Ed Note: No one knows local deals and freebies better than the creatives.  Thursdays are now Ask-a-Local interviews, and we couldn’t be more pleased to kick off with our pal Heather Cowper of Bristol.  If you would like to be featured on a future Ask-a-Local, please e-mail editor Olivia Giovetti.

Heather Cowper started her blog last year after a trip to Ecuador awakened her creative muse and her love of adventurous travel.  Her blog covers the places she travels either in person or her imagination.  She also covers interesting things to do in her home town of Bristol, although in the English winter, she’d much prefer to be somewhere tropical and exotic.  Heather once worked in fashion but now she’s a Project Manager and uses her blog as a creative escapism.

What do you do with £5.00 for dinner?
It’s easy to eat well for that kind of money at lunchtime but a little harder in the evening. The deal is normally to eat before 7:00 pm. One place I’ve enjoyed on this early evening deal is Fishers, which is a proper fish restaurant in the heart of Clifton Village, a great area to wander around with plenty of bars and restaurants. For £5.00 you get a simple fish dish and at lunchtime you get a starter and main course for £5.00.

What about £10.00?
There are so many to choose from – the best areas for eating and drinking are on Park Street, and further up the hill on Whiteladies Road which is a big student area for nightlife and also Clifton Village which is where the young professionals hang out. For my birthday, I enjoyed a meal at Quartier Vert where they do a selection of different tapas style dishes for 2 people or more for £9.50 per person. For a great waterside location, I also like Severnshed who do a 2-course set menu for under £10 as long as you’re there before 7pm.

Who has the happiest happy hour?
Well I’m not a great drinker, but if you’re into cheap beer, the young crowd normally head for Corn Street and surrounding streets in the city centre, where you’re sure to find some happy hour deals. It used to be the old finanical district of Bristol and many of the bars are in the old banks and commercial buildings. Or in summer, you could try the pubs and bars around Welsh Back, some of them on river boats, where the ships used to moor up when Bristol was a thriving port.

If you’re after a more sophisticated experience, the Rummer Hotel in the heart of St Nicholas’ market, just off Corn St has a nice bar for an early evening drink, or I always like a glass of champagne in the first floor bar at Goldbrick House on Park Street.

How much is too much to spend on transportation?
I’d say that the buses and public transport in general are expensive compared to other European cities. Luckily, the city centre is pretty compact and you can walk around easily, although you might want to take a bus up to Clifton Village. An interesting form of transport are the small river-ferries that ply up and down the docks all day and give you a great look at the harbour.

What are your top three free thrills?
Walk around the docks area, there’s so much to see, especially if the sun is shining.  Walk over the swing bridge and look in the Arnolfini Modern Art Gallery and the Architecture Centre (both free). Then over Pero’s bridge, through Anchor square and into Millenium square, where there are some nice fountains and statues of some of Bristol’s famous residents. If you have children you might want to take them into the at-Bristol hands on science centre. There’s often things going on in the square and the whole of the docks comes alive during the Harbour Festival in August.  You can download some excellent free audio guides for walks around the docks and other parts of Bristol from the Visit Bristol website.

For a glimpse of Bristol’s 18th century heyday, wander round Clifton Village and admire the fine Georgian squares and buildings and wander over the famous Clifton Suspension Bridge.  If you’re a keen walker there are some great walks through the woods on the other side, or you could head into the public park at Ashton Court. If you haven’t got that much energy, then climb up the hill beside the bridge up to the observatory where you get a fine view of the gorge.

If you love art and history, there is a trio of great free museums close to each other at the top of Park Street. The main Bristol City Museum often has a free art exhibition downstairs and plenty more to see.  There are a couple of other gems which are less known nearby. The Georgian House was the residence of a prosporous Bristol sugar merchant and has been furnished as it would have been in his day. The Red House is an old
Tudor house and here you can admire the fine oak panelling and knot garden.

Finally I can’t help but mention the graffiti and street art. If you’re into this kind of thing, walk up Stokes Croft, on the edge of the city centre as far as Jamaica Street. You’ll find plenty of street-art on hoardings and even on the shops and clubs. I wrote about it on my blog.

My one big indulgence is…
Wandering around Clifton Village, maybe a splurge on clothes, at 18 boutique(18 The Mall) or its younger sister Maze (26-28 The Mall), or for some gorgeous stuff for my home at Pod (24 The Mall).  In between the shopping, a light lunch on the Bridge cafe terrace of The Avon Gorge Hotel with a great view of the Clifton Suspension Bridge or a hot chocolate at Bar Chocolate (19 The Mall).  And stocking up with some delicious food the Arch Deli (Boyces Avenue), so I don’t have to cook in the evening.

If I had all the money in the world, I’d…
Treat my extended family to a grand and celebratory lunch at Thornbury Castle just outside Bristol with its old wood panelling and Elizabethan knot garden.  Then I’d head to Stanford’s Travel Bookshop (29 Corn St) for some travel inspiration and into Trailfinders (48 Corn St) to start planning the trip of a lifetime.

Photo courtesy HC.