How lucky are we to have a handful of expansive and beautiful Victorian parks dotted around the…read morecity? I didn't even know about this one and it's just around the corner from me really. So, I wrapped up warm and stepped through the impressive (and original) wrought iron gates on Church road. It was rather like stepping from the bustle of the modern city with all its traffic and noise into a tranquil Victorian landscape. An avenue of trees, lawns on which to give the dog a good run and a large duckpond/small lake (I can't quite decide which it is - man made whichever!). That's about it, but a refreshing change from walking on concrete. The gates are is open 24 hours (although I wouldn't recommend using it as a cut through to anywhere late at night). There's also a car park nearby. Recent developments to the greenery is that the park is part of the 'TreeBristol project' and 70 new trees were recently planted by people from the local community. Yay!

It's great to find Park's of this size very near to City centre's. Especially considering the area…read moreit is in. As it is not in the best area of Bristol it does give young people an area to not only play a bit of football, bit there is also a skate park. For young families as well there are a couple of playgrounds so you can keep your little angles(brats!) entertained for a few hours as you catch a quick restbite on a bench. You don't hear much traffic when you are in the park which is nice, and it is great to see everyone treats it with repect.

Small piece of enclosed green opposite the main set of shops in Fishponds, and opposite the Porto…read moreLounge bar. This is a nice square with a children's play area and a war memorial. It is mainly used as a walkthrough by people, but do be careful when it gets dark as there has been incidents of bag snatching. Otherwise it is kept nice and clean and good for a daytime contemplative sit to eat your lunch. Although it is enclosed the entrance ways are open and quite wide, so it is not suitable for letting your dog off leash.

What better to compliment such a pleasant strip of shops than a nice little park? Fishponds Park…read moremeasures up quite nicely, using a small plot of land to the best potential. Well kept paths, colourful flower beds and a war-time statue in the middle all ooze vibes of good maintenance and a family-happy environment. There's a children's play area in the corner cordoned off by colourful fencing and at the far reaches a church. It's not a massive park but it's excellent for escaping the town and getting a bit of peace and quiet.

If you're in town and you want somewhere pleasant to get away from Broadmead, this is the spot for…read moreyou. Indeed, the thing I most associate this place with is grabbing a lunch time bite with some colleagues when I worked nearby. Due to its location it's not exactly a communal spot, and the layout, with lots of hills, flowerbeds and trees, means that unlike College Green, frisbee and footie games are unlikely to break out. It's a pleasant place though and big enough for you to grab a spot of your own, possibly with a view of the river.

Castle Park, a great place to escape from the hustle and bussle of broadmead. I found this delight…read moreafter getting bogged down in the christmas shopping mayhem, I was after a slice of tranquility then... bam! ... I arrived in castle park, the snow had settled and all was peaceful. Soon my eye was caught by a monuement standing out on the carpet of green and white (from the snow!), there stood this beautiful old derilict church, around the back of the church my eye was caught with a row of trees side by side, leading me down to a fountain at the end. I was sold, took a couple of snaps (see 'Snow hit' photo I uploaded) and Voilá!, my grandparents christmas present had been solved with a few clicks of my camera! Perfect in summer or winter, with the river so close on one side and shops on the other, it's like a link between relaxation and retail therapy.

One of the larger Parks in Bristol, this is a much needed green expanse to offer the people of…read moreFishponds and eastville a place to come on sunny days and enjoy some fresh air. It is not recomended to go to this park once it starts to get dark as their is a bad reputation that seems to go hand in hand with it. People seem to respect this park which is nice and you don't see much littering, I thinkit is so important to keep park areas in citys clean and safe as it encourages more people to come and use it and enjoy everything that a park can offer.

I feel safe enough mooching around this grand Victorian city park or taking the dog for a walk in…read morebroad daylight. After dark I would skirt around the outside, as the park has a dodgy reputation that I don't want to test out for the purpose of a Yelp review (sorry folks). Eastville is a much needed expanse of green cornering onto Fishponds, Eastville, Stapleton and Easton (all mainly concrete/Victorian stone areas). It also provides a good space for a kick-about and it's one of the city's main community footballing venues. On a geeky nature way, I also enjoy exploring the wildlife areas and lake in the park - last summer I even caught sight of a kingfisher (no kidding) and heron, ducks and moorhen all thrive here. What I didn't expect, late on a Summer's evening, are the bats that flit around the trees - this is Bristol!! OK, so I'm not much of a birdwatcher/bat fanatic really, so back to what I do know - a good walk in the park. You can leave your car in the alloted spaces in Park Avenue and from there wander into the park. The lake, community garden and 100 year old the bowling greens remain. Some months they house a funfair, other times there is an Asian festival in full swing (complete with delicious curries for sale). Original features Victorian drinking fountain and toilets remain, although you probably want to avoid them at all costs!

This is by far my favourite park in Bristol. It's got everything you'd want in a park…read more.. Massive open green spaces perfect for football, frisbee, cricket and any other park game. A huge playground suitable for children of all ages. A hut that sells tea/coffee/ice cream and bacon baps. Beautiful meadows that are buzzing with wildlife. The river Frome runs through it and throughout the different seasons a walk along that river offers an array of different colours, wildlife and scenery. I also love the fact you can start in Eastville park and follow the Frome Valley walkway right through Snuff Mills, Oldbury Court, Frenchay, Winterbourne and beyond. If you live in Bristol and haven't visited this park then get on it, you won't be disappointed.

There is a big rolling walkway of green stretching from Eastville to right out under the ringroad…read moreat Hambrook, if you know where the paths are. Some of it is part of Oldbury Court, which is how you will see part of this park on the Google map. Part of that group is Vassell's Park (which used to be called Vassell's Family Estate). It must have been an arboretum at one point as it has a fantastic collection of trees so it looks stunning all year round. Largely split into four fields you have the main entrance and car park on Vassall Park Road (note how the spelling is different!) and a sports field to the left with a very good enclosed childrens' playground, and a larger green space on the right with a concrete path. Most dog walkers during summer and weekends stick to the right side as the left side has footie and cricket. Other times it is a free for all as it is only dog walkers and joggers who come to the park in winter and early mornings! Then there are two fields at the back which are just big green spaces, again only dog walkers and runners seem to get that far into the park. You can also gain entrance to the park at the bottom of the right-hand field near the back fields - at Goffenton Drive - but there is only one car space! And there is a way in by the allotments past Glaisdale Road at the back of the left-hand field. No parking available here. There is a constant coffee truck near the car park all year and an ice cream truck whenever children are likely to be about. There is a limited amount of waste bins in the hope that everyone will take their rubbish home - unfortunately they don't and during summertime I become volunteer litter picker when I walk my dog. It does get filthy when the weather is hot and the picnics come out. Annoying and dangerous for my dog. The park does have numerous dog poo bins and the dog walkers here are very clean - I rarely see any left about in the park. I should say if you don't like dogs then don't come here - even at 6am on a wintery day I will see 5 other dogs, on a Saturday afternoon in summer we're talking 30+. The park connects down to Snuff Mills and the river Frome at various points. The easiest option is to follow the concrete walking path all the way through the back fields and then when you reach the third entrance and car park at Frenchay Road turn back on yourself and go down the steps. Personally I like careering with my dog down through the the woods! Of course Snuff Mills can connect you to Eastville Park and to the Purdown Estate for more green space by just crossing a road. If you want to go on to Downend the woodland path continues opposite the car park but be careful as the path has eroded quite badly and is slippery on a slope. You can also take a short walk through the quiet Frenchay streets and keep going on the Frome Valley Walkway.

Woodland and parks which used to be the land for the fancy schmansy yellow mansion you can see from…read morethe less fancy M32. Dower House is now just apartments, but the land is public access with well formed paths and tracks and often used by horse riders, hikers, cyclists and dog walkers. The land is linked easily to Pur Down so you can walk for a good few hours across this part of Bristol.

In Ashton Court Estate you will find this pitch and put course on a hillside. It takes a bit of…read morefinding. At the main entrance (that is, where the gatehouse is, not down in the hill around Bedminster) go straight along the road and then take the first right, going up the hill. You'll come to a little car park and a slightly desolate looking hut. The hut is where you can hire clubs and balls (remember not to smack it into the bushes...) and get putting. It's run by the council, which means its a) cheap and b) not full of stuffy old men, the two usual vices of a golf course. Give your ball a thwack and follow it round the course, nobodies going to judge you. The only downside I can think of is that things can get a bit congested, especially if the weather is even vaguely nice. You may have to wait a little while, or have people queueing up behind you, to use one of the holes. Making golf a bit less of the pursuit of old men at country clubs, the pitch and put golf course is a great way for those of us that think golf looks like a lark to give it a try.

I used to hate golf until two of my mates practically dragged me across the bridge to Ashton Court…read morefor some pitch and putt. What can I say? I was almost instantly seduced by the satisfying feeling of smacking a little ball as hard as you can with a massive piece of metal, and the faraway sound of ball on deer. It's great value - £6.50 gets you 18 holes and a great view across the whole of Brizzle and beyond on a fine day. The only problem is that, when the sun's out, it can get pretty busy, and there's nothing guaranteed to give an amateur the yips more than a queue of people staring and tutting as you continually swing and miss at the ball off the tee. One tip: the course on the Bristol side of AC offers more variation, and there's even one par five hole where you can get your wood out and give it a real thrashing.

Two areas which are part of the Forest of Avon. The Combe is the lower part which has a gentle path…read morewith access to climbing the rocks. The Wood is a trail through, well, woods above it. It takes a sharp climb either on a path or some steps depending on where you go up. There is an environmental centre here which hosts school camps and wilderness days for local school children so you may suddenly encounter large groups of small people on the paths. The whole area is just beautiful for dog walking - lots of space and not many other people walking here. You can sometimes walk for an hour or so and not come across anyone else.

The great thing about Bristol is that it's a thriving city with cosmopolitan restaurants and…read morenightlife, but you're still only a stone's throw from beautiful scenery and greenery. And nowhere is this more evident than the Downs, where you can walk up the hustle and bustle of Whiteladies Road and straight onto over 400 acres of rolling grassland. It says much about the place in our hearts that the Downs holds that as soon as the sun comes out, the first reaction of pretty much everyone I know is to head straight up there. A vibrant place, it's always filled with people playing games, enjoying barbecues, having a drink or just relaxing. There's plenty to see and do, too, with a huge football league held there on Saturday afternoons, the observatory, the rockslides and a café to name a few, plus the stunning views across the Suspension Bridge. A beautiful place and a big reason why I'm proud to be a Bristolian.

The Downs are a lovely area where you can get away from the hustle and bustle of Bristol city. Its…read morea good 30 minute hike uphill if you are planning on walking from the centre so it may be best to grab the bus. The number 9 bus goes from Temple Meads and the centre and drops you off right at the heart of the Downs which is helpful. I would recommend walking right to the furthest point where there is a viewing area. The views over Avon Gorge and Clifton Suspension Bridge are stunning. There are many other little paths to explore which will take you to the river and other areas, but you will probably need a map to find them. Definitely worth a trip up here for the amazing views and a breath of fresh air.