All below information is for the 2024 festival. The travel guide for the 2025 festival will be released in early 2025.
Walk or Cycle
Get your steps or weekly cycle in by walking or cycling to Bristol Light Festival. Over 300,000 people live within a 20 minute cycle of Bristol city centre.
TRAVEL BY TRAIN
Bristol Temple Meads railway station is the largest hub in the west of England with direct services from London, Scotland, Wales, Manchester and Birmingham. All the Bristol Light Festival installations are a short walk from Bristol Temple Meads. The Severn Beach line now runs twice an hour, making it a great option to visit the city centre from Avonmouth, Shirehampton, Sea Mills, Stapleton Road and Lawrence Hill.
Train Offers
GWR offers:
- Book ahead and save in the Great GWR Getaway Sale from the 3-10 of January 2024 for travel from 10th January until 26th April 2024
- GroupSave – discounts of 1/3 off fares when 3-9 people travel together. Simply search for tickets with the number of people travelling and the discount will be applied automatically
- Long Weekender – travelling from London Paddington? Leave on a Friday or Saturday, return on a Monday and save over 60% compared to an Anytime Return
You can plan your journey, check timetables, book tickets and find out more at GWR.com.
Bus
Bristol is well served by a number of national and regional coach services. If you are coming to the city from further afield, Bristol Bus & Coach Station is a walkable distance to Bristol Light Festival installations.
First Bus offers:
- Singles tickets from anywhere in West of England – Adult £2, child £1
- Day ticket within the Bristol Zone – Adult £6, child £3
- Group tickets: £10 for up to 5 people, from anywhere in West of England (offer available from First Bus app from 2nd February)
Park & Ride
The park & ride in Bristol offers a comfortable and easy way of travelling to Bristol. Please be aware that Bristol’s Park & Ride services all finish at around 7pm. Options listed below:
- Portway, North West of Bristol
- Long Ashton, South West of Bristol
- Brislington, South East of Bristol
- Lyde Green, North East of Bristol
Car
Need to travel by car and wondering where the best places to park are? You can park at Cabot Circus for £3 from 5pm, or click the link below for other car parking options in Bristol city centre. Please be aware that Bristol’s Clean Air Zone is now in effect as of 28 November 2022 and some cars will be liable to be charged for entering Bristol city centre. You can find out more about the CAZ here.
TIER E-scooters and E-bikes
Go green and use a TIER E-scooter or E-bike to travel to and from the festival.
Users will need to download the TIER app and create an account and prove they are over the age of 18 with a valid full or provisional driving licence to ride an e-scooter. E-scooters and e-bikes cost 99p to unlock and then 16p per minute.
To use a TIER cargo bike users must be over 18 and will need to download the nextbike by TIER app.
New riders can use the code BRIGHT2024 for two free unlocks and 30 minutes free riding.
Bicycles and E-Bikes
Stay active and hop on a bike for a 2-wheeled exploration around the city. With so many independent bike shops in Bristol, travel around the festival in style with a bike or e-bike. From vintage mint-green bikes from Mollie’s to quick and easy, pay-as-you-go options from Brompton Bikes, the choice is yours.
Bristol Ferry Boats
Explore the festival with Bristol Ferry Boats, offering a unique perspective of the festival by water. With 45-minute tours running from the City Centre Ferry Landing at 6pm and 7pm on Fridays and Saturdays of the festival, hop on board and enjoy a unique journey. Explore three exciting installations visible on board before discovering the remaining installations on land. Pre-book your tickets in advance or pay by card on board.