity launched at this year’s Festival of Nature last and is now reaching out to the Bristol public to find out what people value in their parks. Visit www.yourpark.org.uk for more information and to share what you love about your local green space.
Here are Rob’s top-five Bristol favourites:
is needed now More than ever
Troopers Hill
Troopers Hill – as seen from Rob’s bedroom window
“Troopers Hill forms the view from our bedroom window. I love the way that it is always changing: the white of hawthorn and yellow of broom in the spring, the purple heather in the summer, then the autumn colours.”
St George Park
St George Park – photo by Nick Burroughs
“St George Park is surely one of the most beautiful parks in the country, not just Bristol. I love the fact that its boundaries and layout are still the same as when it was established in the 1890s. It’s also special as it’s the home to Redfest on the first Saturday of August where there is always a wonderful atmosphere and some great music.”
Queen Square
“This relaxing space in the centre of the city was a perfect venue for this year’s Festival of Nature. It is difficult now to imagine the dual carriageway that ran through the middle of it when I first came to Bristol in the 1980s. An example of what can be achieved if we move away from a world where the car is king.”
The Floating Harbour
https://www.instagram.com/p/BzGncnMhvW2/
“The Floating Harbour to me is what makes the centre of Bristol feel so different from that of other cities. It’s fantastic to have a water space right in the centre of the city that is still used; there are so many different craft from canal narrowboats to old sailing craft and of course the Matthew and the SS Great Britain. There is always something to watch.”
Know Your Place
Know Your Place can be found at maps.bristol.gov.uk/kyp
“My final selection is actually an online platform called Know Your Place, which is available from Bristol City Council. It allows you to see how Bristol has changed by looking through the layers of old maps of the city. The 1946 aerial view is my favourite, as you can look at many of the parks in Bristol and see them still covered in allotments as part of the Dig for Victory campaign.”
Read more: ‘Innovative solutions are needed for Bristol’s parks’
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
