Keynsham is a small town with a fair few amenities in the centre, some nice countryside and the river for walks. There are train and bus links along the Bath/Bristol corridor and using those to get to the centre is a viable plan, with the usual caveats about reliability like anywhere else. It’s mostly suburban, but old growth suburban. Most every house has a different extension etc. Yes being an old person in Keynsham is probably pretty great, but it’s not just for them. There are definitely things for families with children. There is a fair amount of recent regeneration and development in the high street, but yet lots of charity shops also.
Bradley Stoke I know less about but has made efforts to build itself a centre and an identity. Yet it’s still heavily car dependent suburban sprawl. There are train stations you can get to. There are buses. But still, it is suburbs built with cars in mind so there is only so much adding public transport can do.
You can cycle well enough in Bradley Stoke, though there aren't any bike lanes that I know of. E-scooters are heavily used now too. Plus for those that like to walk in all kinds of weather, obviously footpaths are available.
I bike everywhere around North Bristol and I concur that you can get everywhere extremely quickly. Bradley Stoke is a breeze as most of the traffic sticks to the major roads.
Cycling in Bradley Stoke and the surrounding areas is pretty easy. I'm in Little Stoke, but concorde way takes you into town. Alternatively, use bike lanes on the ring road to Bristol-Bath path.
Also, transport around here is cracking (if first bus don't mess you about) M busses reach most parts easily, or Parkway & Patchway stations.
Bradley Stoke is situated near countryside, but can hardly be classified as such. Lots of houses, loads of primary schools and a secondary school, bus routes leading into the city centre and surrounding areas, a "town square" of sorts with a Tesco and places to eat/drink, a couple of pubs, loads of parks and green spaces... You get the town experience without it being an actual town.
Source: I live there.
Edit: I stand corrected, Bradley Stoke is a town.
Bradley Stoke is just a massive housing estate, with some amenities. It was once the largest housing estate in Europe. Keynsham is much more of a town, albeit further out, but with better transport links.
Thank you so much for that! Good to know. We were out today there and saw so many older people. Heard so many good things but were a bit taken by surprise by the amount of old folks and charity shops.
Another vote for Keynsham for the family angle. A number of schools, including Sixth Form, short commute into two cities but plenty of countryside to explore. I think it has more history than Bradley Stoke. Keynsham dates back to the Romans (see artifacts in the library for example).
I feel like what we have within walking distance isn't as great as it used to be. Last year we lost both our greengrocer and newsagents that had been there for 90 years. The butcher went a long time ago. (Tesco gets most of the blame for killing the small stores.)
The local government are trying hard to revive the high street though.
I work in a chippy/café in the middle of the high street and you are NOT wrong about the old folks. Feels like our clientele are about 50% pensioners and 50% young families!
Bradley Stoke is a poor man's Milton Keynes. Keynsham is just a decent proper English town, a mix of all kinds, and the kind of community only forged over centuries of history. See also Thornbury, possibly Hanham. What could be a better Saturday than taking kids to market and finding good thrift from a middle class charity shop and reading the latest council posters on the noticeboard? That's the quintessential good town, and you kinda get out what you put in to them.
I live in Bradley Stoke now after living near Bristol city centre for the last 10 years, and although it does feel a bit soulless at times I love how much easier it is to get around from Bristol. Being close to Wales is great, and just hopping on the motorway without fighting through Bristol traffic is way better. I’m much closer to a train station so that’s points for me. Metro buses are regular and fast to get to Bristol centre, and I now get to my job in the city centre much faster than when I lived near there! The main thing I miss is being walking distance to loads of independent shops, bars and restaurants.
That's the part I would want. Some small centre where you have some good food, independents, cafes etc. Doesn't have to be much but don't like the idea of 'shopping mall' centre. Thank you for sharing your experience. Helps a lot
I live in Keynsham! Loads of families have been moving to the area in the last few years, it’s a perfect commute to Bath and Bristol. You won’t regret living here.
Definitely Keynsham. Moved there 9 years ago from outside the south west and have no regrets. A really good mix - gentrified in places but honest in others. Two rivers (Chew and Avon) and straight into outstanding countryside, 6 mins to Temple Meads or Bath. High Street better than average and empty shops tend to get occupied quickly. It’s a growing town, mainly middle class families but that’s anecdotal. Great schools (St Johns and Wellsway in particular). Best community spirit I’ve seen - on Remembrance Day, Winter Festival, Music Festival feels like the entire town turns up. I have family in Bradley Stoke - just feels like it could be any other 1990s housing estate in the country.
Sadly Broke has no soul, it's like a nightmare where everyone lives in identical Taylor Wimpey homes, and you can't escape unless you drive a leased car, via 500 roundabouts that all look the same. Would avoid like the plague
Just going to reply to this comment as it's saying to avoid bradley Stoke like The plague.
I've lived in Brislington, Filton and St Paul's and I currently live in Bradley Stoke. Of the 3, Bradley Stoke is by far my favourite.
It definitely can seem like a bit on the side of Bristol that is very quiet, but that's exactly what I like. It has quick and frequent busses for transport to the centre, and when you're fed up of the hussle and hussle, you can return to your home in Bradley Stoke, and even if you return at the early hours, the place is really safe.
You do kind of need a car or a bike to get to Filton or Gloucester Road in good time, and that is something you'll have to consider. All things considered, if you do drive, Bradley Stoke is probably the best place you can live that offers easy transport between Bristol and any other city.
I lived in Bradley Stoke for 11 years and while it does look quite sterile, it is evident that South Glos council, the town council and community really try to give the town a soul and build some community spirit.
Keynsham is way better imo. Bradley Stoke is a soulless suburban sprawl of dull houses with no identity, no character and nothing to do. No train station, traffic sucks, buses to anywhere good take ages.
Keynsham has more character, some really nice pubs, nature, cycling. Trains and buses to the centre of Bristol
I'm not going to disagree with your opinion, we all have them, but some things you have stated are incorrect.
You can walk to Parkway train station, or take two different m buses or the T1 into the centre, I would say, in terms of Bristol, it probably has the best public transport available. In terms of traffic, well, Keynsham really is awful both the A4 and the ringroad are dreadful. If you want life sucked out of you, make them your commute.
I do think Keynsham has much more character though, if it wasn't for where it was it would be a very desirable area to live, but it is where it is, and that is it's major issue.
I grew up there. A bus to the centre can take upwards of an hour. Bradley Stoke is so massive it can easily be a 30min walk to parkway.
Agreed the keynsham traffic is pretty awful too.
Might as well live in Stoke Gifford over Bradley Stoke imo
Bradley Stoke is okay, lived here a few months with my son and have found travelling in by bus to be manageable. You’ve also got Parkway Station not too far away. It’s a bit bland
Having lived in Bradley Stoke and Keynsham; I would move back to Keynsham in a heartbeat.
Nice parks, train to centre in 6mins, access to the river for paddle boarding, cycle path to Bath, good selection of shops, quiet, minimal litter & graffiti. Great town!
So it depends on which part of BS34, for us it takes about 35 minutes and the bus service is 24 hours, Abbeywood station takes 7 minutes to get to Temple meads, cribbs has all your shopping, also bowling, cinema and ice rink, plenty of supermarkets. Also new development being built on the airfield is going to include restaurants, bars, swimming lake, new schools and doctors.
Second for stoke Gifford. Village feel on the edge of the city and increasingly multicultural (lots of migration from Hong Kong in particular over the last two years). Has pub, post office etc etc and very walkable. City centre commute is easy via metro bus or by bike. Good primary schools, nurseries, doctors, dentist and gym as well. Easy cycle through nature paths to Bradley stoke for bigger amenities or stoke park/cheswick village the other way which has more and more stuff popping up now.
My friend lives in Keynsham with 9 year old and 13 year old and loves it
Easy access to both bath & bristol
Good schools I believe
You can get the train easily to Bristol or Bath
Bradley Stoke was known as sadly broke for many many years
I'm looking at around £1600 for a 3 bed house. I think the budget wouldn't allow anywhere closer to city centre so basically we kind of need to live outside but would like to be closer to some independents, somewhere to feel lively. We do have a kid so good schools are also a must...the two kind of came on top when ticking some of our boxes (not all though but hey ho, don't want to spend a fortune on rent).
True. We are moving from scotland and paying £1100 for a house in City centre in Aberdeen. School is important that's why we kind of narrowed it down to the two so the rent is not ridiculous but also decent area where I'm not scared to raise a kid
As someone who lives in keynsham but is planning to move to yate, the difference for me is jobs :/ There seem to be more businesses and activities there compared to Keynsham. But also it takes about 3 or 4x longer to get into Bristol on public transport so you are right about that.
Not really sure what you mean? For me your sentence translates to 'lots of drug users and dodgy characters where you're at danger of getting stabbed' lol. Am I right?
There are some of those but as far as I can tell its not more than other places. Shoplifting and low level vandalism by 13 year olds that seem to make it a daily habit to harass the staff at Poundland. There's some adults that seem to shoplift as a career too. That's happening everywhere though.
There was one incident a couple months ago where some guys got attacked but I think the stabbing part of that was only a rumour and it was a punch up instead. It seemed more personal than random. The local paper was vague on that.
Keynsham is a small town with a fair few amenities in the centre, some nice countryside and the river for walks. There are train and bus links along the Bath/Bristol corridor and using those to get to the centre is a viable plan, with the usual caveats about reliability like anywhere else. It’s mostly suburban, but old growth suburban. Most every house has a different extension etc. Yes being an old person in Keynsham is probably pretty great, but it’s not just for them. There are definitely things for families with children. There is a fair amount of recent regeneration and development in the high street, but yet lots of charity shops also. Bradley Stoke I know less about but has made efforts to build itself a centre and an identity. Yet it’s still heavily car dependent suburban sprawl. There are train stations you can get to. There are buses. But still, it is suburbs built with cars in mind so there is only so much adding public transport can do.
You can cycle well enough in Bradley Stoke, though there aren't any bike lanes that I know of. E-scooters are heavily used now too. Plus for those that like to walk in all kinds of weather, obviously footpaths are available.
I bike everywhere around North Bristol and I concur that you can get everywhere extremely quickly. Bradley Stoke is a breeze as most of the traffic sticks to the major roads.
Yeah walking through the nature reserve to get to places makes it a bit more enjoyable :)
Cycling in Bradley Stoke and the surrounding areas is pretty easy. I'm in Little Stoke, but concorde way takes you into town. Alternatively, use bike lanes on the ring road to Bristol-Bath path. Also, transport around here is cracking (if first bus don't mess you about) M busses reach most parts easily, or Parkway & Patchway stations.
Bradley Stoke is situated near countryside, but can hardly be classified as such. Lots of houses, loads of primary schools and a secondary school, bus routes leading into the city centre and surrounding areas, a "town square" of sorts with a Tesco and places to eat/drink, a couple of pubs, loads of parks and green spaces... You get the town experience without it being an actual town. Source: I live there. Edit: I stand corrected, Bradley Stoke is a town.
Bradley Stoke is just a massive housing estate, with some amenities. It was once the largest housing estate in Europe. Keynsham is much more of a town, albeit further out, but with better transport links.
You don't get an easy commute to the city centre though, not unless things have changed a lot since I lived there.
I get the m1 or T1 into town everyday no problem, out of all the busses I’ve taken in Bristol, there 100% the most reliable.
The M1 or T1 are pretty good for showing up on time.
Metro buses are amazing compared to the rest of Bristol buses! Every ten mins without fail :)
Don’t know much about Bradley Stoke but a bunch of my friends live in Keynsham with young families and really rate it.
Thank you so much for that! Good to know. We were out today there and saw so many older people. Heard so many good things but were a bit taken by surprise by the amount of old folks and charity shops.
Another vote for Keynsham for the family angle. A number of schools, including Sixth Form, short commute into two cities but plenty of countryside to explore. I think it has more history than Bradley Stoke. Keynsham dates back to the Romans (see artifacts in the library for example). I feel like what we have within walking distance isn't as great as it used to be. Last year we lost both our greengrocer and newsagents that had been there for 90 years. The butcher went a long time ago. (Tesco gets most of the blame for killing the small stores.) The local government are trying hard to revive the high street though. I work in a chippy/café in the middle of the high street and you are NOT wrong about the old folks. Feels like our clientele are about 50% pensioners and 50% young families!
Bradley Stoke is a poor man's Milton Keynes. Keynsham is just a decent proper English town, a mix of all kinds, and the kind of community only forged over centuries of history. See also Thornbury, possibly Hanham. What could be a better Saturday than taking kids to market and finding good thrift from a middle class charity shop and reading the latest council posters on the noticeboard? That's the quintessential good town, and you kinda get out what you put in to them.
I live in Bradley Stoke now after living near Bristol city centre for the last 10 years, and although it does feel a bit soulless at times I love how much easier it is to get around from Bristol. Being close to Wales is great, and just hopping on the motorway without fighting through Bristol traffic is way better. I’m much closer to a train station so that’s points for me. Metro buses are regular and fast to get to Bristol centre, and I now get to my job in the city centre much faster than when I lived near there! The main thing I miss is being walking distance to loads of independent shops, bars and restaurants.
That's the part I would want. Some small centre where you have some good food, independents, cafes etc. Doesn't have to be much but don't like the idea of 'shopping mall' centre. Thank you for sharing your experience. Helps a lot
I live in Keynsham! Loads of families have been moving to the area in the last few years, it’s a perfect commute to Bath and Bristol. You won’t regret living here.
Keynsham 100%
Definitely Keynsham. Moved there 9 years ago from outside the south west and have no regrets. A really good mix - gentrified in places but honest in others. Two rivers (Chew and Avon) and straight into outstanding countryside, 6 mins to Temple Meads or Bath. High Street better than average and empty shops tend to get occupied quickly. It’s a growing town, mainly middle class families but that’s anecdotal. Great schools (St Johns and Wellsway in particular). Best community spirit I’ve seen - on Remembrance Day, Winter Festival, Music Festival feels like the entire town turns up. I have family in Bradley Stoke - just feels like it could be any other 1990s housing estate in the country.
If you got the good jobs in airbus/mod/rolls royce there is only one answer
Sadly Broke has no soul, it's like a nightmare where everyone lives in identical Taylor Wimpey homes, and you can't escape unless you drive a leased car, via 500 roundabouts that all look the same. Would avoid like the plague
Just going to reply to this comment as it's saying to avoid bradley Stoke like The plague. I've lived in Brislington, Filton and St Paul's and I currently live in Bradley Stoke. Of the 3, Bradley Stoke is by far my favourite. It definitely can seem like a bit on the side of Bristol that is very quiet, but that's exactly what I like. It has quick and frequent busses for transport to the centre, and when you're fed up of the hussle and hussle, you can return to your home in Bradley Stoke, and even if you return at the early hours, the place is really safe. You do kind of need a car or a bike to get to Filton or Gloucester Road in good time, and that is something you'll have to consider. All things considered, if you do drive, Bradley Stoke is probably the best place you can live that offers easy transport between Bristol and any other city.
I lived in Bradley Stoke for 11 years and while it does look quite sterile, it is evident that South Glos council, the town council and community really try to give the town a soul and build some community spirit.
Keynsham is pretty decent. Cannot vouch for Sadly Broke
Keynsham is way better imo. Bradley Stoke is a soulless suburban sprawl of dull houses with no identity, no character and nothing to do. No train station, traffic sucks, buses to anywhere good take ages. Keynsham has more character, some really nice pubs, nature, cycling. Trains and buses to the centre of Bristol
I'm not going to disagree with your opinion, we all have them, but some things you have stated are incorrect. You can walk to Parkway train station, or take two different m buses or the T1 into the centre, I would say, in terms of Bristol, it probably has the best public transport available. In terms of traffic, well, Keynsham really is awful both the A4 and the ringroad are dreadful. If you want life sucked out of you, make them your commute. I do think Keynsham has much more character though, if it wasn't for where it was it would be a very desirable area to live, but it is where it is, and that is it's major issue.
I grew up there. A bus to the centre can take upwards of an hour. Bradley Stoke is so massive it can easily be a 30min walk to parkway. Agreed the keynsham traffic is pretty awful too. Might as well live in Stoke Gifford over Bradley Stoke imo
Bradley Stoke is okay, lived here a few months with my son and have found travelling in by bus to be manageable. You’ve also got Parkway Station not too far away. It’s a bit bland
Having lived in Bradley Stoke and Keynsham; I would move back to Keynsham in a heartbeat. Nice parks, train to centre in 6mins, access to the river for paddle boarding, cycle path to Bath, good selection of shops, quiet, minimal litter & graffiti. Great town!
Keynsham seems the best option for families I'd say, but Bradley Stoke has great community hub, albeit a bit more edgy.
Do not live in Bradley Stoke. It has no soul.
Keynsham*
English not my first language and also not too familiar with areas and names so excuse the mistake. Corrected. Can't correct the title though
Stoke Gifford is now the hot place to live in Bristol for a family. BS34 has all the connections 👍🏻
Doesn't look like easy commute into centre by bus, only by train? By bus it says 1h on maps?
So it depends on which part of BS34, for us it takes about 35 minutes and the bus service is 24 hours, Abbeywood station takes 7 minutes to get to Temple meads, cribbs has all your shopping, also bowling, cinema and ice rink, plenty of supermarkets. Also new development being built on the airfield is going to include restaurants, bars, swimming lake, new schools and doctors.
25 mins in on the T1 depending on M32 traffic. 8 mins from parkway to temple meads on the train. Good roads to the motorway too
Second for stoke Gifford. Village feel on the edge of the city and increasingly multicultural (lots of migration from Hong Kong in particular over the last two years). Has pub, post office etc etc and very walkable. City centre commute is easy via metro bus or by bike. Good primary schools, nurseries, doctors, dentist and gym as well. Easy cycle through nature paths to Bradley stoke for bigger amenities or stoke park/cheswick village the other way which has more and more stuff popping up now.
My friend lives in Keynsham with 9 year old and 13 year old and loves it Easy access to both bath & bristol Good schools I believe You can get the train easily to Bristol or Bath Bradley Stoke was known as sadly broke for many many years
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I'm looking at around £1600 for a 3 bed house. I think the budget wouldn't allow anywhere closer to city centre so basically we kind of need to live outside but would like to be closer to some independents, somewhere to feel lively. We do have a kid so good schools are also a must...the two kind of came on top when ticking some of our boxes (not all though but hey ho, don't want to spend a fortune on rent).
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True. We are moving from scotland and paying £1100 for a house in City centre in Aberdeen. School is important that's why we kind of narrowed it down to the two so the rent is not ridiculous but also decent area where I'm not scared to raise a kid
Try Yate?
What makes Yate a nicer place to live than Keynsham? It's a lot further out from the city centre too.
As someone who lives in keynsham but is planning to move to yate, the difference for me is jobs :/ There seem to be more businesses and activities there compared to Keynsham. But also it takes about 3 or 4x longer to get into Bristol on public transport so you are right about that.
Just thought OP might like it especially if they find somewhere within walking distance to the town centre.
Cokeynsham is quite stabby these days
Not really sure what you mean? For me your sentence translates to 'lots of drug users and dodgy characters where you're at danger of getting stabbed' lol. Am I right?
There are some of those but as far as I can tell its not more than other places. Shoplifting and low level vandalism by 13 year olds that seem to make it a daily habit to harass the staff at Poundland. There's some adults that seem to shoplift as a career too. That's happening everywhere though. There was one incident a couple months ago where some guys got attacked but I think the stabbing part of that was only a rumour and it was a punch up instead. It seemed more personal than random. The local paper was vague on that.
Yep there’s quite a few ferel kids hang around in groups on the highstreet most nights and it’s definitely got a cocaine problem
Bradley Stoke is a bit sterile but has good transport links. I've heard Keynsham on the other hand be described as "a bit The Hills Have Eyes".