The sleepy village of Winterbourne is just over six miles away from Bristol city centre but the lack of public transport since the recent First bus cut-backs means a two and a half hour walk into the city may be quicker than taking the bus. The hourly Y6 service that remains is not only subject to delays but takes an hour and a half to get into the city.
When Hannah Paniale applied for her daughter to go to Bristol Cathedral school it seemed like a rational decision at the time, there were two regular bus services both taking less than thirty minutes to get into Bristol. Now she joins a queue of parents on the slip road leading to the M1 bus stop in Bradley Stoke every morning, a task that is becoming increasingly difficult to juggle alongside her commute to work.
The mother-of-three who moved with her husband from Bristol to Winterbourne 10 years ago is now considering moving back to Bristol because of the lack of buses and the stress it has caused to the whole family. When they bought their house, the village seemed like the perfect place, close to the city but with lower house prices and nature on their doorstep.
