Making the Most of my Time as a Housesitter in Bristol, England

I spent a week in Bristol, England as a housesitter, inbetween a couple of other housesitting gigs.

A lurcher dog is a greyhound or whippet crossed with another breed and that’s what I was taking care of during this housesitting assignment. The dog I cared for definitely looked like a greyhound and she was very sweet and well-behaved.

The house was in a quiet neighborhood, and a short walk to parks for dog walking. The closest walk was a cemetery. Yes, lots of walking paths around thousands of grave markers. I was amazed that dogs are allowed here. Back in Surrey, British Columbia, cemeteries are marked “no dogs, no horses”.

Bristol is a port city on the Avon River. The city center was about three miles from where I was housesitting. There’s a nearby bus stop, so I took the bus to the wharf area to get a little familiar with the route, and the next day I walked it. Then I became concerned I was walking through a sketchy part of town, so I stuck with the bus after that!

Here are scenes from around Bristol.

Wharf and Harbor area

The harbor area is very popular with tourists – a great place to walk along the river, people watch, and check out the boat traffic.

Pero’s Bridge

I walked across a bridge that was full of padlocks on the railings. What is this? England’s answer to the Pont des Arts bridge? That’s the love bridge in Paris, France where visitors write their names on a padlock, attach it to the bridge, and toss the key into the Seine.

But no. An online search say visitors attach padlocks to Pero’s Bridge as a memory to a 12 year old boy who was brought to Bristol to be a slave.

For all I know, people in relationships are doing the padlock and toss away the key thing too!

Artwork

Bristol is an artsy town. There are sculptures, statues, and murals everywhere you turn. I took pictures of a few murals and graffiti art. I didn’t spot a Banksy around Bristol, or at at least I don’t think I did…

Bristol unicorns

I spotted unicorns around Bristol and when I searched online found out there is a Bristol Unicorn Festival.

Apparently you can download an app and go on the unicorn trail, searching for unicorns painted by local artists. The herd of 60 is going to auction!

Look up. Way up. This one was across the street from where I went for lunch.

Food

To save money while housesitting, I usually shop at grocery stores and eat at home. I did eat out quite a few times in Bristol, considering I was only there for one week.

On my first excursion to the city center/harbor area I had lunch at Pieminister, a savory pie and mash place. I got a veggie and quinoa pie that came with a parsnip and kale fritter. It was supposed to come with mashed potatoes, but they screwed up and I got fries. The pie was just OK. The bottom crust was tough. The milkshake was small and a rip off for what I paid. The service was very slow. From the time I stood waiting for someone to acknowledge me, to getting dumped in a corner table by the can, to waiting for my check. It came to $31 Canadian dollars. Yikes! Well at least I’m saving money when it comes to accommodations.

When I came out, the streets were very wet, so it was kind of a good thing lunch took so long or I might have got drenched in that downpour.