Bristol City: A deeper love — Terrace Edition

Words: Tom Reed

Images: Dave Harry and Tom Reed (where stated)

There aren’t many football clubs that have created a walking map with various routes to make your way to their stadium by foot.

Yet, Bristol City FC have done just that.

It’s a thoughtful football club in a free-thinking city.

There are seven marked strolls from different points in Bristol to Ashton Gate, home of Bristol City FC, including a gorge trail, past the famous suspension bridge and a harbourside hike where you walk down the dock railway with its heritage engine puffing smoke over tall cranes.

Cut inside to Spike Island and you’ll see the Banksy street art piece “Girl with a pierced eardrum”.

©Tom Reed/ Terrace Edition. Banksy, Girl with a pearl eardrum. On film.

Banksy is rumoured to come from Bristol and the figure looks out with inquisitive eyes and an ADT alarm for an ear decoration.

If you’re lucky enough, you’ll stop for the a pint of cider in the insta-worthy Orchard Inn and unwrap a cheese and onion roll from its cellophane.

Just the right thickness of onion and a nice cheddar to cut across.

Food blogger and Bristolian Bos Finesse has gone further by creating a video celebrating all the best pre-match eating spots, from Clarks Pies to North Street Shawarma, Your stomach will thank you later.

On a warm day, when the clouds are plump in the sky, you could confuse them for the curls on the gloriously mopped mural of former City player Chris Garland next to Bristol City’s stadium.

©Tom Reed/ Terrace Edition. Chris Garland mural. On film.

Garland, who passed away in 2023, is a true club legend, having played for the club in all four divisions of English football, scoring 54 goals in the process.

The forward famously ripped up his contract in the early 80’s with the club staring down the barrel of financial ruin.

Garland’s gesture feeds in to the feeling of a greater good that emanates in Bristol, one that the club, now thriving, contributes to.

Ashton Gate itself has been transformed from its rough and ready past to a ground which gives a sense of well-being and where supporters can create their own culture.

Club owner Steve Landsdown has been pivotal in the transformation of Ashton Gate into a multi-purpose venue, capable of hosting a rugby union match on a Friday evening, followed by a football game on a Saturday, all on a top-notch playing surface.

©Dave Harry/ Terrace Edition. Ashton Gate stadium. Digital.

The stadium has hosted concerts from the likes of Elton John, Muse and Take That, meaning it isn’t just the Robins making sweet music on the pitch.

Moreover, the football club are part of a wider Bristol Sport Group which has brought City’s men, and women (recently sold to Mercury13), Bristol Bears rugby union men and women’s teams and the Bristol Flyers basketball team under one banner.

The setup is not far removed from the European model of “sporting clubs” where various sports are unified as one force, creating a sense of purpose and boosting participation and community cohesion.

Indeed, City plan a new 5000 seat indoor arena for the Bristol Flyers as part of a sporting quarter which will cement Ashton Gate as one of the go-to venues in English sport.

When Saturday came, Birmingham City were the visitors and the Bluenoses were welcomed with a bar serving Guinness and a freedom to spill out onto the pavement and take in the late October sun.

©Dave Harry/ Terrace Edition. Bristol City supporters. Digital.

That feeling of inclusiveness is encompassed by the Independence Sports Bar, with its sleek curved frontage and famous for its World Cup celebrations, it’s a superb place to build-up to the match.

On tap are Bristol Beer factory ales, brewed just down the road, while there’s a big screen and a mezzanine balcony, featuring a legends lounge to host the Former Players Association.

In the Bristol City Supporters Club and Trust bar, there’s a classic 1993-94 purple away shirt in a frame, while a city fan relaxes in a smart Lacoste sweater.

Outside, supporters smile and sup, and are serenaded by a live band playing Oasis and other top terrace tunes.

The Robins are on the up, perching in the Championship playoff positions, eyeing promotion to the Premier League and top flight football for the first time since 1980.

©Dave Harry/ Terrace Edition. Independence sports bar. Ashton Gate stadium. Digital.

City have not so much been the bridesmaid rather than the bride when it comes to big city football in England. More the bachelors watching the dance floor from the sidelines but give the impression of a team, injuries permitting, that’s ready to boogie.

Austrian manager Gerhard Struber seems a smart addition, having been let go by FC Köln despite the German club sitting in second place in the 2. Bundesliga.

Struber’s well organised side marshalled a dangerous Birmingham eleven, allowing City to do good work in transition and set up Sinclair Armstrong’s goal for the hosts on 42 minutes.

Shamrock Rovers’ schooled striker Armstrong sped on to a lush through-ball and his first touch with the left allowed the Irishman to stroke home with the right for a goal that was never going to be beaten on the day.

“Together we rise” is the motto of the Section 82 active fans and their corner of the stadium bounced as the ball was picked out of the net.

©Dave Harry/ Terrace Edition. Bristol City FC vs Birmingham City FC. Digital.

The 27,000 capacity creates a feeling of an intimate gig, rather than the arena concert vibe of super stadia.

Downstairs, on the horse-shoe concourse, the cheers went up, including the guys spooning out the epic curry goat to hungry supporters.

Michelle Dring, Head of Strategy at City has put in a hell of a lot of work to make sure that supporters can enjoy a day at the match with as little hassle as possible.

Fans can walk round nearly two thirds of the stadium concourse, thanks to its unique design, stopping for a bite to eat or a pint in the Wedlock Bar with its old fashioned swinging pub sign.

City have implemented additional serving points with a novel system that simply slices the top off beer cans, leaving no sharp edges, meaning queue times are even shorter.

©Tom Reed/ Terrace Edition. Bristol City FC vs Birmingham City FC. On film.

And this is where Bristol City FC excels in ticking all the boxes that need to be ticked, and while fans may assemble behind the goals, the supporters are at the forefront of what this club is about.

When you have this level of attention to detail, growth will inevitably follow and they are club-building at Bristol City FC in the truest sense of the word.

Young Robins’ fans will continue to put on the red and white shirts on a Saturday, with the club winning a Gold Family Excellence Award from the EFL and implementing a Future Reds Collective to engage with supporters aged 12-17.

Outside, as the last flushes of warm Autumn air kissed fans’ cheeks, an older supporter stood in a superb blackout scarf and smiled, taking it all in.

Though the pull of Bristol is strong, there was no rush back into the centre at full-time, from one of the best supporter experiences in England.