The Downs, Bristol

The Downs are an area of public open limestone downland in Bristol, England. They consist of Durdham Down to the north and east and Clifton Down to the south. They are used for leisure, walking, team sports and sightseeing (especially at the Avon Gorge cliff edge).

The Downs
Type	public open space
Location	Bristol, England
Coordinates	51°28′N 2°38′W
Area	412 acres (1.7 km2)
Status	open all year

Location of The Downs in Bristol

A grey concrete water tower of 1954 stands on the Downs near the top of Blackboy Hill, with a long, low, covered reservoir alongside it.

Durdham Down

Main article: Durdham Down

Durdham Down is the north and east part of the Downs, extending to Westbury Park and Henleaze, with an area of 85 hectares (210 acres).^[1] It is owned by Bristol City Council for the benefit of the people of Bristol.

Clifton Down

Main article: Clifton Down

Clifton Down is the southern part of the Downs, next to Clifton and extending to the edge of the Avon Gorge, with an area of 82 hectares (202 acres).^[1] It is owned by the Society of Merchant Venturers.

Management

Since an Act of Parliament in 1861, when Bristol Corporation acquired Durdham Down, the Downs have been managed as a single unit by the Downs Committee, a joint committee of the corporation and the Merchant Venturers.^[2][3] They have been designated common land since the early 1970s by Bristol City Council.^[1]

Events

There are permanent football pitches, used by the Bristol Downs Football League. There are also temporary attractions on the Downs, such as circuses and (until 2006^[4]) the annual Bristol Flower Show. Since 2016 it has been the site of The Downs Festival, an annual music festival with both local and nationally known bands attending.

In 1982 6,000 people assembled on the Downs in response to a local newspaper advertisement placed by the makers of the new breakfast television show TV-am. The 6,000 people were used to make the words 'Good', 'Morning' and 'Britain', used for the opening titles of the show. It took 2 hours to get them into place and another 2 hours to shoot.

Panorama over the downs

In popular culture

The Downs played a significant role in Jack Thorne's 2018 Channel 4 mini-series Kiri.^[5]

Gallery

• 
  The Observatory on Clifton Down gives a dramatic view of the Avon Gorge
• 
  Kites on the Downs in early autumn
• 
  The Avon Gorge from the Downs