Away-day guide
Ashton Gate on a Saturday.
Quick takeaways
About the place
Bristol City is a great away day, and well worth making a day (or weekend) of it, if you can.
There’s loads going on in Bristol. From its great food and drink scene, to landmarks like the Clifton Suspension Bridge and the SS Great Britain. It’s got world-famous street art (it’s home to at least 10 Banksys), a historic working harbour, and an independent, creative culture.
Ashton Gate sits in the south-west of Bristol, and is home to both Bristol City and Bristol Bears RFC. The ground has been modernised over the years, with the double-tiered Lansdown Stand being the most impressive side of it, dominating the view to your right as you take your seat.
Away fans are housed in the Atyeo Stand (at the North end of the ground).
Club info
Section 02
Fair play — the club visitors’ guide has a comprehensive guide to getting to Ashton Gate by Park & Ride, bus, train, car, walk/bike/scoot, boat, air — the only means of travel not listed is parachute. Just search for bristol city away supporters guide, or follow the link below:
Getting Here - Bristol City FC
We won’t duplicate all of this information — you’d be scrolling for ages. Here’s a brief summary:
By train
Bristol Temple Meads is the city’s main station. It’s to the East of the centre, so it’ll take 40 minutes to walk to the stadium. Unless you jump on the AG3 bus (below). Or break the journey up by heading into town before the game.
Parsons Street station is closer (it’s about a 15-minute walk), but note that the station doesn’t have step-free access.
Park & Ride
There are three dedicated matchday bus services, each a 15-20 minute ride to the stadium. All services return from different points along Winterstoke Road, the main road about 2 minutes west of the ground. You can pre-book via the First Bus app, or pay contactless on the bus. Full details are in the club supporters’ guide.
If you’re travelling down the M5, Portway Park & Ride is a good shout. Free parking. Returns from the Robins Pub, Winterstoke Road.
More useful for fans arriving from the south / east. Just off the A4 Bath Road. Free parking. Returns from the retail park, Winterstoke Road.
Departs from Stop T6. Returns from Trust Ford dealership, Winterstoke Road.
By boat
Bristol Community Ferry Boats runs regular services from Temple Quay (near Temple Meads) and the city centre to the Cottage landing on Spike Island, a 20-minute walk from Ashton Gate. Worth considering for an afternoon kick-off, but check the return timetable carefully — the last service back leaves Cottage at 17:20 in summer, and as early as 16:00 in winter. Timetables and pricing at bristolferry.com
Section 03
Parking options
Official onsite parking: Ashton Gate car park
100 spaces, bookable via Yourparkingspace. Sells out fast. It probably goes without saying, but the trade-off for parking this close to the stadium will be a slower exit.
There is limited accessible parking at the stadium. The club’s advice to fans is to try alternative methods to reach the stadium. The Supporter Services team can be contacted on: 0117 963 0600.
Near the stadium
Min walk
Matchday parking site in a big field next to Bedminster Cricket Club — outside the Clean Air Zone.
The Clanage, Clanage Road, Bower Ashton, Bristol BS3 2JX — what3words: ///ranch.wash.wacky
Notes
Car park opens at 12pm and closes 1 hour after the final whistle.
Min walk
Cala Trading Estate, Ashton Vale Road, BS3 2HA
Min walk
Winterstoke Road, BS3 2NS
Further out
Min walk
City centre multi-storey car park with EV charging.
Trenchard Street, BS1 5AN
Notes
EV charging points are on Level 1.
Matchday road closures
Resident Parking Schemes, road closures and parking suspensions are in force around the stadium on matchdays. If you decide to park in the immediate vicinity of the stadium, expect delays after the game.
Post-match traffic
Winterstoke Road gets congested, as people try to join the A370 Brunel Way. Clanage Road can get busy as well, as people leave the Matchday Parking site near the cricket club. We’ve experienced this once for an evening game — it was slow, but not a nightmare exit.
Worth considering
Central Bristol, including some roads near Ashton Gate, is now part of a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) where non-compliant vehicles will be charged to enter. It runs 24/7 year-round. The daily charge is £9, payable up to 6 days in advance or by 23:59 on the 6th day after driving in the zone, via the GOV.UK payment portal.
To check if your vehicle is exempt or to view a map of the zone, search for Bristol CAZ.
Section 04
Bristol has a wealth of great food and drink options — from waterfront bars and independent eateries to every major restaurant chain you could want. Near the ground, North Street is worth exploring.
If you’re walking in along the harbourside, there are a few pubs worth knowing about. Give yourself enough time and you could take in all three on your way to the ground.
Closer to the stadium
North Street
Offers a solid range of craft ales.
North Street
Serves up fried chicken, dirty fries, burgers, shakes and American breakfasts.
On the harbourside walk to the ground
A converted boat with great views across the water.
On the harbourside walk to the ground
A striking building with a strong beer selection.
Spike Island, on the harbourside walk to the ground
A traditional dockside local with outside seating across the road.
Inside the ground
The stadium has a decent food village outside, with a wide range of options (we counted Greek wraps, fish & chips, chicken tenders, burgers, pizza, and churros), as well as the Thatcher’s Bar. Near the away entrance, there’s a Guinness Bar. Inside the ground, the concourse has the usual pasties/pies/hotdogs that you’d expect. Honestly, there are definitely better options before you get inside the ground.
Section 05
Away fans are housed in the Atyeo Stand which is on the northern side of the ground. You can get to the away entrance from the fan zone by walking past the Lansdown Stand, or directly from Ashton Road at the north end. There’s no way to walk around the Dolman Stand.
Once through the turnstiles, you’ll walk upstairs to the concourse, passing a huge mural of Bristol landmarks. With one or two references to Thatcher’s Cider (Thatcher’s commissioned the piece).
After the game, away fans are directed out onto Ashton Road. If you’re walking back to town, the quickest way is across the park and head over Ashton Avenue Bridge onto Spike Island. Walk past the old Tobacco Warehouse and take the underpass, which brings you out at the Nova Scotia pub. Head over Merchants Road bridge and you’re back on the harbourside walk at the Pump House.
Section 06
Warm weather and an evening kick-off gave us the chance to spend a bit of time in Bristol before the game. We parked at Frog Lane in the city centre, and just started walking. There was no plan.
We found the water pretty quickly. We stopped for an ice cream in Millennium Square then followed the harbourside path for a while. In the sunshine, it felt like being on holiday. We waved at a guy on a bike with a dog in his backpack, wearing sunglasses. What more can I say?
We went back to town and found a great little gyros place near the Wills Memorial Building. Blood sugar restored, and less pressure to feed the boys in the stadium.
The accidental highlight of the day came on the way to the matchday parking. We missed a left turn and took the first right to try and double back. This took us all the way up to Clifton. Route recalculating. The new route brought us over the Clifton Suspension Bridge, which was a genuine highlight. From there it was only a few minutes down to the parking on Clanage Road. I would make that mistake again.
Getting out of the car park was steady rather than slow, but the car park’s location meant that we avoided driving back towards the stadium, and were on the M5 within 20 minutes.
Bank Holiday Monday. Bristol. Couldn’t not go.
This time we decided to do the harbourside walk all the way out to the ground. We parked at Trenchard Street multi-storey in the city centre. It’s not cheap — about £20 for the day. Then again, I’m sure I paid £17.50 for the Ashton Gate matchday parking last time.
We headed for the waterfront, and walked past the Bristol Ferry city centre pick-up point. The plan was to walk to the ground and maybe get the boat back. We didn’t pay any attention to the timetable or route map, to be honest.
We stopped at the Grain Barge for a cold pint on the upper deck, opposite the SS Great Britain. Sun beating down. Perfection.
A few minutes further along, we reached the Pump House — food, drink and outside seating. From there we crossed the Merchants Road bridge onto Spike Island and the Nova Scotia Hotel, another great spot with waterfront seating across the road. Following the path towards the water, we found it continued through Underfall Yard, a historic part of Bristol’s harbour, and now home to maritime businesses. We passed the Underfall Café, which had outside seating under a canopy and looked like yet another spot serving good food with good views. Four great pitstops within 15 minutes.
From there, we headed for the Tobacco Warehouse and across Ashton Avenue Bridge, which put us pretty close to the stadium.
But we didn’t go straight there. We took a 5-minute detour onto North Street, which has the Bristol Beer Factory Taproom (they serve food as well). We ended up eating at Oowee Diner, which does burgers, fried chicken and shakes. We went for chicken burgers and they were superb.
From North Street, we cut through some residential streets and approached the ground via the car park. Having already eaten, we didn’t stop in the fan zone for food and drink. This would be a decent option though, if you have less time.
The post-match boat trip never happened. Partly because we hadn’t noted where to catch it from (the Cottage landing on Spike Island, about 20 minutes from the away end). Partly because by the time we’d worked that out, we were back at the Nova Scotia and found the Underfall Yard path we’d used earlier was now gated. The last summertime ferry leaves at 17:20. We didn’t make it.
Verdict: If we were going to catch that final ferry, we should’ve left on the final whistle (no clapping the players off) and followed Google Maps to the Cottage landing, which would have avoided approaching Underfall Yard from the wrong side.
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Reviewed by Andy · 2 weeks ago