The explosion of colour through Spring brings with it fantastic opportunities for landscape photography. I’ve spent the last few years exploring the local area – including in and around Bristol and across Somerset, trying to find the best Spring photography locations. Below are a list of my favourite Spring locations – including some you may not have heard of…
Spring locations in Bristol and Somerset
Arnos Court Park – the lone cherry tree
It’s probably the location I’m most known for locally on Instagram. Just round the corner from me sits this awesome hilly park, which is adjacent to the also excellent Arnos Vale Cemetery. At the top of the hill is a lone cherry tree – a prunus kanzan to be specific. At the end of March and across April it explodes with pink blossom. It’s a pretty spectacular and unique spot, and all slap bang in the middle of Bristol.
During the 2020 lockdown, I wandered down the hill with my son to catch a sunrise over it. The resulting image hit a nerve with people, and went viral around the world. We now repeat this image every year, and I’ve taken many, many different angles of it! I put a little post together on it here.
It has since become a popular landscape photography location, with people driving hours to see it. I must have been asked a good thousand times for the location. There are others though – cherry trees are not rare, and so there will be plenty of others dotted around. Try and put your own stamp on a location if you can.
If you do visit, take a wander to Arnos Vale Cemetery – it’s right next door and filled with a vast variety of trees and compositional options. You will also find bluebells and wild garlic here.
Prior’s Wood, Portbury – bluebells and wild garlic
I go into greater detail on bluebell locations in my blue photography guide here, however this is a wonderful local location to catch the blue carpets. Come in late April and into May.
University of Bristol Botanic Gardens – spring colours
A fantastic place to wander at any time of year.
Royal Fort Gardens – cherry blossom
A lovely spot for a walk near the centre of town, with a mirror maze, blossom and if you’re lucky at dusk, foxes!
Castle Park – cherry blossom
Another great central location in Bristol, with blossom aplenty. Great for featuring people in your blossom pics.
Wrington – bluebells
As above, check out my guide, but this is my favourite location around Bristol and Somerset for bluebells. It’s not big, and is best at sunrise (especially as only photographers will get up at that time).
Leigh Woods – bluebells and wild garlic
I love Leigh Woods. It is conveniently positioned if visiting Clifton Suspension Bridge (it’s only a few minutes walk from there), so you can tie in a visit to both. Home to a huge variety of trees, including some veterans, it also is home to bluebells and wild garlic in Spring. Bluebells come at the end of April and into May, and wild garlic comes at a similar time – you’ll find the flowers come a little later. Head to Paradise Bottom on the far side for bluebells and wild garlic.
Stoke Park – bluebells and wild garlic
A great and accessible location for bluebells and wild garlic. Keep your eyes peeled for kestrels in the sky above the mansion house.
Bourton Combe – wild garlic
If you don’t like the smell of garlic, this is certainly not the place for you… However if you are after carpets of flowering wild garlic, there is no better location around Bristol and Somerset. Just be wary of ticks – I always wear wellies here.
Looking for more bluebell locations in Bristol and Somerset? Check out my comprehensive guide here.
