A brilliant venue for up and coming artists to use and forfill their creative talents. The spaces…read moreavailable are pretty good, from rehearsal rooms for bands to some quite large spaces for theatre groups to use to rehearse in. The price is extremely reasonable as well fo rent spaces. The one downside is that if you rehearse late at night then the heating isn't good, so wrap up warm. I'll usually turn up with a t-shirt, jumper, hoodie and coat as well as a scalf, hat and gloves, and if I stand still for 2 minutes i'll still feel the cold!

The Island is absolutely without a doubt my favourite venue in Bristol…read more The Island is run by Artspace Lifespace, an artist led initiative that recycles vacant, under-used and problem properties. They have sone a stunning job at revamping this old fire station. The walls of the Boneyard Bar are painted a bright cerulean and their are some stencils by the art tart above the door and day of the dead artwork on the walls. Artwork dons all the walls and every event is done differently. The Island is a huge complex, not all of which opens up. For some of the larger events, stalls are built in the large courtyard. Every event I go to, the experience is different. The Island is the HQ for The Invisible Circus, who undoubtedly put one of the most creative and interactive nights in the UK. I have seen the best fireshow, the best arial performance and had the best crumpets at the Island! Its a fantastic space and worth keeping an eye out to see what nights are happening here, from the spectacular carnyville, heavy metal acid panto to klezmer craziness, the Island is an amazing creative hub in the heart of the City.

Home to Dancing Jesus! IYKYK. Ok if you don't know, I'll tell you. They've got a huge mural that's…read moredubbed "Dancing Jesus". It's a favorite spot and fixture in Stokes Croft to grab a pint and something to eat. Sitting outside lends to great people watching. Soup and toastie of the day is my go-to for lunch when in the area. Everything is locally sourced meaning fresher ingredients. A toastie may sound just like a toastie but there's something about the way they grill it here. A perfectly crisp bread with properly melted cheeses. I like that they use butter for pan-frying the toasties. Some places use mayo and that's a big ew for me.

This place has confused me for a long time…read more... Firstly I just thought it was a big disused office building where the drunk, jobless people would hang out at all hours of the day. Then they put massive amounts of scaffolding up (carefully avoiding Banksy's 'Mild, Mild West' piece) but yet again, more people would congregate outside it with pints of beer and glass of wine in hand. Then the scaffolding came down, but apart from a new graffiti piece on the side wall I couldn't see any difference. I must visit I thought to myself. I was pleasantly surprised (and slightly ashamed that I thought it was a communal area for the homeless). It's a large bar area with enough seats to hang with your mates and put the world at rest, yet small enough to retain a good atmosphere. There are some comfy sofas if you fancy a coffee and weirdly (in what is essentially a pub) a bookcase with second hand books and magazines. It's a bit of everything but it works. I am not exaggerating when I say that everyday it is packed to the brim so they are obviously doing something right!

I'm a big fan of Trinity as a venue, art centre and community space. These guys do so much more…read morethan a lot of people know about. First and foremost, and what you'll probably know it for, Trinity is a music venue. They host some big names and book some really cool up-and-coming acts. I saw Disclosure there about 18 months ago with a crowd of 300. And I know that Alt-J also played there shortly after they won the Mercury prize a couple of years back. During the day, early evenings and weekends you'll find lots of regular dance and music classes for kids and young adults and over 50's. They also do bike workshops and monthly gardening sessions going on. You can also hire Trinity for your own events or gigs, which is something I've looked when hosting events before. A few of us went o Trinity of Sunday evening for their annual firework display. It was RAMMED! The queues was huge but the seemed to get everybody in pretty quickly. The fireworks were good, but nothing spectacular. Good value for the £2 donation though. Trinity is now home to Bump Roller Disco. They do kids and adult sessions and it's definitely on my list of things to do in Bristol. I've never roller skated before, so we'll see how that goes!

The Trinity is very much a part of Bristolian culture, and is typical of the values and aspirations…read moreof many of the creative types that live here. An 800 capacity venue, with a multi-purpose remit, the programme is pretty varied. I've been to vintage fairs and flea markets here, attended closing night extravaganzas / after show parties of the indie music festival, Venn Festival, and been to well patronised gigs of amazing singer-songwriters like Josh Ritter and Laura Marling. Being a converted church, there's a sizable garden, that is often used during the summer. They have a fully licensed bar at most events, offering some great local ales and organic drinks, but i find them a little pricey.

You know Wallace and Gromit right? Well they were created right here (well at their old studios…read morethat burnt down) but they live here now! Animators/businessmen Nick Park and David Sproxton have done themselves proud with a new site for the stupendous studios. Now they've got themselves a proper place to house their Oscars for model animation. And man, have they done them all. As well as the aforementioned dog and man in their various adventures, they've done Morph, Creature Comforts, Chicken Run, Shaun the Sheep and Timmy Time, and, bizarrely, Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer video. They've also filmed commercials and promos. Oh how I love 'em and their cute plasticine figures. Aardman entertain, provide humour, employ local people, create beautiful films and works of art with their progressive technology. All this fun and creativity stemming from little old Bristol. Aren't we lucky!

Many a Christmas of my youth was spent with the family huddled around the television watching the…read morelatest Wallace and Gromit episode. A source of much Bristolian pride, Aardman Animations are responsible for them, as well as the popular creature comforts series (the one with all the talking animals). Aardman do a good trade in slightly off the wall family animation and have been enjoying major success over the last few years, taking a clutch of Oscars for their feature length Wallace and Gromit films. They've also been venturing into computer animation with the release of Flushed Away. If you've ever watched a behind the scenes on Wallace and Gromit, you'll know why they only get a release out every few years. It takes hours of painstaking work, gently moving the arms of tiny little plasticine models millimetre by millimetre just to get a few seconds of shot. Very skilled stuff and you can see that they must be mad about animation to spend all day doing this. All the success is starting to show, and they've moved into a new purpose built building, a welcome change to the warehouses and flats that populate Spike Island (the land sliced up Bristol harbour that the building sits on). Just wondering into the lobby is a fantastic way to see these innovative people at work.

Tall tales, punchy poems & soothing songs - hear them all at the monthly story cafe. Paula of…read moreTattybumpkin organises this quirky little evening - really has to be heard to be believed. Arrive at 7.45 on the dot if you want to sign up for an open mic slot - but advised to get there even earlier if you want a decent seat - the room above La Ruca is cosy to say the least. There's a £3 suggested donation, but that's a small price to pay for the enchanting entertainment you get treated to over the course of the night. Until I visited the evening, I'd never been subjected to the traditional and rather magical art of storytelling before. Boy, I'm glad I went. There are oral tales of on a multitude of themes, plus guitars, flutes and harmonicas. There's a comfortable and unstructured air about the whole event that belies its good organisation. If you want to perform, your audience greets you with real warmth and reassuring laughter!! Feeling peckish? There's also delicious home made Brazilian cuisine on offer, including churros and chocolate sauce. BYO wine is encouraged - to give yourself some courage before you go on stage probably! A really different night out on Gloucester road, has a real Glastonbury festival vibe about it - which in the middle of winter is something to in which to revel!

Found in Millenium Square, the Planetarium forms part of the @-Bristol centre, and is included as…read morepart of the @-Bristol visitors' ticket. It is a continuation of the interactive science museum, and a highlight at that. Take a seat to be explained how to spot constellations and learn about our solar system. Suitable for youngsters from aged 5 and still awe-inspiring for the big kids too!

Inside is a regular show which is part of your ticket to Explore @-Bristol (currently £10.80 per…read moreadult). However the main attraction of this? As the spot to take a self-portrait photo. It's a cliche but it has to be done. Go on, you know you want to.

It's easy for me to take Banksy's work for granted, having lived in Bristol all my life and seeing…read morehis work on a regular basis just plastered around the city. This is one of his best known pieces and pretty old now I think since it's been there as long as I can remember driving past it (a few years). Definitely worth a look if you're a graffiti fan and in the area as it still looks good now. It's in a part of town that most people would consider pretty scabby/scary but in the grand scheme of things it's still the 'The Mild Mild West'

Located in Stokes Croft, this mural is probably Bristol's most famous piece of graf / street art,…read moreand even better, it still looks great to this day. Apparently the building it's been stenciled / painted onto was in pretty bad disrepair & in the process of falling down, but has since been listed (to be protected), because of this Banksy mural being on the side wall! Don't know how true that is, but if it is the case, just shows how far / mainstream Banksy has become these days & how street art is being viewed differently, not only by the public but also the councils. It's done very well to endure all these years. There's a lot of other very cool graf all around Stokes Croft as an aside, if you find yourself in Bristol & fancy a wander!

The Here Gallery is such an assuming little place. They are fully stocked with tonnes of inspiring…read morearty things; books, posters, wallpaper, stickers and lots more, that always makes me really smiley when I'm here. There is a gallery downstairs which exhibits interesting work, from local and international artists. They always welcome submissions for their consideration, and you can tell they are quite select with the work they choose, as the work shown always is quite spectacular. If you're a little down in the dumps or facing a mind block with your own artwork, this place will really help re-jig your mind.

Stokes Croft's got a few flowers poking through the grey concrete, the Here Shop is one of them. A…read moregallery and bookshop, they've got an often changing range of contemporary art. They do exhibitions by visiting artists, with pen drawings of slightly alien looking organic shapes (that description's ripped off their website) by a Yugoslav-American Yellena James currently on display. Whatever is being shown the gallery is always a warm and quiet respite from the traffic on Stokes Croft. The bookshop side of things is similarly left-field and varied. They have loads of children's books, as well as books on graffiti, manga, and an eclectic mix of other subjects. You really have to go along to get a proper sense of the sort of thing they have. It feels like one persons just taken their personal interests and made a shop around it. I like this about the shop, you get exposed to things you might not otherwise get exposed to. The Here shop is kookish and neat, a nice play to wonder round for half an hour or so.

The Cube Cinema you may or may not know is an independent establishment run totally by volunteers…read moreand has a strict not for profit policy. This small and quirky site exists purely for the love of independent, underground and subversive film as well as live music of the kooky kind. I went to see a film called 'Moon' by Duncan Jones, a thought provoking, existentialist space thriller which I thoroughly enjoyed. The program for the Cube is always diverse, often featuring films themed to current events or relevant social topics. One can subscribe to receive the program of events via email. Just visit: www.cubecinema.com. What I love about this place is the complete lack of pretention. The site is tucked around a corner from Jamaica street so somewhat off the beaten track. It survives very much on word of mouth so you will notice the absence of advertisement and visual barrage of 'buy buy buy' that you get with mainstream cinemas. There is a little bar (bonus) and one can enjoy their beverage in the theatre. I would like to make special mention of the welcoming atmosphere of the friendly staff. One can immediately sense the fun and chilled out work ethic. There is also a mini garden out the front, all ramshackle bricks and overgrown foliage. There is art and movie memorabilia scattered around the front room and bar area lending a dusty type charm to the place. I would describe the Cube Cinema as small yet mighty. To the discerning film goer it is an absolute haven from mainstream schlock. To anyone seeking an alternative experience, something to get the little gray cells ticking, it's a must. I challenge anyone not to be won over by the delightful and quirky charm that this place embodies. On a practical note there is ample parking available around the site. Those coming by bus alight at the bottom of stokes croft road and it is a 2 minute walk from there. Tickets are £4, not bad really I think and those with children might be interested in the baby cinema day time matinees on offer.

Expect to get insanely lost in the back streets of Kingsdown/Stokes Croft trying to fin this place…read more But stick with it (or use a map) as it is well worth it. The programme of events includes acoustic gigs, cinema nights screening independent films and talks on a range of liberal/left focused subjects. It's friendly and inviting with a quaint little bar which serves homemade cola, local ales and sometimes mead. The screen isn't at all hi tech and the seats have come straight out of the 60s, so if it's comfort you're looking for then Cinema de Lux may be more your bag. But if you want something a little different, somewhere with a real unique vibe about it and somewhere which won't break the bank - the Cube is it.