King Creosote (Photo by Ella Mullins)

By Sammy Maine

It’s a sold out affair at The Fleece tonight, and it’s all down to King Creosote & Jon Hopkins – the Mercury nominated duo that have had the public in the palm of their hands thanks to their collaborative album ‘Diamond Mine.’ Only a few minutes since the doors opened and it’s already starting to fill up with as many muso’s as you can count. The first support act is Bristol’s very own Delifinger a.k.a. Matthew Lacey. Holding his guitar and accompanied by two guys that know their way around a synth or two, Delifinger impresses with his unique approach to an acoustic act. With the experimental attitude of Thom Yorke combined with a gentle nature and delicate melodies, Delifinger is definitely one to watch in the Bristol circuit.

The final support, Withered Hand, takes to the stage around 8:45 and the venue is packed to the brim. Nervously mumbling into the mic, Dan plugs his guitar in, erupting a huge, amplified crack into the audience. A technical hitch is never a good start, but after claiming that ‘this is what he does,’ Withered Hand eases the audience into a giggle and the venue is suddenly full of atmosphere. Opening with ‘Cornflake,’ an honest and hilarious take on young love, the audience hang on his every word. With each song he plays, you could hear a pin drop; signifying the sheer talent of Dan Willson’s significant song-writing. ‘No Cigarettes’ is a particular high-light, sensing influence from the likes of Elliott Smith before finishing off with ‘Religious Songs.’

King Creosote & Jon Hopkins calmly waltz on stage to the delighted yelps of the crowd. Off to another technically shaky start (seriously, who is this sound guy?) the duo start off with ‘John Taylor’s Month Away.’ Once again, the audience are as quiet as a mouse, fixated on the Scottish twang of Kenny Anderson and the ivory tinkling of Jon Hopkins. The set is full of beauty and intrigue, as Hopkins takes to his accordion and occasionally clicks on his Mac laptop. King Creosote holds the stage extremely well, showing off his lyrical integrity that needs no more than the simplicity that exudes from the pair. High lights of the set included the delicate ‘Bats in the Attic,’ as well as the electronically dabbled ‘Bubble.’

The set itself is mesmerising and justifies just why this duo has been getting all that media attention. Playing a generous hour and a half, the only concern is that the performance may have been better suited to a seated venue. Looking around, it seemed that many were so soothed they could’ve done with putting their feet up around the half way mark.

Disney’s legendary musical The Lion King is leaving London’s West End for Bristol Hippodrome before embarking on its first ever UK tour, it was announced today.

The award-winning show, based on Disney’s epic 1994 film, has been seen by over 65 million people worldwide since its Broadway premiere in 1997 and will soon welcome its 10 millionth visitor at the Lyceum Theatre in London.  In 2011, The Lion King, which is in its 13th year at London’s Lyceum Theatre, completed its best financial year, smashing the industry record for highest annual gross box office in West End history. It has also just celebrated its 5th year on Broadway.

The cast and creative crew will be based in Bristol from early July, with the production opening at the Hippodrome in the Autumn. It will then enjoy an 11-week run in Bristol, before heading up to Manchester for Christmas. With a company of 52, The Lion King will visit 10 cities in the UK & Ireland over two and a half years, with further dates to be announced.

Disney’s The Lion King was brought to life for the stage by Director and Co-Designer Julie Taymor. She draws upon her immeasurable experience of various theatrical styles and cultures to tell the compelling tale of Simba, the young lion cub, as he journeys through life and struggles to accept the responsibilities of adulthood and his destined role of King.

“We continue to be thrilled by how UK audiences have enjoyed The Lion King in London, and have long wished to also share this production with audiences nationally.” said Thomas Schumacher, Producer and President Disney Theatrical Productions. “Following years of planning, and after receiving the counsel of some very smart friends in the British theatre world, we are delighted to be launching a production that conveys Julie Taymor’s epic vision and at a moment that feels absolutely right.”

Tickets go on sale on Wednesday February 22, from the Hippodrome Box Office – Tel: 0844 871 3012

Metrosexual Mark Wright in I'm A Celebrity...

By Jo Hackney

A study, recently published by Dr Phillippa Diedrichs of the Centre for Appearance Research at the University of the West of England (UWE), found that men have “serious” body issues, with more than 80% confiding in pals about their bodies and masculinity issues.

This study caught my attention as it goes hand in hand with a trend which we have experienced here at the The Private Clinic.

In 2011 we saw a steady rise in the number of men inquiring about and undergoing cosmetic treatments. Nearly 400 enquiries came from men for a range of procedures and the number of men being treated has doubled in the second half of this year.

It now seems evident that youth, sleek physique, thick flowing locks and good cheekbones are no longer the concerns of women alone and men are becoming more and more comfortable to express their concerns and act on issues regarding their physique.

However, look around you- who can blame them for participating in this huge cultural shift?

This new breed of male – the ‘Metrosexual’ – is hard to avoid. Men are now inundated with as many gorgeous metrosexual role models as women.

He can be found on posters, billboards and magazines and is plastered across our television screens, mostly recognisable in the form of the male cast of The Only Way is Essex.

I am almost tempted to put the steady rise in men receiving Microlipo here (a minimally invasive fat removal technique) down to Mark Wright’s appearance on ‘I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’!

However, the study by Dr Diedrichs also found that 95% of men surveyed admitted that body talk in the media made them more self-conscious and 35% would happily sacrifice a year of their life to achieve their dream body.

It is evident that men today are just as self-conscious as women. However, I do welcome the metrosexual male to our society. The news that men are talking more openly about their appearance is a positive result of this development

Regardless of sex, you only have one body and you have the right to make the most of it.

But remember that it’s what makes you confident from within that’s important and if that’s working out, eating well, having a facial or engaging in cosmetic procedures, then so be it. Who are we to judge?

Jo Hackney is clinic manager at The Private Clinic, Whiteladies Road, Bristol

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

By Max Boon

As the masses skidded across the ice to the Thekla in the freezing cold on Saturday night, the mood for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah was waning a bit. The Brooklyn five-piece have gradually shifted from the spotlight since their 2005 self-titled debut. That album was full of iconic guitar riffs and catchy beats, but their subsequent two albums haven’t quite matched it for strength or substance.

But it doesn’t take long for the lively indie rockers to win the crowd. Their live performances add a bit of style to their newer material and rejuvenate their old stuff so the gig felt fresh and was really entertaining from the start.
CYHSY have a big, up-tempo sound with lively drum beats, electric guitars, synthed-keys and the occasional harmonica and front-man Alec Ounsworth has an oddly beautiful voice that sounds like a bag of tuneful cats being swung around a room.

They kick off pretty early for a Saturday night gig, and by 8.15pm the boat is already rocking to the sound of ‘Satan Said Dance’. The band has an infectious good energy which seems to spread around the boat and put smiles on everyone’s faces.

They play a good mix of old and new songs, but the real highlights are the songs from the first album. In particular ‘Is this love?’, which gets everyone clapping and bouncing along, and ‘Child Stars’ which contains the classic line: ‘Child stars – with their sex, and their drugs, and their rock, their rock, their rock, and rock and roll hey!’

There are a few quieter acoustic moments during the set, which makes for a really nice balance of songs and the crowd at Thekla couldn’t agree more when Ounsworth describes the night as their best show on a boat. Everyone skates home in a far better mood then they may have arrived in.

Scarlet Rascal and the Trainwreck

The Louisiana has a long history of supporting local Bristol bands. Along with The Croft, it’s traditionally where most bands play their debut gigs and while that means you can hear some questionable sounds in there – occasionally you hit on a right beaut and this is one of those gigs. You could kind of tell this before the first note was sung as the place was rammed for a school night.

Bristol gig legend Big Jeff has been going on about Crybaby for weeks now, tipping his post-Babel songs as among the most beautiful ballads he’s ever heard and once more, he’s not wrong. Read more about Crybaby on Jeff’s blog here.  This is Crybaby’s first ever gig and they absolutely nailed it – the the point where they could well change the Bristol music scene indefinitely.

Crybaby are a painfully good looking group, with tall, bearded frontman Danny Coughlan flanked by a Kevin Bacon lookalike, Sean Bean’s twin brother (not literally) and a gorgeous female drummer. With vocals akin to Richard Hawley and the soave sophistication to boot, the suited and booted four-piece take us on a captivating journey through some deep and brooding songs of love and loss, including I Cherish The Heartache More Than The Love I Lost and Shame.

Next up is the brilliantly-named Scarlet Rascal and the Trainwreck. The Bristol indie group has been making waves in radio stations, both locally and further afield, and are a firm favourite of the BBC Introducing team. Another bunch of good looking band types, they take to the stage with more rock and roll swagger than most bands have at this early stage in their career.

In many ways, frontman Luke Brooks was born to do this – his Prince-esque persona dominating the stage throughout the whole set. But where many bands fall down in a style over substance way, these guys thankfully don’t. The sound isn’t as polished as it could be, but Luke’s Ryan Jarman-esque vocals (The Cribs) suit the music well.

Unsurprisingly, the highlight comes in the form of the wonderfully dark single The Haunting, which has recently been mixed and edited by Geoff Barrow. It has sniffs of Echo and the Bunnymen about it, combined with the goodness and potential of a whole wave of more recent bands, such as Interpol and The National.

Today is the last chance to sign up for free tickets to a one-off guerrilla gig by The Joy Formidable in Bristol.

Clarks Originals has launched a series of live music events across the country and its latest venture sees the Welsh band, The Joy Formidable, playing at a secret location in Bristol on Thursday March 1.

The group will be its own support act and will play a pre-plugged in acoustic, campfire style session while there will be post gig entertainment in the form of a set from DJ Dan of Propaganda fame, the UK’s biggest Indie club night.
Tickets are free but you need to enter your details on the Clarks Originals website in order to be in with a chance of winning one of the 150 tickets up for grabs. The deadline for entry is today (February 3) with winners notified by February 6. Entrants must be 18 or older.

Once ticket winners have been notified, they will be kept guessing on the venue of the pop-up gig until precisely 48 hours before the event, the secret location will be revealed via Twitter @clarksoriginals and on Facebook/Clarksoriginals as well as via email notifications to ticket winners. In true guerrilla style for those that miss out on the ballot there will also be a few extra tickets on the door for fans that are quick on their toes and Twitter.

Frontwoman Ritzy Bryan said: “We’re all for giving the audience a unique experience and that goes beyond the venue and the location. We’re interested to see where the Originals Live tour takes us, just no boats or churches…been there, done that!” She added: “There’ll be two parts to the set and we’ll be playing some never-before-heard tracks. It bodes to be a very special occasion, a TJF one-off and an intimate approach to our material.”

To enter the competition, see www.clarksoriginals.com

Thermal Lake at Hévíz, Hungary

It was a somewhat surreal experience floating around in warm water of the the thermal lake at Hévíz in Hungary, among the drifts of water lillies with a sulphurous waft of rotten eggs in the air.

We spent the morning wandering the gardens of the palace at the palace at Keszthely, looking just like an 18th century French chateau and decided we’d spend the afternoon visiting the thermal lake at Hévíz nearby. I knew that this was an area that was very popular as a holiday resort and close to Lake Balaton where Hungarians come for their summer holidays, just as we were doing in August.

Navigating your way around the Hungarian system of baths and spas can be something of a daunting experience, unless you happen to have a friendly Hungarian speaker with you, but we’d already had some experience by visiting the baths on Margaret Island in Budapest. At Hévíz it was a little like going to into a rather smart leisure centre back home, luckily with some signs in English to explain the numerous options of tickets for different lengths of time.

We were given a plastic bracelet with microchip that got us through the turnstyles in to the communal changing rooms with lockers. You need to scan your bracelet on a machine to tell you which number locker to use, then find the locker and use the bracelet again to unlock it. Luckily there were some private changing cubicals, so it wasn’t quite so communal as it first appeared, and then we went through into the main spa complex.

The lake at Hévíz became known over the centuries for the curative properties of its naturally warm spring waters that are full of minerals such as calcium and magnesium and are slightly radioactive making them ideal for the treatment of rheumatism and other ailments.

The lake became especially popular in the early 1900s as a spa centre with modern hotels being built to support the increasing numbers of visitors. The Hungarians take the concept of wellness very seriously, based on an ideal of health and wellbeing more than beauty and there is even a hospital nearby where you can receive treatment with the water and mud from the Hévíz lake.

The current spa building is built in the centre of the lake with wings from which you can step down into the water and swim around, or sun decks where you can relax. As we walked through the complex which was pleasantly warm inside, there were plenty of sun loungers with people relaxing although unfortunately, due to the syndrome of reserving a lounger with your towel, there was nowhere we could find to sit, even though plenty of sun-loungers were unoccupied.

Undaunted we walked down into the water and swam around in the lake for a while, enjoying the warm lake water. Soon we realised why so many swimmers of all ages were floating with foam or rubber rings, an ingongruous sight that you’d normally only expect to see with children. The lake was large and after a while you’d want to stop swimming to float in the warm water, hence the rubber rings. We made use of the wooden beams fixed by poles to the lake bottom that you could cling on to for a while in the middle of the lake, although they were a little slimy and covered with weed in places. Every so often there was a patch of water lilies growing beside the  spa building that you could become entangled with.

After our swim we found some space on the bank and laid on our towels to dry off. All in all it was a rather surreal experience to float around among the rubber rings among a large number of older visitors who were obviously there for the curative properties. There are so many different thermal baths and spas in Budapest and Hungary, that visiting one at least once during your stay is part of the Hungarian experience.

Have you visited the spa at Hévíz and if so, what did you make of it? Did it cure your rheumatism?

Visitor information

Official Hévíz tourism website
Official Keszthely tourism website
We visited Hévíz while staying at Hullam Hostel at Révfülöp on the shores of Lake Balaton

Read more about our holiday in Hungary

Memento park – Icons of Budapest’s communist past
Sour cherry soup at Salföld in Hungary
Relaxed Indian style at Mandragora Boutique Hostel, Budapest

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

Stuck for what to do this weekend? Feeling under or over-whelmed? Well, let us give you inspiration with our Top 10 picks for what’s on in Bristol this weekend:

Live Music

Endless Summer Tiki Surf Party at The Cube, Dove Street, BS2 – 18m, Saturday 4th February

Inspired by the classic surf films of the 60s and 90s, the Endless Summer Tiki Surf Party will be the raddest party of the summer, in the depths of winter.

Featuring two of the best surf bands from Wales and the South West — Hangmen and Mustard Allegro — hula-girl burlesque performances by Tabitha Tease and gnarly party tunes from DJ Nadoone and Dollsnatch.

Also expect killer tiki cocktails, vintage surf projections and lots more surprises. Bring your dancing shoes, surf-inspired costumes and get ready to party.

Entry £5 on the door.

http://bit.ly/A5NQPC

Comedy

Elis James Live at The Comedy Box, Southville, BS3 – 8.45pm, Saturday 3rd & Sunday 4th February

Welsh raconteur Elis James has the charm to win over any audience with his intricately woven tales which are generously peppered with hilarious moments. He is a regular contributor to the Rhod Gilbert show on BBC Radio Wales and recently appeared on The Rob Brydon Show on BBC2.

Last summer Elis produced his third consecutive solo show at the Edinburgh Fringe. He is prolifically talented and you’d be wise to check out one of the names of the future.

http://bit.ly/yt8ll3

Cinema/Film

“The Iron Lady” at various cinemas acrossBristol – Friday 3rd, Saturday 4th & Sunday 5th February

A look at the life of Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, with a focus on the price she paid for power. Starring Meryl Streep.

http://bit.ly/AhCP5q

Theatre

“Mayday Mayday” at Bristol Old Vic, BS1 – 8pm, Friday 3rd & Saturday 4th February

May 1st. Padstow. Cornwall. The death of winter, the birth of summer. A man falls head first off a wall. Years later he tries to remember what happened next. This is a true story. Told by the man who fell……

With smoke and mirrors, music, slapstick and a guest appearance from the Obby Oss, this extraordinary theatrical adventure starts with an unforgettable celebration: a day where everything changes.

http://bit.ly/As6Myg

Family/Children’s activity

Bristol Storytelling Festival: Story Museum at Bristol City Museum,Clifton, BS8 – 10am till 6pm, Saturday 4th February

On Saturday 4th February from 10am, Bristol Storytelling Festival presents “The Story Museum”:

8 hours of scintillating storytelling for all ages with professional storytellers from near and far.

Free entry and suitable for all ages.

http://bit.ly/yz7Wez

Food and Drink

Whiteladies Road Farmers Market at Whiteladies Road,Clifton, BS8 – 8.30am till 2pm, Saturday 4th February

The fortnightly Whiteladies Farmers Market is back this weekend.

There’ll be lots of delicious local and fair trade food to choose from (eg vegetables, fruit, cakes, pies, sausages, lamb, beef, poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs, cheese, bread, preserves, apple juice, olive oil, chocolate, wine, cider, delicatessen, soup) as well as freshly cooked burgers and bacon rolls. Also for sale are a wide range of flowers and crafts.

http://bit.ly/wklJR3

Festivals and Fayres

Stages Celebratory Dance Festival at Colston Hall, BS1 – Friday 3rd (7-9pm), Saturday 4th (1-3pm & 7.30-9.30pm) & Sunday 5th February (1-3pm)

Stages celebratory dance festival is one of the largest school and youth dance events in England, involving over 2000 young people and is one of the few events which involves all the age ranges from 3 year old nursery children through to secondary and college students.

It is a great opportunity for young people to perform their work in a professional venue as part of what will be a very high quality and enjoyable show.

http://bit.ly/wndZrY

Art/Crafts

“Ten” Exhibition at The Glass Room, Colston Hall, BS1 – Friday 3rd (8am till 11pm) & Saturday 4th February (9am till 10pm)

This is the tenth joint exhibition for Bristol artists Joan Wilson and Arril Johnson. Joan is showing acrylic paintings from her “Other Skies” series and Arril is exhibiting photographs taken in and around Bristol.

The Glass Room is being curated in partnership with Made in Bristol which organises the art and craft fairs at Colston Hall.

http://bit.ly/w3N0Tx

Educational

“Wake Up Happy” Weekly Workshops at Bristol City Yoga, Stokes Croft, BS2 – 4pm till 7pm, Sunday 5th February

A small group, weekly inspirational workshops with practical exercises, inspirational tools and techniques, ancient wisdom and a little sprinkling of magic!

Wake Up Happy! is a unique four week course that uses an inspired blend of ancient wisdom, natural laws, NLP, science and creativity.

Throughout this exciting journey you’ll be discovering hidden depths and lost horizons, and by the end of week four creating your own road map to the truly authentic you!

http://bit.ly/yGfwMT

Random Pick

Jukebox Launch Party at Leftbank, Cheltenham Road, BS6 – 8.30pm till 2am, Friday 3rd February

Yep, if you’re fed up of going out and not hearing the tunes you want, then look no further. Jukebox is a night where you choose the tunes. In short you tell us your 3 favourite dance tracks (the ones that you can’t help dancing round your kitchen to), we’ll compile the play list and you shake what ya mamma gave ya.

http://bit.ly/AnasLI

NB As always, there’s always so much more going on than we can fit in the Top 10. So, why not browse our website for the full picture? We’ve also got live music and clubbing listings too! 

Bringing you the best of Bristol Bites – the definitive guide to food and drink

Having been closed for several years, the old Bar Med site on Welsh Back has now been given a new lease of life. Indian restaurant and bar Namaskar Lounge has been in the pipeline since early last year, and finally opened its doors before Christmas. With a plethora of Indian restaurants already in existence in Bristol, I’m pleased to say that this place is a cut above the rest.

Decor-wise, its smart interior, with more of a nightclub feel to the downstairs bar, flat screen TVs on the walls and futuristic lighting sets it apart from the “standard” furnishings that tend to feature in the majority of Indian restaurants. The owners certainly seem to be making it a destination venue…not just in its decor, but also in terms of its food and drink offerings.

Unlike the majority of Indian restaurants, Namaskar Lounge prides itself on its drinks (see the drinks menu here) as well as its food.The wine list ranges from £15 to £20 per bottle, and I was intrigued to see Indian wines included on the list. Beer drinkers can enjoy a decent range in bottles or on draught, but the real focus here is on cocktails.

At £5.95 – £6.25, cocktail prices are very reasonable, and in addition to a list of “classics” you’ll find a range of cocktails with an Indian theme, including ingredients such as Darjeeling tea, tamarind and cardamom. Annoyingly, I was having an alcohol-free night, but will definitely be back to try the “Indian Summer” – a cocktail starring Mount Gay rum, fresh tropical fruits, chilli and balsamic vinegar.

Instead, I opted for a non-alcoholic and very refreshing watermelon and cucumber punch (£2.25) to start, followed by a decidedly lurid but very tasty rose and cardamom lassi (£3.20) later on. The bringing – without asking – of a Namaskar-branded glass bottle of tap water was also a nice touch.

While there are more “standard” options on the menu (click here for full menu) such as samosas, chicken tikka, kormas and bhunas, there’s also a large number of dishes that I had not previously seen on the menu of any Indian restaurants that I had visited in the past.

For our meal, a selection of dishes chosen by Namaskar’s manager. The presentation of all of the dishes that we were served was far above and beyond what we’re used to in Indian restaurants- the pictures speak for themselves.

A starter of Namaskar Stuffed Peppers (£5.50) gave us two halves of sweet red pepper, stuffed full of delicately spiced minced lamb and served with a thin, cool yoghurt sauce. It was accompanied by the same fresh, crunchy salad of carrots, red onions and red cabbage as our Jeera Chicken (£5.90), a generous portion of on-the-bone chicken in a fragrant cumin based sauce with garlic and ginger. Great textures and flavours.

Our main courses were outstanding, right down to the Pulao rice (£2.50), fragranced with whole cloves and cardamom pods. A creamy and buttery Dal Makhani (£4.95) – a Punjab lentil and red kidney bean dish – was perfectly executed, with a decent amount of bite to the pulses and ripe for mopping up with our garlic (£2.25) and tandoori (£1.85) naans.

The main dishes were selected from Namaskar’s specials menu, and gave us the opportunity to try two dishes that we’d never previously seen. The lamb adrakh (£14.50) may be more expensive than you’d expect to pay in many Indian restaurants, but is well worth the money. “Adrakh” meaning “ginger”, the spices in this dish were fantastic. Medium spiced and including cinnamon in addition to the aforementioned ginger, the lamb was lovely and tender and quickly devoured.

The chicken patiala (£12.90) is something that I probably wouldn’t have ordered on looking at the menu, but I’ll certainly be trying it again. Chunks of chicken tikka, green peppers and onions make up the basis of the dish, which is wrapped in an omelette and cooked with spinach. A bit of an odd combination, we thought, but once it arrived, my dining companion couldn’t stop raving about it. The thin wrapping of omelette added a sweet edge to the chicken and vegetables, which seemed odd at first but was by far our favourite dish of the evening.

Unsurprisingly, we were defeated by the sheer amount of food we placed in front of us…but were impressed when we were asked if we’d like the rest to box up and take home. Now that’s service.

With a final bill for all of the above of just over £60, it may be a little pricier than many Indian restaurants, but the settings, service and outstanding food make it well worth the money. For those who don’t want to stretch the purse strings that little bit more, head in at lunchtime – their lunchtime buffet costs just £9.95, but is available at the bargain price of just £6.95 until mid-February!

Now to find a date to head back to try the cocktails…

Namaskar Lounge are taking part in the “Around The World In 80 Days” campaign – for more details, see here http://www.80-days.co.uk

Find Namaskar Lounge on the Bristol Bites Directory…

It’s been a few months we’ve had a music festival round these parts, but the next major offering is just a few weeks away and what’s more there’s still tickets left. The next All Tomorrow’s Parties (ATP) festival, which takes place at Butlins in Minehead from March 9-11, is curated by Jeff Mangum (from Neutral Milk Hotel) and features an eclectic line up of established and up and coming acts from across the world.

Mangum, who curated ATP’s sister festival over in New Jersey last year, will play a set for music fans and has crafted a carefully thought out line up, which includes Joanna Newsom, YannTiersen and The Magnetic Fields. Mangum’s set will include solo material and Neutral Milk Hotel songs, which include In An Aeoroplane Over The Sea and King of Carrot Flowers.

Recent acts added to the bill are Sun Ra Arkestra, Oneohtrix Point Never and Feathers. Other confirmed acts include Boredoms, Low, Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), The Fall, The Magic Band, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Sebadoh, Young Marble Giants, The Olivia Tremor Control, Young Marble Giants and more.

The last few tickets are available to buy, from £170pp, from www.atpfestival.com (All tickets include a festival wristband and chalet accommodation). Minehead in Somerset is just over 50 miles from Bristol.