Stop 08 - Victoria Square
Stop 08 Victoria Square: a leafy Clifton green square ringed by pale Regency terraces, with a bronze drinking fountain and Clifton Down a two-minute walk away.
Victoria Square is a garden square on the eastern edge of Clifton village - about the size of a football pitch, laid out in 1837 around the coronation of Queen Victoria, and surrounded on three sides by tall pale Regency terraces. It is a crossing point more than a destination, but a handsome one, and a good place to sit.
What to see
The square itself: lime trees, a bandstand occasionally pressed into service, a bronze drinking fountain on the north side, and plenty of benches. The terraces around it - Worcester Terrace on the north, Apsley Road to the east, Victoria Square Lane on the south - are all listed and largely unchanged since the 1840s.
Cross the square to its north-east corner and you are within a two-minute walk of Clifton Down, the broad open expanse of grass that runs along the top of the Avon Gorge. On a clear day the Welsh hills are visible across the Severn.
How long to stay
Twenty minutes. More if it is sunny and you have a coffee from the Mall. Combine with Clifton Village on one side and the Suspension Bridge on the other.
Nearby stops
- Stop 07 - Clifton Village is three minutes’ walk south-west.
- Stop 09 - Victoria Rooms is five minutes’ walk south-east down Queens Road.
- Stop 11 - College Green and Park Street is a ten-minute downhill walk.
Practical info
Flat throughout, step-free on most pavements. No public toilets on the square itself - nearest at the Mall (Clifton Village) or Queens Road. The green is popular for picnics in summer and with dog walkers year-round.
