Deepgroove - Secret Bristol

The best sights and sounds in sunny Bristol.

The Thekla
www.theklabristol.co.uk
www.myspace.com/playisaparty

The home of our club, PLAY. This 500 capacity club is actually a moored boat and has housed the best parties in Bristol for years and years. It was recently taken over and given a good spring clean - decked out good and proper! A great sound system, two rooms and enough nooks and crannies to get lost in, this is a raver’s paradise. Also, if you are not still melting into your mate’s lounge carpet on Sunday afternoon, they do an amazing roast on the outside terrace.

The Downs

The huge expanse of grass and greenery at the top of Whiteladies Road that runs all the way along to the edge of the cliffs above the River Avon and down to the Clifton Suspension Bridge. All the big events like fireworks night, fairs and circuses are held here, but our favourite has to be when Funderworld rolls into town. This is a massive mobile fairground where you pay on entry and all rides are then free. The perfect ending to a Bank Holiday session. Our tip: turn up at 10am straight from after-hours, it is not very busy and being thrown about 40 feet upside down at that time of the morning is very, very special…

The Clifton Observatory / Giant’s Cave
www.about-bristol.co.uk/lnd-01.asp

Situated a stone’s throw from the Suspension Bridge, this is an old snuff mill that the artist William West in 1828 used as his studio. He installed a ‘camera obscura’ in the tower. It projects a panoramic view of the surrounding area onto a white surface inside a darkened room. A box on top of the building contains a convex lens and sloping mirror. Light is reflected vertically downward onto the table, giving a true (not mirror) image. Very trippy… Best of all though are the caves below and a tunnel you can climb down to find yourself 250 feet above the valley floor. Again, amazing if you still have that raver ‘spirit’ still in you from the night before.

Native
www.nativebristol.co.uk

Another one of our favourite clubs, Native is relatively new on the scene, but home to some great nights: One Foot In The Rave (on a Monday), Bump afterhours and sometimes the venue to some very warped after parties following our PLAY night. Only holding a couple of hundred, this has both enough intimacy and enough space to run around in for hours.

Our Best Friend Rag
rag@justjack.org

If you are actually planning a trip to sunny Bristol, then this is the man you need to speak to. Promoting more nights than you’ve had hot dinners, he will most likely have a party up his sleeve. If you love house/techno/electro then try Just Jack, PLAY, One Foot In The Rave, Bump, Blowpop, Loco, Switch, Groove On pres. Bugged Out! and Secret Sanchez. And for your pink pound, Flamingos in Old Market is fabulous darling. Drop him a line, and get on that guestlist today!

Published: 19/11/2007

Click a city on the map to find out its secrets. You can zoom in with the '+' or
the mouse wheel and drag the map around to choose the city you're interested in.

More from...