People / My Bristol Favourites
My Bristol favourites: Natalie Fee
Natalie Fee is an author, TV presenter, environmental campaigner and founder of City to Sea, a not-for-profit organisation tackling marine plastic pollution at a city-wide level and the one behind the city’s free tap water campaign, Refill Bristol. Her YouTube channel hosts a range of videos that aim to raise awareness about marine litter, from tips on how to go without single-use plastics, comedy shorts and interviews with leading politicians and environmental campaigners. For more information, visit www.nataliefee.com
Here are Natalie’s top-five Bristol favourites:
is needed now More than ever
The Avon Gorge
“The Avon Gorge blows my mind. Be it cycling down the Portway on a sunny winter’s day, or walking along the tow path (above), the scale of it and beauty of the light on the rocks is jaw-droppingly beautiful. And so close to the city too. Just tune out the roar of the A4 and the plastic litter on the riverbanks, or do what I do and enjoy getting involved in a litter pick. Next one is pencilled in for April 16 – come and join us!”
Floating Harbour
“Still on a water theme, the Floating Harbour is my favourite free gym (I run around it regularly) and used to literally be ‘the best school run ever’ when my son was at Hotwells Primary. We moved to Bristol four years ago and never grow tired of its charm. My first date with my partner was spent walking around it, dropping in to the M Shed for a hot chocolate, followed by stifled giggles at some really weird paintings of dogs in a stranger’s house as part of an arts trail.”
The view from the bridge in Brandon Hill’s Peace Garden
“I try to go here most days (I don’t have my own garden) and spend a quiet moment watching the sun climb up over Knowle and Totterdown between the branches of the trees in the Peace Garden. Being smack bang in the middle of BS1 and yet only being able to hear the gushing of a waterfall and birdsong is quite simply magic. I’m grateful to Sri Chinmoy or whichever clever garden designer built it. In fact I’m grateful to everyone who makes Brandon Hill the sanctuary that it is today.”
St Anne’s Well, Brislington Brook
“Okay, it’s going to be a water-themed Bristol Favourites, as my next two favourite places are springs. Despite being in a rather sorry state, St Anne’s Well is a hidden gem steeped in history and tradition – there’s still a St Anne’s Day pageant there every July keeping the stories alive. I visit the well when I need some headspace, to think through project ideas or just connect with something ancient yet very much alive. The Friends of Brislington Brook is a good place to look if you want to know more about it.”
Malago Spring, Dundry Hill
“Go all the way through Hartcliffe as far as you can before you reach green fields and a steep slope, and you’re on track to finding your way to the Malago Spring. The Malago is a tributary of the Avon and the spring it pours forth from is lively and invigorating, flowing over poems carved into the stone slabs by a local artist. It makes a great Sunday walk, stop off at the spring and refill your water bottle before you stroll off into the rolling Dundry countryside.”
Main photo by Jon Craig