Circomedia is the leading training centre for phsical theatre in Europe and has been established in…read moreBristol for ten years. It offers serious full time professional courses or three month tasters or part time evening classes for those curious to just have a go. Has a second home in a beautiful converted church in St Pauls which houses a large selection of equipment such as trapezes and rope ladders . If you just like watching circus check out their end of year show, often on at Bristol Old Vic for some high flying high quality performances.

My review is primarily for the Circomedia Portland Square, St Pauls site which they lease this…read morebeautifully restored church from the Church's Conservation Trust and have installed a permanent flying trapeze rig and a sprung dance floor. It is a wonderful space with the modern equipment and glass screens juxtaposed with the richly coloured stained glass windows and old stone font. Circomedia run a range of training courses from a two year diploma, teacher training, evening courses, workshops and team-building exercises. Some of the skills covered include clowning, corde lisse, acrobatics, juggling and unicycling. Circomedia also hosts performances here, the next one being Rapunzel and for just one short week in August, will be opening a continental style café at the front of the church with fair trade and organic produce and spontaneous circus performance

Bristol University's music department is a prominent feature at the top of the triangle on Queens…read moreStreet. The grandeur of the building is put to use for other purposes - concerts, open-days, graduation ceremonies, and ball venues. The epitome of Bristol's wealth and propriety, this changes when student celebrations are in full-swing. A common sight is of students jumping into the fountains at the front of the steps, splashing around in the water and even being so rebellious as to pour washing-up liquid into the water. There are lots of rooms of various sizes and this makes it a perfect venue for almost any occasion. The building is mainly host to concerts and recitals, but I had my end of first year prom here. A large but cosy dining room for dinner, a room fit for dancing and a two smaller, connecting-rooms to hold a casino night.

Bristol University's music department is housed in this stunning Victorian building at the top of…read morepark street, where the route splits between Clifton and Whiteladies Road. With the fountains and sculptures adorning its front facade, it is an imposing building to add to a list of impressive architecture in Bristol. Inside, there are two large recital rooms that serve as the concert hall for both the students who study here and a range of independent music performances, from classical superstars to the local Bristol Schools Orchestra. There's also a wide variety of teaching rooms. The university only turned this into the music department in 1996, but the building was purpose built in 1842 for the use of music. There are tours available through the University, or alternatively just buy a ticket to one of the concerts, but the Victoria Rooms is a Bristol asset that is definitely worth appreciating.

Bristol Dance Company is a typical 'community style' dance company offering a variety of classes…read morefor all ages, at affordable prices. It's located just near Lidl on Fishponds Rd, and from the outside it doesn't look like much but it's just quite a basic building. They offer a range of classes from Aerobics to Modern to Salsa, and they also offer a range of levels from beginners to advance so there's something to suit everyone. If you fancy taking up dancing or just giving it a go then it's a great thing to do, and I would recommend popping along especially if you live close by. Dancing is always a great alternative to the gym in my opinion - loads more fun! Classes are £4 for adults and £3 for children, so you really can't go wrong with the prices as they aren't going to break the bank. You can also hire out the function room for a disco or kids party if you're looking for a venue to do this! Overall I think it's a great place, bringing the community together. Pop along and see for yourself what they have to offer!

Having spent my first year at Bristol in Churchills, i am not going to give it a bad review…read more But i would say this: the reason why i enjoyed it so much is because of the friends i made. The rooms are fine- they are quite big and have a large bathroom between four rooms. Some of the rooms have sinks in too. So far as facilities go there isn't much that churchill can boast, they have a bar and the quod but that is about it. I had a great time so would recommend it to all despite the lack of facilities compared to say, Wills or Baddock.

Churchill Hall is a great hall for some, myself included…read more Positives: The catering is better than school canteens, there is a projector room with sky, a heavily subsidised bar selling pints for as little as a pound at times, a beautiful patch of green to eat, drink and be merry on in the summer time, lots of good looking people, large rooms and a great sporting ethos. Negatives: perhaps more than any other hall there are divisions between public-school and state school students, the bathrooms are pretty disgusting, there is a lot of damp, other halls have better facilities and locations, the hall has decreased in size since I was last there and this makes the hall feel a bit sparse. Rather than tell you I had a great time, I hope this helps you to make an informed decision for yourself!

Christ Church lies just a short walk south west of the town's mediaeval parish church of St John…read morethe Baptist, set attractively in the centre of an extensive churchyard on Christchurch Street West. History The church was built largely to provide additional capacity at a time when the main Parish church was no longer large enough to cater for its congregation, and particularly to provide more free pews (as opposed to those which were rented, as was the custom at the time). The churchyard was originally shared with St John's, but is closed for burials. It has a fine long stone wall on Christchurch Street - which, alas, has lost its railings. The building The church was built in 1817-18 to designs by the local architect George Allen Underwood (1793-1829), although much altered subsequently, most notably with new window tracery by Manners & Gill around the 1840s onwards, supposedly based on those of the church at Yatton, near Weston-super-Mare. The style is broadly Neo-Gothic (Perpendicular) and cruciform in plan, with a tall clerestory, low crossing tower and substantial aisles to the nave. An unusual feature is that the altar is under the crossing, with a later projecting Lady Chapel (now the Sacristy) added in 1929. Furnishings are decent Victorian work, including a substantial carved reredos and a later Rood erected in 1910, and some brightly coloured stained glass. The church is a Grade II* listed building. Practicalities The church has had an Anglo-catholic tradition since the mid 1850s, and provides for a friendly welcome. Parking seems relatively straightforward along the road outside.

Nearly 200 years old, this gem of a Victorian classical gothic style church sits in it's own…read moregrounds along Christchurch Street West. I always think of it as Reverse-tardis in that it's seems bigger on the outside than on the inside. But ti's well worth stopping by if classical churches are your interest. Old wooden pews, dark with age and use, beautiful stained-glass windows and a small simplicity iof style that is still grand and elegant. Choir stalls complete the package, and the local vicar is a delight - managing to bring the spiritual side of life out in an easy-listening, relevant and light-hearted package that makes strikes a chord with believers and athiests alike. A gorgeous venue for a wedding (which I had the pleasure to attend recently) and a lovely part of Frome's heritage.

If you'd like to learn to dance ballroom in Bristol, this is the place to do it! I have been going…read moreto classes at Bristol Dance Experience for just over 18 months now. The lessons are relaxed and friendly, and cater in a progressive fashion from beginners up to experienced dancers. There are also regular practice classes and dances where you can try out what you have learned in class. It's very sociable and a lot of fun, I really look forward to my weekly class.

If you want to learn to to dance....Ballroom/Latin or Salsa....Bristol Dance Experience is a great…read moreplace to do it. Their lessons are conducted in a friendly and informal way but with a great deal of expertise. You don't need to take a partner, you don't need any special footwear and there is no age limit. Be prepared to have a few laughs though.

The University of Bristol is a city university, unlike the other big Uni in Bristol, UWE, which is…read morea campus university. The Bristol Uni buildings are located all around the centre of the city, and most are very old and pretty. The university is pretty large, with around 13000 students, and they, along with their UWE counterparts, mean that the city is buzzing with life. The university does pretty well for itself; it's high in the league table, and draws a very Clifton-esque student population every year.

Let's get straight to the point - I wish I'd gone to this university. No offence to Cardiff where I…read moredid choose to study, but Bristol is clearly better. Up there in the heady heights of the league tables with Oxford and Cambridge, Bristol Uni is an old-skool red brick institution with some of the most prestigious medical courses, English and history degrees in the world. It looks all towering and cool at the top of park street and has educated comedy genii such as David Walliams, Matt Lucas, Chris Morris, Simon Pegg and errr Lembit Olpik, plus the famed feminist author Angela Carter (I'm bowing down to her as I write this). Stunning architecture and a past that stems back to 1876 - this is the educational and philosophical pulse of Bristol in all its glory.

Woodland road. If you could imagine my day as a person this would be the spine, I spend most of my…read moretime on one of the buildings off Woodland road itself, or just around the corner on Tyndall Avenue, which if we carry on the human analogy would be a shoulder blade. It is a bizarre place for a university to be based because of the residential air that it generates. The only give away that this is actually the University of Bristol's hub is the number of students streaming by going about their lives, oh, and the giant signs outside each building. I like it though, the quiet peaceful road has character because it is the way it is and does not try to be anything else.