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Living in Bristol, you might have thought it would not be great for trail running. However, Bristol is crammed full of excellent trails both long and short which can give the feeling of being out of the city, with steep climbs, technical descents and winding tracks.
This page intends to provide detail on trails that I regularly run. There are a lots of options, which typically, do require road running to access. To reach some trails further away from the City Centre, such as Blaise Castle Estate, getting on a bicycle is a great way of getting there or alternatively, if you are trying to up your distance, run there!
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My favourite trails are along the River Frome. The Frome Valley Walkway is 30 km long and starts from the centre of Bristol and ends in the Cotswold Hills. The part of the Frome Valley Walkway I run start in Eastville Park and can be followed through Snuff Mills, Oldbury Court, Frenchay and up to Winterbourne Down and beyond. The trails can get muddy after heavy rain so take your shoes with big lugs.
All along the Frome Valley Walkway there are little off shoots and steep ascents or descents to join adjacent paths. The real beauty of running along the river is it completely separates you from the Bristol, the trees over head and the river, drown out the sound of the city.
Near by the Frome Valley Walkway is Stoke Park. Stoke Park is a large public space that is along side the M32 motorway into Bristol. There is a lot of open spaces but also some excellent woodlands and trail paths that go around the end of the park. There is a long steep hill that rises from the base of the park up to the BT tower. This is a great hill if you want to get some hill reps in.
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Below is an OS Map of a roughly 12 km circular run which follows cycle paths from the city centre to Eastville Park before following the river to Snuff Mills. From Snuff Mills the route enters Stoke Park, tackling the steep climb before heading back to St Werberg’s and through Narrow Ways. Most of this route is away from the road with only a couple crossings and a couple sections along minor roads.
In the opposite direction of the Frome Valley Walkway there is the Clifton Down. The Clifton Downs is a large open public space which is used for all sorts of activities ranging from football, tag rugby, 5 km Tough Mudder to the yearly Downs Festival. The area is generally very flat but at the most westerly point, on a good day, there is an excellent view of Avon Gorge and the Clifton Suspension Bridge.
Over the bridge there is Ashton Court, home to the Bristol Balloon Festival. Ashton court is again a large open space but also hosts a large woodland. There is a well maintained Mountain Biking trail in the grounds of Ashton Court but also a huge range of steep ascents, technical descents and single-track paths. Just make sure if you end up on the mountain biking trail, you have an ear free to listen out for approaching bikes.
Along from Ashton Court is Leigh Woods. Leigh Woods is again host to several well-maintained mountain biking trails but there is a huge potential for trail running. A personal favourite of mine is travelling under the Clifton Suspension Bridge on the River Avon Trail and the turning up into Leigh Woods on a leg crushing ascent which rises above the height of Avon Gorge.
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A final area that I will mention is the Blaise Castle Estate. Blaise Castle Estate is North of Clifton Down towards Henbury. The Estate contains Blaise Castle House and the actual castle which was build in 1766. From the city centre it is around 10 km to get to the estate but there is a huge variety of accessible and beautiful trials.
These are just a few of the areas which provide a trail running playground in Bristol. Bristol may lack the long gruelling ascents found in the mountains but as it a hilly city, there is more than enough opportunity to squeeze in some valuable hill reps.
If you have any questions on the trails, how to get there or possible circuits, get in touch!
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