Westcountry Airport - not built by Wurzels (Bristol International Airport (BRS))

Member Name: The Daz

Product:	Bristol International Airport (BRS)
Date:	03/03/09 (141 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Bright, sensibly sized, well catered for.

Disadvantages: Transport access needs some more work.

You'd think my reviews would only get more boring the longer I remained a dooyoo member. Largely, this is true - what else is there to write about now? I'll be describing car parks soon...

Bristol Airport is located on the busy A38, some 6 miles out of the City Centre, high on a plateau on the edge of the Mendip Hills. Expanded massively about 15 years ago due to the arrival of Easyjet, the Airport now serves millions of passengers who can fly to a range of European and Domestic destinations, thus avoiding the need to queue endlessly and busily in a giant, soulless hub like Heathrow.

Approaching the Airport from either direction, your first sight is of a tall, glass enclosed box - much like the main terminal at Stansted. Within this single structure, and spread over 2 floors, you will find everything you need. At the front, in a full height atrium, is the Check In area. Up the stairs leads you to the Departures lounges, with the usual array of shops, duty-free outlets and eateries to help you pass the time. There's even an authentic tavern up there - because what you need before a 4 hour flight to Corfu, obviously, is 7 pints of Chavbrew and to spend your holiday money on the one-armed bandit.
As far as waiting around goes, it certainly beats the Bristol Bus Station, where you are more likely to catch the clap than a bus. They even have enough room for those sales companies you've never heard of to park a pearlescent effect sports car in the Atrium and offer you tickets to win one at £25 a pop.

When you arrive back at Bristol, the ground staff are quick enough that you can often get to the baggage carousels to find your flight's bags already circling round, and you're usually back to the reality of the UK within 10 minutes of stepping off the plane. Obviously, none of this applies if you don't hold an EU passport - for your sins you'll have to queue slowly to plead before the harsh immigration control that the picture was taken on a bad day, and that you're bag doesn't really need to be re-searched.

Overall - the Bristol experience is a pleasant one. Light and airy, small enough to enjoy a few hours at, polite staff, good signage, wide ranging facilities etc. My one problem, however, and it is a fairly major one - is the local access.

You can obviously drive to the Airport along the A38 - and it is a splendid trip once free of the snarl of Bristol traffic, along winding roads, short sections of dual carriageway, and with pleasant vistas abounding. If, however, you don't drive, then the options are considerably less appealing. A taxi from Bristol will set you back at least £25 (they do love the extra charges for bags and several passengers), the Airport Coach is also prohibitive (it was about £7 more than 5 years ago when I last checked) and very slow, the local bus service can get you there for only a few pounds but requires Herculean patience to sit in 90 minutes of traffic lights and side street bus stops, and there is no train station.

That's right - in all the years since expansion there have been numerous applications, plans, proposals and discussions, but no train link has materialised. Your nearest option is Nailsea & Backwell station, which is admittedly on the Main Line between Bristol and the South West and so quite frequent. It is however about 4 miles away, down the other side of the plateau, and requires a pricey taxi ride through several villages and up a steep, winding, forest road (very pretty I must say). You will also need to arrange the Taxi as there is no rank or office for one at the station (there's a business opportunity if ever there was one). Bus? Hah...If only such foresight was abundant.

In its defense, the Airport does its best to provide transport options, but finds itself tied in planning and local council tape - so you should just make do with what you currently have!

By way of a bonus to partially offset these grumbles - to compensate for the lack of public transport access - the A38 cuts across the airport perimeter in a gentle curve not 100 yards from Runway's end, and so occasionally you are treated to a jet hurtling a few dozen feet above your head as you drive past... It's especially unnerving at night if the wind is blowing the opposite way, as you won't hear the plane's engines until it is literally above you, foglights burning your retinae, scream of jets temporarily removing your ability to drive sensibly...

Summary: A good option for your getaways.