Image: Ashton Court's 'fattest tree' by Chris Bahn

A new Western Forest spanning three regions is set to be created – the first ‘national forest’ in more than 30 years  - spanning Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and West of England (Bristol, Bath & NE Somerset, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset).

In its first five years, the new national forest will see at least 2,500 hectares of new woodland and other tree habitats created, with 20 million trees to be planted by 2050 (which could absorb approximately 2.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide). Serving more than 2.5 million people, the new forest will bring a collaborative approach to nature recovery, working with landowners, businesses and local communities
to make it happen. 

The Western Forest will be spearheaded by the Forest of Avon, one of England’s Community Forests, supported by up to £7.5 million of government funding over five years. Alongside accelerating tree-planting in local areas, the project will work to revitalise existing woodlands and other important habitats to create a forest network for people and wildlife at a truly landscape scale, and bringing trees and woodlands closer to where people live. The forests will work with both rural and urban communities, working across new collaborations to create transformational programmes focused on volunteering, health, education and access.  

forestofavon.org  |  wenp.org.uk/priority-programmes/western-forest

Have you read March's issue yet?

Sliding cautiously into very early Spring thinking, we've got some vibrant looks from Oliver Bonas, a rip-roaring preview at the new third volume of The Women Who Built Bristol by its author Jane Duffus, a sneaky peek behind-the-scenes at a ballet-version of Cinderella coming to Hippodrome... plus reams of exclusive Spring/Summer Homes, Interiors & Gardens content to help you overhaul your space.

...But if all of that feels a bit too bright and breezy, or you're looking for somewhere to hide until the world feels a little less, well, hectic, then we've got a four-page special on an ancient cave hiding beneath our feet in Southmead. Pop on your helmet and descend into its depths with us. 

15,000 copies are delivered door to door, and you can pick up a copy at many places around town – including our stands at Waitrose and John Lewis.

Read the digital version of our current issue here!

And if you would like to have a copy sent in the post every month, then we offer a postal subscription for just £35 for 12 issues, £20 for six issues or buy a copy for just £4.95. UK mainland prices. For Euro and World zone subscription prices – click here to subscribe on our website. 

Recipe by Melissa Blease 

It’s time to ditch the stodgy comfort food and revitalise our menus with lighter, brighter seasonal dishes… and, perhaps, start planning some alfresco dining fun in the sun?  If double cream is a little too indulgent for your tastes, use a reduced fat variety, or even reduced fat crème fraîche. And if you’re not a fan of goat’s cheese, feta works well, too.

Ingredients (serves 6)
1 x 320g sheet of ready-rolled, all-butter shortcrust pastry
1 x bunch of asparagus (around 200g), chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 red pepper, seeded, roasted and chopped into bite-sized pieces (or, use the jarred variety)
4 spring onions, finely sliced
3 large eggs
280ml double cream
½ a bunch of fresh chives, finely chopped
100g goat's cheese, sliced or cut into small pieces
Serving suggestion: new potatoes; steamed new season spinach

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/gas mark 5 and line a lightly-greased 23cm fluted flan/tart tin with the pastry, trimming the overhang to create a neat edge. Cover the pastry case with baking paper, fill with baking beans or uncooked rice and bake for 15 minutes before removing the baking paper and beans (or rice) and baking for another 8-10 minutes or so, until the pastry is lightly golden brown. Remove the pastry case from the oven, set to one side, reduce the oven heat to 180°C /gas mark 4 and preheat a baking tray.

2.Blanch the asparagus (including the tips) in a pan of boiling salted water for 2 minutes, drain into a large sieve and refresh under cold running water. Pat the asparagus with kitchen paper to remove any excess water and tip into a large bowl with the spring onions and roasted red pepper. Stir to combine and scatter across the base of the pastry case.

3.Whisk the eggs, cream, chives and seasoning together in a jug, gently pour the mixture across the vegetables and dot the goat's cheese across the top.

4. Bake the tart on the preheated baking tray for 30-40 minutes or until the filling is lightly set (a bit of ‘wobble’ is good) and golden brown on top.

5. Allow to stand for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serve with new potatoes and steamed, new season spinach.

Discover more delicious recipes on thebristolmag.co.uk

The sun is starting to shine, spring is springing, Mother’s Day is around the corner, and we have a delicious selection of wines from the very South of France for you to
enjoy in the sun.

Languedoc-Roussillon, which stretches all the way from the Rhône valley in the east to the Spanish border in the west, is France's largest wine producing region. 

These wines are all discounted until Monday 24 March, all the more reason to give them a try...

1. Picpoul de Pinet
2. Les Granges de Félines Blanc
3. Grenache-Merlot, Les Granges de Félines
4. Rosé Les Mougeottes

For more fantastic French bottles, visit greatwines.co.uk

Calling all wine lovers!

Join wine experts Oz Clarke (TV star and award-winning wine writer) and Suzy Atkins (drinks writer for telegraph.co.uk and the Delicious Magazine)
at a walk-around wine tasting on April 5.

Expect hundreds of wines to taste, all included in the ticket price, from a range of wine producers from all over the globe. 

Many of the exhibitors will also have special show offers on their wines, so get ready to stock up your wine rack. 

Get ready to sip splendidly!

Paintworks, Bath Road, BS4 3EH | April 5, 1pm - 8pm

Tickets £35 – £55 from eventbrite.co.uk

This Mother’s Day, skip the usual Sunday roast and treat your mum 
to an unforgettable experience at The Granary.

Launching on March 30, The Granary's brand-new Sunday Feast is all about limitless sharing platters that bring people together. 

Think abundant Middle Eastern and Mediterranean-inspired dishes, fresh seasonal ingredients, and the magic of live-fire cooking. 

With sharing plates, wood-fired flatbreads, and expertly grilled meats, fish, and veggies,
it’s the perfect way to celebrate in style.

For £38 per person (half price for children under 13), enjoy a spectacular selection featuring seasonal salads, slow-roasted meats, and mouth-watering desserts.

The Granary's Sunday Feast will be available every Sunday
from 1pm - 5pm starting from 30 March

£38 per person | Children half price

Book at granarybristol.com or call 0117 468 0032

In its perpetual quest for beauty, Lalique’s artistic creation has explored an abundant palette of colours in profound detail. In 2024, Lalique reaffirms its audacity and pushes back the frontiers of its expertise by lustering its crystal in a dreamlike and surprising multi-dimensional pink: the Rose Nebula.

The name "Rose Nebula" evokes the evanescence surrounding the long pink luster process. Applied as a final touch under the watchful eye of the master glassmakers, a colourless, vaporous mist composed of precious metals including yellow gold, is revealed as if by magic during the annealing process, revealing a unique, intoxicating pink finish for each piece. The collection opens the doors to a new world of imagination, where the boundaries between the real and the virtual become blurred.

Click here to see more gorgeous Lalique pieces from Mallory

‘Mum’ embodies a multitude of roles and meanings, unique to each and every one of us. They mould our lives and nurture us in countless ways. Whoever your mum is to you, celebrate with a fabulous tin of gin that reflects the depth of your appreciation and love.

Gin is more than just a gift. It can symbolise moments shared together, conversations had and memories made. A Mother’s Day gin gift is more than just a present—it’s a heartfelt toast to say, “Here’s to you, mum.” 

This Mother’s Day, mix up a gin cocktail and raise your glass to the remarkable individual who has shaped your world.

Shop Mother's Day gin gifts at gininatin.co.uk

With Mother’s Day soon approaching, Rituals inspires all those who embody the spirit of motherhood to express their love. Rituals recognises that maternal love manifests in various forms and can come from unexpected sources, such as a caring neighbour or a trusted babysitter. Mothers are not only the women who give us life, motherhood is embodied by those who comfort us, lift us up, and offer us their unwavering support. Rituals’ goal is to honour and celebrate all forms of love.

The Ritual of Sakura Gift Set, containing a foaming shower gel, body cream, a scented candle and mini fragrance sticks is the ideal gift for someone who loves a delicate, floral scent. £54.90

Shop gifts your mother figure will adore at 
Unit 056, Lower Level, The Mall at Cribbs Causeway, BS34 5DG and 
Unit SU18, Brigstowe Street, Broadmead, BS1 3BD

rituals.com

Curated by Daniel McCabe

The latest issue of A Magazine Curated By is a special 25th anniversary edition commemorating the two decades of publishing. It’s chunkier than usual and breaks with the tradition of inviting a leading fashion designer, fashion group or house to guest edit the magazine in a way that expresses their cultural and aesthetic values. This time the publishers have called in all past editors to contribute. They say: ‘Rather than looking to the past archives, we’ve envisioned this special edition with the frame of ‘a magazine’ and what that word means, as a gathering of ideas and images but with a contemporary lens, something that at once feels timeless but timely. Our curator-designers have approached their pages how they would a fashion collection, through their eyes and perspectives.’
£35

magalleria.co.uk

Oscar-winning feline feature Flow returns to the big screen
for one week only

Flow, which beat high-profile blockbusters to win its title of the Best Animated Feature Film at the Oscars, is showing at Watershed from today until 27 March. 

Join Cat and his team of various animals as, in a world teeming with the traces of a long-gone human race, they sail through the mystical landscapes of a place they once called home... 

Flow is showing at Watershed from 21 - 27 March

Visit watershed.co.uk to book tickets

Bristol-born Julz Davis, founder of award-winning think-and-do tank Curiosity UnLtd, is exhibiting a series of short films at the Arnolfini next week that explore the untold stories behind the Bristol Bus Boycott of 1963.

As part of the Arnolfini’s Barbara Walker exhibition, these films, collected together under the title Origins, will explore the impact of the boycott and how it helped to lay the foundations for the Race Relations Act of 1965, the UK’s first ever anti-racist law.

Origins is exhibiting for free at the Arnolfini, 16 Narrow Quay, BS1 4QA from March 28 - April 17

For more details visit arnolfini.org

Browse Tailored Flooring’s latest range with a cocktail or two at an open evening on 3 April, celebrating the company’s new ownership

For more than 30 years, Tailored Flooring has been supplying and fitting stunning carpets and floor coverings to home owners and businesses
in Bristol and the surrounding areas.

Now under new ownership, following the diligent proprietorship of the previous owner Darren Taylor, Tailored Flooring is holding an Open Evening at their showroom on Alma Road in Clifton from 6pm until 8pm on Thursday 3 April, where they will be serving cocktails from the award-winning team at The Milk Thistle and canapés from The Ox.

During the event there will be the opportunity to browse the latest range of the highest quality carpets in wool, sisal, seagrass, jute and coir, along with luxury vinyl tiles, engineered wood and solid wood flooring from leading UK brands Woodpecker, Crucial Trading, Alternative Flooring, Ted Todd, Fibre Flooring and Invictus.

So bring a guest and enjoy browsing through the beautiful floor coverings that Tailored Flooring has been supplying to Bristol's homeowners and businesses for over 30 years. 

Thursday 3 April | 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm | 80 Alma Road, Clifton, BS8 2DJ 

RSVP to sales@tailoredflooring.co.uk by 28 March

Harriet Baker, who lives in Bristol, has won the £10,000 Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award for Rural Hours, a biography of Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Townsend Warner and Rosamond Lehmann and their lives in the countryside.

The award is the most influential prize for young writers in the UK and Ireland, with a reputation for seeking and supporting the defining voices of a generation over the past 30 years, with a list of alumni including Zadie Smith, Robert Macfarlane, Sarah Waters Simon Armitage, Naomi Alderman and Raymond Antrobus, and Sally Rooney.

In Rural Hours, Harriet Baker tells the story of three different women who moved to the countryside and were forever changed by it. Following long periods of creative uncertainty and private disappointment, each of Baker’s subjects are invigorated by new landscapes. In the country, they find their paths: to convalescence and recovery; to sexual and political awakening; and, above all, to personal freedom and creative flourishing.

Judge Tomiwa Owolade said: “Rural Hours is that rare thing: a work of literary scholarship that is as readable as a novel. Harriet Baker elegantly and vividly evokes the pastoral lives and creative practices of Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Townsend Warner and Rosamond Lehmann.”

Pre-order Rural Hours from our friends at Gloucester Road Books (scheduled for release on 27 March) by visiting gloucesterroadbooks.com

St Peter’s Hospice’s popular Rugby March event is back as the charity teams up with Bristol Bears for another exciting day of fundraising on Saturday, 22 March.

Hundreds of participants will embark on a 5k or 10k walk, taking in some of Bristol’s most iconic sights and landmarks, before the Bears host Exeter Chiefs. The charity walkers will end up at Ashton Gate Stadium in time to take their seats for the derby showdown in the Gallagher Premiership (5.30pm KO).

With over 500 people taking part in last year’s event, the Rugby March is expected to draw the crowds once again to raise vital funds for Bristol’s only adult hospice.

Online ticket sales have now closed, but you can still sign up on the day. Go to the St Peter's Hospice information desk in the stadium concourse from 1pm to buy a ticket.

Walk starts at Ashton Gate Stadium, Ashton Rd, BS3 2EJ on Saturday 22 March at 2pm 

stpetershospice.org | bristolbearsrugby.com

Duplex Penthouse Apartment  |  4 bedrooms  |  2 Receptions  |  3 Bathrooms | Wrap-around Roof Terrace 

Offered for sale by Rupert Oliver Property Agents

Quite simply, this is perhaps Bristol's finest penthouse apartment. Located across the top two floors, with exceptional views to the east, south and west the penthouse apartment presents some 2250 sq. ft sq. ft of accommodation, complete with four double bedrooms and a study, three bath / shower rooms and a superb 45' open-plan kitchen, dining and sitting room running across almost the entire top floor footprint. Created “off-plan” in-line with the building's architects and developers, from what was initially proposed to be three apartments, the penthouse is unlike any other in Bristol.

The top floor is almost entirely given over to an expansive 45' open plan kitchen, family and dining room with a full wrap-around roof terrace, floor to ceiling windows and jaw-dropping harbour views. The kitchen is beautifully appointed; with Leicht cabinetry and a range of Miele integrated appliances including an integrated fridge & freezer, induction hob, microwave, electric oven, wine fridge and dishwasher; with plenty of room for a dining table and chairs. 

Downstairs are four beautifully appointed bedrooms; with a boutique hotel style finish, each with fitted wardrobes and direct harbour views the master enjoys a recessed dressing room and en-suite shower room, with the remaining bedrooms sharing two further bath / shower rooms. 

In all, this is a truly immersive “house within an apartment” right on the edge of the harbour in a highly sought-after prime Bristol location. 

To view more images, details and the floor plan click here to visit the Rupert Oliver website.

Boniti

Run by Giles and Simon Lunt, Boniti is a high-quality interiors (and exteriors) business. The showroom is a destination for all types of natural stone, porcelain and timber flooring as well as decorative tiles, stoneware, Kadai firebowls, and the highly desirable Everhot range cookers and stoves. For large and small projects, the Boniti team are masters of their profession and it shows in every detail. The showroom is easily reached from J18 of the M4.

Dunsdon Barn, West Littleton, Wiltshire SN14 8JA
01225 892200; boniti.com