Personally if schools and pubs are high priorities I would look at Wrington and Backwell. Wrington is good for riding on the Mendips, but not so great for motorway access. Both villages have strong communities, and lots going on (I live in Cleeve, which does have a decent community but no decent pub).

My sister lives in Winterbourne and hates it, as it has very little community (that she has found), and is essentially a commuter village. Houses are good values though.

Houses are good values though.

?? average house price is £312,000 in winterbourne, Southville is £189,000.
Plenty of community in those area also; local rugby clubs, local fairs, country pubs. It’s a LOT smaller that bedminster. The Op wants semi rural not;

^^ That pic is Bemmy, hardly Southville. I could show you a photo of Yate as a nice suburb and tell you it’s Winterbourne. The op would run screaming.

Hardly comparable. Southville is half a mile from bedminster, Winterbourne is 5 miles from yate.
Southville to hartcliffe or knowle west would be more accurate (although they’re only 2.3 miles away).
Nothing against BS2 or wherever just that the OP has clearly stated a semi-rural village location, not city centre urban.

The Op wants semi rural not;

Ah, East St. I bought a whole wild rabbit there last week for £4 and punnets of English strawberries for 80p. Anyway, your picture is less than 5 minutes’ walk from

And

BS3 rules.

Depending on where you will have to commute to, Taunton or Gloucester might be as close as some of the other suggestions. Might not offer want you want, but also worth considering IMHO.

Yep. That certainly beats anything in winterbourne…..

Yep. That certainly beats anything in winterbourne…..

Agreed:

Yeah, that was pretty bad. All in all an isolated case though. If you want to talk about crime……
BS36

Criminal activity BS36 Stats National
Vehicle/car crime 0.0476 0.153 Better than average crime rate Better than average
Violent crime 0.1667 0.2989 Better than average crime rate Better than average
Burglary 0.119 0.1976 Better than average crime rate Better than average
Robbery 0 0.0297 Better than average crime rate Better than average
Antisocial behaviour 0.5476 1.0531 Better than average crime rate Better than average
Other crime 0.4286 0.7553 Better than average crime rate Better than average
Total crime 1.3095 2.4876 Better than average crime rate Better than average

BS2

Criminal activity BS2 Stats National
Vehicle/car crime 0.3125 0.153 Worse than average crime rate Worse than average
Violent crime 0.3333 0.2989 Worse than average crime rate Worse than average
Burglary 0.2708 0.1976 Worse than average crime rate Worse than average
Robbery 0.0833 0.0297 Worse than average crime rate Worse than average
Antisocial behaviour 1.0938 1.0531 Worse than average crime rate Worse than average
Other crime 0.8438 0.7553 Worse than average crime rate Worse than average
Total crime 2.9375 2.4876 Worse than average crime rate Worse than average

How about schools?
http://dashboard.ofsted.gov.uk/dash.php?urn=135944

In 2012, 74% of all pupils attained five GCSEs grade A* to C including English and mathematics.

http://dashboard.ofsted.gov.uk/dash.php?urn=138204

In 2012, 40% of all pupils attained five GCSEs grade A* to C including English and mathematics.

Gribble, have a look at the Frampton Cotterell/Winterbourne/Iron Acton area. I grew up in Frampton Cotterell. The schools in the area were (and probably still are) good. This is very close to where I lived The blue railings are for a good infant/junior school. Not to far a way is the Ridings High School (former students being Wayne Hussey, Becky Bondage and almost J.K. Rowling)

It used to take me about 35 minutes to cycle into the centre of Bristol using the roads. There are easy links to the Bristol/Bath cycle path.

NHS dentist as well if that floats your boat.

Wrecker, where was that Winterbourne picture taken?

The roman camp I think.

Yeah, that was pretty bad. All in all an isolated case though. If you want to talk about crime……
BS36

Oh get a grip, it was a joke in reference to your cherry picking…

Those of us extolling the virtues of BS3 are making a very simple point: we have all the amenities and attractions of a city, plus exceptionally easy access to top-notch mtb and road riding.

Of course, if you prefer to commute in a 4×4 and vote UKIP, that’s up to you…

it was a joke in reference to your cherry picking…

Seems a lot of it going around…..
The point is really not which is betterer/bestest, it’s that the OP has stated a clear preference. BS2/3 must be brilliant for a young/care free person with all that’s going on. I wish I’d lived there when I was younger. The OP wants a quiet village/rural area to raise his kids. I’m not saying that winterbourne or the surrounding area is perfect for him, but it’s a fair sight more suitable than the city centre.

Of course, if you prefer to commute in a 4×4 and vote UKIP, that’s up to you…

😆
Its because of the ample parking 😀

How about Long Ashton – has a villagey feel in parts and is very handy for the countryside, AC/LW trails and for commuting into Bristol. Otherwise would suggest Wrington or Backwell.

I don’t think it’s been mentioned yet, so I’ll vote for Wickwar. No rail links into Bristol, but there’s a fairly direct rat run in. Maybe up to Charfield or possibly Tytherington?

Seems a lot of it going around…..
The point is really not which is betterer/bestest, it’s that the OP has stated a clear preference. BS2/3 must be brilliant for a young/care free person with all that’s going on. I wish I’d lived there when I was younger. The OP wants a quiet village/rural area to raise his kids. I’m not saying that winterbourne or the surrounding area is perfect for him, but it’s a fair sight more suitable than the city centre.

Well, I’m raising my kid in BS3, and we’re finding it just great. Why would you think that a city is unsuitable for raising a family?

I don’t think it’s unsuitable, just less suitable for the OP given his preferences (and the ofsted report of course 😉 )

All of the OP’s preferences are well served where I live, including the good school. Except the train of course – he/ she won’t need one of those.

I’m speaking as someone who went through this process pretty recently, and came to realise that I was better off staying put. Rather than have to jump in the car for everything, I can walk to a good range of independent shops, swimming lessons, nice parks, the city farm, @Bristol, toddler play groups, and a range of child-friendly cafes and bars. The nursery is a 20 minute bike ride along mostly traffic free paths and my cycle commute is less than 15 minutes.

Admittedly, secondary schools may be a problem, but that’s a few years off yet.

Thank you for the advice so far.

In terms of travelling into Bristol, the wife’s work place would likely be bottom of the Whiteladies Road, (so what I would simplistically call west of the city centre). Looking at it, Temple Meads is really not that close – google says 30 mins walk. As the idea is to cut commute time, perhaps an alternative transport method would be preferable (especially since the bike costs virtually £0 in annual cost).

Looking at the map, Wraxall does look a good choice (easy bike ride into the city centre, close to a train station if required). It is also close to the M5 for me. I think Pill may have also been mentioned above. Abbots Leigh looks expensive.

The Battleaxes in Wraxall does a very good sunday roast 😀
Good real ales too.

The worst thing about BS3 is Ashton Gate football ground ! Bedminster itself is a much improved place from the 70s when I remember shopping there as a kid and although its in the city it does have easy access to Ashton Court and countyrside to the South .The villages to the South of Bristol in the Chew valley area are nice with access to Bristol and The Mendips but they are expensive

Abbots Leigh looks expensive

It is.

Wraxall is nice, not much other than the Battleaxes pub (nice food oriented pub recently done up) and a good infant/primary school.

Not that much housing in Wraxall itself, so limited choice. Although Gable Farm is for sale if you have the budget. A lot of houses listed as Wraxall are actually on the Trendlewood end of Nailsea, it’s a parish/postcode boundary thing. Ideally placed for access to the sustrans route in to Bristol.

Long Ashton is also worth a look in that area.

There are buses from any of the above, plus a P&R at Long Ashton that is worth considering as an option. http://www.parkandride.net/bristol/ A short walk up Jacob Wells road will get you to the botton of Whiteladies road from Hotwells/Anchor road which is on the P&R route.

Bottom of Whiteladies?
Some of the commuter trains from Weston & Nailsea pass BTM to stop at Clifton Down, 5 mins from the BBC.
What#s your budget for a house? That will have some bearing on where you end up, I guess, unless you like the look of that £1.75M farm. £300k will get you somewhere in Horfield close to the common & the Gloucester Road (cool), 20mins ride from the Bridge, 5 mins drive from the M32, 35 mins walk from Whiteladies, good schools nearby.

Gable Farm looks to be ever so slightly over budget. I also only have a push along lawn mower, so the gardening might take a while.

Will keep searching google maps…

At the moment Gable farm and Belmont estate are the only two for sale in the village, not sure whats on the top road that calls itself Wraxall too.
Mark90 is right about plastic Wraxall too on the edge of Nailsea, bloody interlopers pretending they have money. Pffft.

A mate lives just off that high street in Bemmy, in his words ‘worst place, I’ve ever lived’.

He much preferred Easton, as he had less grief and never had his car broken into, compared to Bedminster where he is on 4 broken windows in 3 years, and last time his steering wheel was nicked from his Corsa!

Houses in Backwell aren’t too bad if you can live with an 80’s house (~ 180K), close access to the train and cyclepath plus the schools are very very good.

Chew Valley is a gamble, as that’s directly over the proposed new flight paths for Bristol airport.

Well, I’m raising my kid in BS3, and we’re finding it just great. Why would you think that a city is unsuitable for raising a family?

I’m guessing shit schools, high levels of air pollution and significantly higher crime rates might be a couple of reasons. Mind you it would be much easier to score drugs off your kid when their older 🙂

Not Yate. Our Estate was OK but the town centre reminded me of Cannock. Chipping Sodbury seemed Ok, but then again I’m originally from Cannock.

At the moment Gable farm and Belmont estate are the only two for sale in the village

There is a third property in Wraxall for sale. Been on the market for a good while now. It’s actually up with 5 different agents.

I did see another sign in The Grove for sale. I think its with Hunter Leahy.
And I’ve just seen they have one for Tower House Lane.

hmm, that Gable Farm looks interesting…

I had forgotten about Wraxall, I was looking there a few years back when I was studying but ended up buying a flat in Cotham. Been thinking about moving up a bit closer to Bristol but we are looking for a nice farm to set up my business from.

that £745k one is horrible. How is that worth that much?

It’s not. That’s why it’s been on the market for so long. Over a year, maybe two. I wasn’t really paying much attention to the local housing market prior to that.

A mate lives just off that high street in Bemmy, in his words ‘worst place, I’ve ever lived’.

He much preferred Easton,

Jesus – if there was ever a reason not to live somewhere it would be when someone says they would prefer to live in Easton!

I’d look north of Bristol personally, Olveston, Tockington, Winterbourne, Charfield, Thornbury, that sort of area. Good schools and enough shops and things to never have to worry about going near the city centre. There is plenty of countryside within walking distance, loads of bus routes south into the city.

Bedminster and Southville are horrific places, Bedminster because its full of chav scum from Hartcliffe looking for stuff to steal and people with no teeth arguing with sign posts. Southville because tehy all have a chip on their shoulder that they cant afford a place on the other side of the river and pretend that they actually prefer it there and not Hotwells or Clifton!….

Where about’s do you live Mark if you don’t mind me asking?

I live in Nailsea. Can only dream of living in Gable Farm, although I have been in the pool 🙂

I guess you are Wraxall?

Near the Battleaxes

How about Almondsbury, close to m4/5 interchange, the bowl is a good pub, should be easy to get to whiteladies. Don’t know about schools, road riding is good in the lanes albeit flat and cwmcarn short drive away. Doubt there’s any mtb on the door though?

I’m guessing shit schools, high levels of air pollution and significantly higher crime rates might be a couple of reasons. Mind you it would be much easier to score drugs off your kid when their older

That’s three reasons. Did you go to school in Bristol?

Anyway, air pollution is a direct result of car traffic, so if you’re commuting in, you’re part of the problem. Bristol education is hampered by parents who take their kids out of the city. Again, if you commute in, you’re part of the problem.

Bedminster and Southville are horrific places, Bedminster because its full of chav scum from Hartcliffe looking for stuff to steal and people with no teeth arguing with sign posts. Southville because tehy all have a chip on their shoulder that they cant afford a place on the other side of the river and pretend that they actually prefer it there and not Hotwells or Clifton!….

Sheesh, I take the mick out of Southvillians (in the nicest possible way) but just in case anyone not from Bristol is reading that, be assured it’s utter bollocks.