Glen Dawkins owns five real ale pubs in Bristol under the Dawkins name – the Portcullis and Victoria in Clifton, the Hillgrove and Green Man in Kingsdown, and the Miners Arms in St Werburgh’s.
Glen also owns the Dawkins Ales microbrewery in Timsbury, Somerset, whose most recent brew is the Shakesbeer to support next month’s Bristol Shakespeare Festival.
Here are Glen’s top-five Bristol favourites:
Ferries
“There is something magical about seeing the city from the water. You get a different perspective and it is very relaxing, as well as a great alternative way to get around. Hard to believe there were plans to put a motorway through the Floating Harbour in the seventies. How stunning it would be if the centre was opened up again with the waterfront extended back along its full length! The new hydrogen-powered boat is an exciting development and it was fantastic news recently when the largest ferry boat operator was rescued from collapse. Good luck to them.”
Hydrogen and cross-harbour ferries
The Old City
“The glass arcade in St Nick’s Market is a beautiful building and the variety of independent retailers is excellent. Interesting to see it becoming ever more foodie, proving fast food need not mean factory-farmed rubbish. Grillstock does superb meaty snacks and Source has a deli that is hard to resist. It is a shame the monthly slow food market has fallen away; hopefully the Mayor’s ‘Making Sundays Special’ project, freeing the Old City from traffic on summer Sundays from June 23 will lead to a revival. One of my favourite ‘secret’ buildings is the Edward Everard Building. Easily missed, tucked next to a looming, typically hideous modern block on Broad Street, this has an outstanding Pre-Raphaelite style facade. A former print works from 1900, now rather wasted as an insurance office.”
Kingsdown
“A beautiful area blessed with great pubs (a personal interest!) perched on the hill overlooking the city. A good mixture of people and in easy walking distance (well, at least downhill) of Stokes Croft, Clifton and the Centre. Rescued from demolition in the 1960s by the Kingsdown Conservation Group, Kingsdown Parade is a colourful, fine example of Georgian architecture with the vibrant, beautiful St Matthew’s church just around the corner at one end and a triangle of green space at the other which, pre-Blitz was the Montague Hotel, famous for its turtle soup!”
Fremantle Square, Kingsdown
Creativity
“Bristol is an incredible hub for art, literature, film and theatre. I’ve been involved in a small way in the Slapstick Festival of silent film organized by Bristol Silents, which just gets bigger each year and now the upcoming Yardstick and Bristol Shakespeare Festivals; good examples of the diverse nature of such events that Bristolians can enjoy throughout the year. With the BBC, Aardman heavyweights and many other media businesses in the city there is definitely a creative buzz.”
Independence
“Over the 20-odd years I’ve been lucky to call Bristol home, I’ve noticed an upsurge in confidence and identity. In a tough environment it is heartening to see the success of independent shops, in particular on Gloucester Road and North Street, backed by the growth of initiatives like the Bristol Pound. Areas like Stokes Croft with the campaign to save the Carriageworks, and St Werburgh’s with Mina Park renovations and the City Farm show real community spirit. Just a couple of examples in this great city.”
The Miner’s Arms, St Werburgh’s
