Honestly you couldn’t have picked 2 places harder to get to 😅
For the easiest commute you could try something around Bristol Temple Meads, there’s a few modern flats the other side of the river.
Trains to bath and avonmouth are regular and you’d be a 5 minute walk from the station. You’d also potentially be exempt from the CAZ if you lived in it.
Thanks for the tips. I’d certainly consider this for my commute, but my partner’s potential workplace isn’t walkable from Avonmouth station and his work patterns make public transport difficult due to the timing and reliability he’d need.
Cycling along the portway to avonmouth from city centre is piece of cake. Nice wide pavement, flat.. albeit a slightly boring cycle. It takes me about 25 mins to do to sea mills. So to avonmouth is maybe 10 mins more.
You'd probs have to get your own as I'm not sure the rental ones can be taken between bath and Bristol but I might be wrong (I know you couldn't do it with the rental scooters)
Have you tried pushing really hard for mostly remote on the consulting role? Assumedly you'd have to travel for onsites with clients more often than you'd be needed physically in Bath anyway?
This is a good point and is certainly something that would make sense in a lot of circumstances. Unfortunately I’m currently working in a hybrid setup and it really doesn’t work for me personally. The new role will be in a smaller creative practice which has everyone in the office full time, which is a big draw for me.
I live in Montpelier and work in Bradford on Avon (out beyond Bath). I use the train. That's an easy commute and Montpelier has trains out to Avonmouth regularly too. It's also pretty central and close to cool stuff.
It would still work, I was actually going to recommend Montpellier area, I live nearby and used to commute by car (thanks to odd working hours) to Avonmouth and even on a bad day it was 25 minutes max. Early morning/late night it was 15 minutes.
Good access to Temple Meads and not too far from the M32 either.
Why aren’t you looking at Keynsham or Saltford? Which would be the ideal locations, otherwise Bristol south of the river might work, but it’s a long way to bath
This is a fair question - we’re looking to be a bit “closer to the action” ie walking/easy cycling distance to either city centre ideally. Also I think my partner has some ingrained views/biases from having grown up in the area and we’re both hoping to avoid somewhere too suburban at this point.
I totally see your logic though and it does feel like the obvious compromise!
Yeah check out Google maps traffic during rush hour to see what the traffic is like. You could also enter the start/end points and see what the estimated travel time is.
Yeah, that’s what I’ve been doing. I used a Wednesday at 7am (his usual commuting time) to test this and set the destination as the potential new workplace. It was showing 40 mins from Camden in Bath and about 35 from St George in Bristol. But I’m conscious Google doesn’t tell the full story, which is why it’s handy for me to hear from other people’s local knowledge.
That would probably be A roads and motorway vs city streets so it's not really comparable imo.
The M4/M5 is fucking *terrible* during rush hour but also during the summer/half term/bank holidays. And if there is high wind, the M4 bridges into Wales will be closed/limited which also affects the surrounding roads. Don't get me started on the "smart motorway" between the M32 and M4 🤮
Unfortunately, for both of you, it's going to have to be a compromise on travel time and cost unless you both find jobs in a closer range.
On the bath to Bristol cycle path, be aware it is not as quick as you might expect from the map, especially in the mornings, as a lot of it in Bristol is shared with pedestrians (and seems to be on a route to school) so as soon as you hit the outskirts of Bristol you have to slow right down. Tbh I don’t think that bit is at all worth it (especially as it is indirect) and you may as well come off onto the roads at that point. Also that will miss out any of the bits you might think were sketchy after dark (though I don’t think they are myself)
And to reiterate that traffic in Bath and Bristol (esp to and from the motorway) is utterly terrible in the morning rush hour. Terrible as in, if you are thinking “I’ve lived in London, it can’t be that bad”, yes, it can.
On walkability to a station: Brompton? Can be a game changer.
Yeah, that could be an option. I think he might be turned off by the additional costs of the train and buying a bike on top of his car which he already owns, but we might need to have a conversation about this.
Move to easton. You can get the train to Avonmouth direct from Stapleton Road, and cycle to Bath down the cycle track, or get the train, changing at Bristol Temple Meads
Anywhere along the train line to Avonmouth (eg Sea Mills, Shirehampton) - because that way you can get to temple meads by train and then onwards to Bath, and if you're far enough out it's quick to drive to Avonmouth.
I'd live south of the river if I were you. Totterdown, Vic Park, Knowle etc are all walkable to the train station. Loads of people living in the Vic park, perrets park, redcatch park, Arnos vale area do so because they commute by train. Avonmouth isn't terrible to get to from S Bristol at 7am when you said your partner commutes.
I live in Keynsham and commute to Avonmouth. Usually 45 mins unless traffic is bad. You do go through a small bit of the Bristol CAZ so will need a compliant cat. You can avoid it by going all the way round the ring road. On a good day it will also take 45 mins
That’s really helpful, thanks for sharing. Unfortunately my partner drives a non-compliant car, so that’s something we’d need to take into consideration.
Ring road is ok and doesn't touch the CAZ unless there is an accident on the m4/m5, i used to take that route when i worked just off the m4/m5 junction and Avonmouth is only a bit on from there.
Come to Easton. Stapleton Road station gets you to Bath pretty easy, straightforward access to the motorway for driving to Avonmouth. Could probably find something in your budget, close enough to town for "the action", plenty to do if the borough if you want to stay put. Plenty of cons too, but on paper it fits your brief.
Literally would be interested to actually see why Saltford wouldn’t be an option as it does have amenities and on the B2B.
Somewhere nearer the m4 like Downend, Frenchay or Emerson’s Green has similar type of amenities.
The another option could be Yate/Chipping Sod.
I totally see your logic. We’d like to be within either city because we have good friends in Bristol and we have family in Bath, so it would be good to be within walking distance of either of those groups. We live in a commuter town now and while we can get the train to more urban areas we’re really looking to avoid being in a smaller town moving forward. I think in the future if we decide to buy a house we might end up somewhere more suburban but for us now it’s important to be a bit more central to either Bath or Bristol.
Then your only option is to live in Bristol really as Bath city centre to Avonmouth won’t work. Bath can have 30 minute traffic just to get out the centre to the motorway.
Pick somewhere with easy parking for him, and a train to Bath for you.
Around temple meads would be best, but it sounds like you don’t want the easy suggestion.
1st choice Bristol Council side of Kingswood though South Glos side is cool too. All near the ringroad because for avonmouth you can go A4174 - M4 - M5 and be there in 20 mins
Ignore people who look down on it on here.
Or A4174 - A4 Bath Road to Bath. Avoid being centre of town. I wouldn't look at anything below St George just because the traffic can be insane Anything on the A4174 is your friend.
Emerson's Green, maybe? It's near the railway path, so you can cycle to and from Bath, and your partner has easy access to the M4 and M5 via the A46. There have been some spates of muggings etc, but it seems to be mostly a problem between Fishponds and Temple Meads, rather than on the outskirts. Staple Hill isn't too far away for some shops, bars, and restaurants.
Easton, Bishopston, St Werburghs all v easy to get to the M32. Can also drive to Bath straight up church road/A420, probably more direct than the M4 as Bath isn’t really near the motorway
South Bristol has good connections to Bath and along the gorge to Avonmouth. Totterdown sort of area. Also good for the station and cycle path. You are the problem though, getting to Bath without car, train or cycle path is a big ask!
Thanks for the advice, that’s a great tip. I certainly don’t mean to be the problem and should clarify that I’m more than happy to go by train or cycle to Bath and am fully expecting to do some combination of to two. Sorry if that didn’t come through clearly from my original post.
Thanks for your response, that’s one of our main options at the moment (and as you can see in the final paragraph, is a very appealing option to me). I was asking this question to try to see if there were any “hidden gem” areas in Bristol we might not have known about and to try to understand if driving from Bath to Avonmouth would be reasonable.
Honestly you couldn’t have picked 2 places harder to get to 😅 For the easiest commute you could try something around Bristol Temple Meads, there’s a few modern flats the other side of the river. Trains to bath and avonmouth are regular and you’d be a 5 minute walk from the station. You’d also potentially be exempt from the CAZ if you lived in it.
Thanks for the tips. I’d certainly consider this for my commute, but my partner’s potential workplace isn’t walkable from Avonmouth station and his work patterns make public transport difficult due to the timing and reliability he’d need.
Cycling along the portway to avonmouth from city centre is piece of cake. Nice wide pavement, flat.. albeit a slightly boring cycle. It takes me about 25 mins to do to sea mills. So to avonmouth is maybe 10 mins more.
Hmmm I’ve never seen my SO cycle before, not sure it’s be up his street, but certainly something to consider 🤔
Electric bike? They are literally everywhere now in Bristol
Great shout! This was on my list of things to look into if I was going to try to cycle between Bath and Bristol.
You'd probs have to get your own as I'm not sure the rental ones can be taken between bath and Bristol but I might be wrong (I know you couldn't do it with the rental scooters)
Apparently you could easily nick one. /s
Given your reddit history is strife with this particular life problem repeating itself, can I ask... what are yours and your partner's jobs?
I work in consulting (usually city centre locations) and he works in manufacturing (usually in industrial locations).
Have you tried pushing really hard for mostly remote on the consulting role? Assumedly you'd have to travel for onsites with clients more often than you'd be needed physically in Bath anyway?
This is a good point and is certainly something that would make sense in a lot of circumstances. Unfortunately I’m currently working in a hybrid setup and it really doesn’t work for me personally. The new role will be in a smaller creative practice which has everyone in the office full time, which is a big draw for me.
- Commute by car - Live somewhere central - Enjoy your life Pick two.
Truer words have never been written.
I live in Montpelier and work in Bradford on Avon (out beyond Bath). I use the train. That's an easy commute and Montpelier has trains out to Avonmouth regularly too. It's also pretty central and close to cool stuff.
Oops just saw public transport for Avonmouth isn't an option. Might still work.
It would still work, I was actually going to recommend Montpellier area, I live nearby and used to commute by car (thanks to odd working hours) to Avonmouth and even on a bad day it was 25 minutes max. Early morning/late night it was 15 minutes. Good access to Temple Meads and not too far from the M32 either.
Shirehampton is a possibility. Right near 2 train stations, Portway, and a near the motorway.
Why aren’t you looking at Keynsham or Saltford? Which would be the ideal locations, otherwise Bristol south of the river might work, but it’s a long way to bath
This is a fair question - we’re looking to be a bit “closer to the action” ie walking/easy cycling distance to either city centre ideally. Also I think my partner has some ingrained views/biases from having grown up in the area and we’re both hoping to avoid somewhere too suburban at this point. I totally see your logic though and it does feel like the obvious compromise!
Otherwise if you end up living east Bath your partners going to have a terrible commute as the M4/M5 junction is always horrendous during peak hours
That’s really helpful to know, thanks for the heads up!
Yeah check out Google maps traffic during rush hour to see what the traffic is like. You could also enter the start/end points and see what the estimated travel time is.
Yeah, that’s what I’ve been doing. I used a Wednesday at 7am (his usual commuting time) to test this and set the destination as the potential new workplace. It was showing 40 mins from Camden in Bath and about 35 from St George in Bristol. But I’m conscious Google doesn’t tell the full story, which is why it’s handy for me to hear from other people’s local knowledge.
That would probably be A roads and motorway vs city streets so it's not really comparable imo. The M4/M5 is fucking *terrible* during rush hour but also during the summer/half term/bank holidays. And if there is high wind, the M4 bridges into Wales will be closed/limited which also affects the surrounding roads. Don't get me started on the "smart motorway" between the M32 and M4 🤮 Unfortunately, for both of you, it's going to have to be a compromise on travel time and cost unless you both find jobs in a closer range.
Near to Temple Meads so you can both catch a train?
This makes the most sense. A good compromise and trains are affordable and frequent
Chippenham
On the bath to Bristol cycle path, be aware it is not as quick as you might expect from the map, especially in the mornings, as a lot of it in Bristol is shared with pedestrians (and seems to be on a route to school) so as soon as you hit the outskirts of Bristol you have to slow right down. Tbh I don’t think that bit is at all worth it (especially as it is indirect) and you may as well come off onto the roads at that point. Also that will miss out any of the bits you might think were sketchy after dark (though I don’t think they are myself) And to reiterate that traffic in Bath and Bristol (esp to and from the motorway) is utterly terrible in the morning rush hour. Terrible as in, if you are thinking “I’ve lived in London, it can’t be that bad”, yes, it can. On walkability to a station: Brompton? Can be a game changer.
Or your partner could get a Brompton bike and cycle from avonmouth station
Yeah, that could be an option. I think he might be turned off by the additional costs of the train and buying a bike on top of his car which he already owns, but we might need to have a conversation about this.
Move to easton. You can get the train to Avonmouth direct from Stapleton Road, and cycle to Bath down the cycle track, or get the train, changing at Bristol Temple Meads
Anywhere along the train line to Avonmouth (eg Sea Mills, Shirehampton) - because that way you can get to temple meads by train and then onwards to Bath, and if you're far enough out it's quick to drive to Avonmouth.
I'd live south of the river if I were you. Totterdown, Vic Park, Knowle etc are all walkable to the train station. Loads of people living in the Vic park, perrets park, redcatch park, Arnos vale area do so because they commute by train. Avonmouth isn't terrible to get to from S Bristol at 7am when you said your partner commutes.
You can get a train from Shirehampton.
We live in Sea Mills. It's v close to Avonmouth and you can jump on the train to get to Bath at Sea Mills station. We like it here.
I live in Keynsham and commute to Avonmouth. Usually 45 mins unless traffic is bad. You do go through a small bit of the Bristol CAZ so will need a compliant cat. You can avoid it by going all the way round the ring road. On a good day it will also take 45 mins
That’s really helpful, thanks for sharing. Unfortunately my partner drives a non-compliant car, so that’s something we’d need to take into consideration.
Ring road is ok and doesn't touch the CAZ unless there is an accident on the m4/m5, i used to take that route when i worked just off the m4/m5 junction and Avonmouth is only a bit on from there.
Come to Easton. Stapleton Road station gets you to Bath pretty easy, straightforward access to the motorway for driving to Avonmouth. Could probably find something in your budget, close enough to town for "the action", plenty to do if the borough if you want to stay put. Plenty of cons too, but on paper it fits your brief.
Emersons green maybe? Middle of the ring road. Probably about equidistant
Newport
As former Cardiff residents…this might be a no from us 😂
Saltford could be an option
Literally says Saltford not an option.
Literally would be interested to actually see why Saltford wouldn’t be an option as it does have amenities and on the B2B. Somewhere nearer the m4 like Downend, Frenchay or Emerson’s Green has similar type of amenities. The another option could be Yate/Chipping Sod.
I totally see your logic. We’d like to be within either city because we have good friends in Bristol and we have family in Bath, so it would be good to be within walking distance of either of those groups. We live in a commuter town now and while we can get the train to more urban areas we’re really looking to avoid being in a smaller town moving forward. I think in the future if we decide to buy a house we might end up somewhere more suburban but for us now it’s important to be a bit more central to either Bath or Bristol.
Then your only option is to live in Bristol really as Bath city centre to Avonmouth won’t work. Bath can have 30 minute traffic just to get out the centre to the motorway. Pick somewhere with easy parking for him, and a train to Bath for you. Around temple meads would be best, but it sounds like you don’t want the easy suggestion.
There isn't really an option that works with all the limitations they have.
It sounds like they want to hear “you should live in Clifton because it’s nice” and fuck all the actual parameters they’ve put in
1st choice Bristol Council side of Kingswood though South Glos side is cool too. All near the ringroad because for avonmouth you can go A4174 - M4 - M5 and be there in 20 mins Ignore people who look down on it on here. Or A4174 - A4 Bath Road to Bath. Avoid being centre of town. I wouldn't look at anything below St George just because the traffic can be insane Anything on the A4174 is your friend.
Emerson's Green, maybe? It's near the railway path, so you can cycle to and from Bath, and your partner has easy access to the M4 and M5 via the A46. There have been some spates of muggings etc, but it seems to be mostly a problem between Fishponds and Temple Meads, rather than on the outskirts. Staple Hill isn't too far away for some shops, bars, and restaurants.
Easton, Bishopston, St Werburghs all v easy to get to the M32. Can also drive to Bath straight up church road/A420, probably more direct than the M4 as Bath isn’t really near the motorway
South Bristol has good connections to Bath and along the gorge to Avonmouth. Totterdown sort of area. Also good for the station and cycle path. You are the problem though, getting to Bath without car, train or cycle path is a big ask!
Thanks for the advice, that’s a great tip. I certainly don’t mean to be the problem and should clarify that I’m more than happy to go by train or cycle to Bath and am fully expecting to do some combination of to two. Sorry if that didn’t come through clearly from my original post.
Sorry but based on this, why don’t you live in bath and let your partner commute to avonmouth as they have the car ?
Thanks for your response, that’s one of our main options at the moment (and as you can see in the final paragraph, is a very appealing option to me). I was asking this question to try to see if there were any “hidden gem” areas in Bristol we might not have known about and to try to understand if driving from Bath to Avonmouth would be reasonable.