Bradford On Avon

I visited here with family, after putting together a bit of a Wiltshire wish-list. Having only seen photos of the town, I wasn’t sure if it would live up to my expectations! I loved it so much I have made several trips back here!

I would actually describe this town as magical. There’s a feeling in the air that just makes it feel like a special place. If you visit, I hope you get that same feeling…I literally gasped as we drove through the main street in and down the hillside ha!

Once you get to the bottom of the hill, you drive over the bridge where the River Avon flows through it below and are faced with the most impressive looking building called the Bridge Tea Rooms; more about that shortly!

This medieval town is on the edge of the Cotswolds and the beautiful houses are a true sight for sore eyes. Bradford on Avon’s heritage was found in wool and weaving, where there are still several mills, mostly converted to fit modern life’s requirements. My first stop was a really little stop for us as the heavy rain really drove us back to the car, but I have since been back to explore more of this lovely town.

I’ve broken out the following sections, depending on your leisure interests

Walkers

If you are near to the bridge, you’ll spot a war memorial featured in the gardens of the Tourist Information Centre, and there’s also quite a few walks you can do, that feature the canal, that I found on Alltrails. The 1hr river and canal circular one is on my list! Just taking yourself off for a wander around the town will lead you over bridges and up steep hills, where you’ll soon be able to see some gorgeous gothic looking properties.

Shoppers

Hopefully on your wandering, you will end up at The Shambles, an unmissable stretch of independent shops (including a really lovely bookshop, Ex Libris that sells both preloved and new books). Look out for the monogram of Edward VIII that can be found at the old Post Office too!

And that’s aside from the other independent fashion and gift shops (including a pet groomer/cafe and a local artist store) and some charity shops which are nicely scattered about. We also liked Alfred’s, which offers some great brand named second hand items. There’s a main square that has a few lovely shops to look in, as well as the surrounding streets.

To call out a few that I really enjoyed visiting, Heathers, a beautiful ladies clothing store; the lady who was running it on the day I visited was so friendly and helpful and the choices of outfits are great.

The local artists store I mentioned earlier, Made In Bradford, is a fine example of some really quality pieces of artistry from local residents. This is a community project and shows off the creativity of many artists, from jewellery, ceramics, knitwear – just a really lovely place to walk around.

Places I’ve yet to go back to:
Sassy & Boo- I learned recently that this is a small chain local to the area and I really love their clothing!
Strawberry Blue – located on the Shambles, a gorgeous looking gift shop
The Cheese Shop – no further clarification needed!
La Cotonniere – a gift shop that looks really lovely and I ran out of time to pop in here; I also love the old Superintendant sign above the door!
Moxhams Antiques – just up the hill out of Bradford on Avon’s main hub, is a lovely looking antique store

Drinkers
We didn’t go to any this time but you may want to check out the microbrewery just out of town (about a 15 min walk) called Kettlesmiths.

The more time I spent around the town the more places I kept coming across and although no visits have featured any drinking stops for me, I’ve definitely got a longer list to try now.

There’s cosy wine bars and traditional pubs to cover every taste.

Places I’ll be back to visit:
The Vaults and The Vintners
Bunch of Grapes wine bar
Widbrook Grange – this bar caught my eye from the road on the drive out of Bradford On Avon and on the way in- having looked at their website, I definitely would love to go back here; it has an exceptionally large collection of Gin!

Cafe’s/Restaurants

The Bridge Tea Rooms; I finally made it! It’s a well-photographed building and it has a very homely interior. The staff all are dressed in traditional Victorian gowns and it does add to the theatre of the experience. There are a whole range of different afternoon tea varieties to pick from; we opted for the full tea as well, you can’t rate everything if you don’t try it! Our family came back to enjoy this, and told us it was really really good so it seems it could be a consistently good place to go. It’s priced at being for a special occasion (depending on your budget) and watch out for the doorframe as you leave; I missed the sign and quickly realised that I really am a lot taller than the people who first inhabited it were!

Although you could call this technically shopping, it’s worth noting there is a weekly Friday artisan market that runs April-December (which I would love to come back to) and a lovely Farm Shop at Hartley Farm (about 7mins drive out of town) which both sound really nice.

Another cafe that caught my eye was the Secret Garden Cafe, which is located in the square and run by the loveliest team. They gave us such a warm welome and I just love how it’s decorated outside and in (garden inspiration came thick and fast!). Great selection of cakes too.

Places to come back and try:
The Doghouse Cafe – I don’t have a dog but the combination of dogs being groomed and drinking coffee sounds good to me
The Bolt Hole in the Shambles looked great
Ravello, a well reviewed Italian restaurant on the corner of St Margaret’s Street which looks lovely inside and out and the menu had me salivating!
There’s a couple of lovely looking cafe’s down on the canal too that I need to check.

Hotels

There’s quite a few inns and pubs around but I have my eye on Timbrells Yard. I like the sound of the Swan Hotel too…I’ll let you know!

Sightseeing

There is a free museum within the Library, which is run by volunteers; with some amazing original artefacts and a pharmacy recreation, it’s small but worth a visit. I think it’s a great idea to pop there and then go and look for some of the things you see.

You can’t really miss the beautiful town bridge and once you get on foot, you start to see, with the houses nestled into the hills, just how wonderful it is. Look out for the differences in the arches of the bridge, where a section was built in the 14th century and parts rebuilt in the 18th century. There are SO many lovely houses and buildings to view and as always, in a town like this, do look above the shop fronts to see some interesting signs and markings!

It’s worth looking at Bradford’s what’s on site, bradfordonavon.co.uk/whats-on as they regularly post walks, exhibitions, seasonal events, talks and all kinds of different activities to get involved in. The town really does have a community feel to it.

Step off the main street and head to Kingston Road, where you’ll fail to miss a pretty large piece of machinery, the Iron Duke, a rubber machine that’s been restored and on display here,a nod to Bradford On Avon’s connection with the rubber industry (the museum will fill you in on the detail of this!) . It really is quite impressive.

Walk around the St Thomas More Catholic Church which reportedly dates back to the 1120s! It really stands out as a prominent building.

The train station is also worth a visit; it’s one just a few left from Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s designs that has not really been altered over the years. Very pretty!

Would I go again?

Without a doubt! I feel like the 2-3 hours spent here gave me a preview of what was on offer and since I have come back, I have found more and more to do and see. I think you could easily probably do this as a day trip or over a weekend (if nothing else but to use the time to space out all of the food recommendations that I think this town offers). I really think it has a nice feel to it and I can’t wait to come back and see more of it (hopefully on a sunnier day). I hope this has given you a flavour of what the town offers!